While that seems to be stating the obvious, Tilley said such a measure is needed because a New Jersey judge relied on Islamic law, or Sharia law, to rule against a woman whose husband had repeatedly assaulted her.

Tilley said the New Jersey judge referred to the defendant's First Amendment rights as the basis for his ruling, which was overturned by a higher court.

"The concept of this legislation is fairly simple," Tilley said in a statement. ""We believe that the laws of this country should trump any other laws regarding the citizens of our country within our borders."

The bill's sponsor is freshman Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Pacific. He said in an interview that Missourians "just need to have absolute confidence that a judge is going to render decisions based on our laws."

Asked whether any Missouri judge had based a decision on foreign law, Curtman said: "To my knowledge in Missouri, no. But it's happening in other states. A good leadership trait is to act in a manner that is preventative."

Oklahoma became the first state to ban Sharia from being considered in state courts when voters passed a similar ban last fall.