by Kenneth Dareng, Nigeria, November 1999
THEME = RELIGION
Last year, Nigeria was hit by a
controversial religious issue,
when on 27 October 1999, Zamfara
State adopted Islamic Sharia Law.
Two Nigerian journalists examine
the implications for Nigeria as a whole
This has caused much animosity between the country's two main religious groups, the Muslims and the Christians. In 1986, Nigeria experienced a similar scenario when there was talk of it being dragged into the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). However, this never materialised. Since then, a cold war has developed between Christians and Muslims which now affects other spheres of our national life.
The confrontation over the introduction of Sharia Law cannot be overlooked, because it can only aggravate the crisis between Christians and Muslims.
Christians argue that the Constitution is meant to protect and promote our individual and national interests and consequently, should not allow Sharia Law to reign. But Muslims are of the opinion that there is nothing that should stop Sharia law from operating, because they say that any Muslim who judges or allow himself to be judged by any other law other than Sharia, is not a good Muslim.
Many people have asked, what is the justification of such a law in a society with different religious backgrounds? What then is the essence of our democracy? Muslims have forgotten that this nation called Nigeria was not built on the foundation of a particular religion, and the object of democracy is to ensure all ethnic groups and all religions have an equal say in the affairs of their states. Nigeria's three dominant ethnic groups have lived together, in spite of differences in religion, tribe, culture and have been able to find solutions to issues which could have torn them apart.
The effects of such laws in countries where they are practised, such as Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran and Iraq are grave. Offenses like prostitution, consumption of alcohol, stealing, the possession and carrying of hard drugs, attract draconian penalties such as cutting-off hands, long prison sentences and even death.
As of now, five state governments have concluded arrangements to apply the Sharia Law in their states. These are Kano, Yobe, Zamfara (already applied), Sokoto and Katsina. According to these state governments, in individual cases, non-Muslims will not be forced to be judged by Islamic law. But in a case involving a Muslim and a non-Muslim, the non-Muslim is certainly at a disadvantage. What then is the fate of non-Muslims natives of these states?
Of course, there is a problem in a country such as Nigeria which is not totally an Islamic country. Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, a Muslim scholar, puts it this way: "Sharia is the Islamic legal system and it is only practicable under an Islamic state. And as it is today, Nigeria is not an Islamic country. Call it anything, either a democracy or whatever, but certainly, it is not Islamic. It has a written Constitution which does not recognise Sharia as the supreme law and moreover, it has limited application of Islamic law."
The point is, any society must be Islamic before Sharia Law can operate without difficulty. And to have an Islamic society means the President, Governors, the National Assembly, must all fall under Sharia Law.
Many Nigerians are of the view that the Islamic community should not be carried away by Sharia Law. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has widely criticised the move to introduce Sharia laws in some parts of the country. President Olusegun Obasenjo himself has sharply criticised the action of such a declaration. The Federal Government has now taken the matter before the Supreme Court, urging it to restrain the Zamfara State Government or any other state in the northern part of the country from declaring Sharia as a state law.
At the moment, calm reigns, but if the present controversy is carried any further, then who knows what will happen.
END