An Oklahoma constitutional amendment banning state courts from considering or using Islamic sharia law is still on hold.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld an injunction Tuesday against the amendment until a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality can be heard.

Muneer Awad, a Muslim who heads the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, sued to block the law, saying it violated his First Amendment rights.

"The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or sharia law," the amendment reads in part.

Seventy percent of Oklahoma voters approved the amendment in November 2010. Similar legislation has been proposed in at least 20 states.