A. Dru Kristenev ——Bio and Archives--May 18, 2025
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The Constitution of the United States of America does not allow for the formation of a state religion. The First Amendment encourages the “free exercise” of religion but forbids enacting any law that institutes a religion, as in creating a religion that any region, such as a state, must adhere…
Freedom of religion has created a false cover for theocratic social orders to hide behind in establishing their own “state” within a State. Any entity, religious or otherwise, that sets up its own legal system that is at odds with the Law of the Land – the federal Constitution – cannot exist within the borders of the United States or its territories. That includes the 50 state constitutions that must be in compliance with the U. S. Constitution.
Why? Because any such entity, no matter what it calls itself, is a political system that is attempting to operate outside the established law of this nation. Islamic communities (or any religious communities, for that matter) that attempt to ignore and divest themselves from the constitutional rule of law is, by definition, an illegal theocracy, centering on a prohibited “state religion.”
A state religion induces a requirement for all members of the community, which operates as a separate state within a constitutionally established State, to adhere to its own religious laws. That makes it a political entity that conflicts with the Constitution, because a state religion demands loyalty to itself above that of the Constitution that ensures freedom of religious expression anywhere within the USA’s jurisdiction.
There can be no establishment of a separate legal system within the borders of the USA. Sharia communities, such as the proposed EPIC City in Texas, that attempt to rule themselves according to a different and constitutionally incompatible set of laws, are illegal at their core.
Loyalty to a political system that undermines and, in effect, rejects the Constitution in favor of its own laws is treasonous. Sharia comes under that definition. Its purpose is to establish its own authority over and above that of the United States, in which case, Sharia and any adherents to it have rejected U.S. citizenship in favor of a theocracy antithetical to this nation, and cannot lawfully reside within its borders.
In short, freedom to exercise one’s religion is not the freedom to destroy the fabric of the United States by establishing one’s own set of laws, and requiring all individuals residing within a fabricated regional confine to promise allegiance to its own system.
A few years ago, CNN reported on Muslim Community Patrols operating in New York City, driving vehicles that looked like NYPD patrol cars. They were harassing citizens for not complying with Sharia dictates in areas claiming a high number of Muslim residents. This entirely unconstitutional activity is the attempt to implement laws observing what is essentially a state religion. Individuals involved should have been arrested for impersonating law enforcement officers, and the practice brought to an immediate halt by then Mayor DeBlasio.
Religious communities like the Amish, whose moral code anchors the culture, or communes that work along independent social constructs, function according to their beliefs within the Constitution’s rule of law.
If an individual is adamant about living under Sharia, or any other anti-constitutional religious or political system, they are free to locate to another part of the world that suffers the establishment of such communities. They are not free to place themselves above constitutional law and gift themselves special legal status above that of every other citizen.
This is a nation of equal rights for all citizens. Any who enter the United States illegally, or dwell here with the intention of undermining or dismantling this country’s structure, must be removed from these shores.
Refugees who hope to come to the United States in order to enjoy the freedom being denied them in their native country must recognize and embrace the Constitution, and are only welcomed under those criteria. This is a republic to which citizens and permanent residents pledge allegiance to “one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
If you can’t do that, but place yourself and your religious law or political brand above that of this nation which Constitution was established to honor God and true liberty, then emigrate, self-deport, or be exiled or deported.
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Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.
ChangingWind (changingwind.org) is a solutions-centered Christian ministry.