RALEIGH - The issue of allowing court witnesses and others who take oaths to use a holy text other than the King James version of the Bible may be decided in upcoming days after arguments heard Tuesday in Wake Superior Court.

Judge Paul Ridgeway did not issue a ruling in the case, which has been brewing in North Carolina since 2005, but took the arguments under advisement.

The N.C. statutes allow jurors or witnesses in court proceedings to swear on "Holy Scriptures," but courtrooms across the state provide only the King James Bible, acceptable to Christians. The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says the state must allow people who aren't Christian to take an oath on their particular holy text or rule the "Holy Scriptures" law unconstitutional.

Although state statutes allow witnesses or jurors to raise their hand or affirm to tell the truth, the ACLU argues that that discriminates against religious people of non-Christian faiths.

The ACLU sued in Wake County Superior Court two years ago on behalf of Syidah Mateen, a Muslim woman who was denied the option of swearing on the Quran when she gave testimony in a Guilford County courthouse.