US bill would allow courtroom oaths on Koran

Courtroom oaths could be taken on the Koran and other sacred texts besides the Bible in a bill filed in the state Senate on Wednesday. The issue drew national attention last month when the first Muslim elected to US Congress took a ceremonial oath with a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson. In North Carolina, the issue appeared in 2003 when a Muslim woman sued the state because she was not allowed to swear an oath on the Koran when she was called as a witness in a court case. State law allows witnesses to use only the Bible for oaths.