CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
|
Sudan |
SOCIAL CONDIT
IONSThe author discusses the fact that Sudanese society is totally governed by principles of the Islamic religion
It’s not easy to determine what kind of judicial system exists in Sudan. The 1998 Constitution is one thing for Muslims but for non-Muslims it’s taken to be quite different. The fact is, Sudan is a full Islamic State. Every aspects of life — e.g. education, finance, banking, the Media, what to eat and drink, have all been Islamized. But no one in authority will admit to this in front of a non-Muslim or before the international community.
The Constitution
Many people ask: «Is Sudan’s present Constitution Islamic or secular?» In fact, this question is frequently asked because the authors of the country’s Constitution have carefully refrained from attaching the label «Islamic» to the Constitution. When law-makers or the public authorities are asked whether Sudan’s Constitution is Islamic or not, they often have two answers ready, depending on who is talking to them.
This double-faced strategy is the cause of confusion for the international community as well as for non-Muslims and liberal-minded Muslims. This reveals the real intention of Sudan’s powers-that-be, who are intent on marginalizing large sections of the population.
The Judicial system
In an Islamic State, the Constitution includes the Quran, Sunna (the sayings of Prophet Mohammed) and the opinions of Islamic jurists or schools of thoughts. What frightens non-Muslims as well as liberal-minded Muslims, is not what has been incorporated in the written Constitution (such as the 1998 Constitution). It is what is written elsewhere (and not made public) which is feared more.
These particular documents are believed to contain harsh penalties which discriminate against non-Muslims and women. They do not necessarily appear in the Constitution. Reference is frequently made to laws passed in September 1983 (during the Ja’afar Nimeiri regime) and afterwards. The most important of these laws is the «Sources of Judicial Decisions Act, 1983». This Act enshrines the Islamization of Sudan’s legal system. Under Article 2 (a) of the Act, no court of law shall interpret any legal rule in a manner which conflicts with Islamic Sharia (Islamic law). Instead the interpretation of the legal principles or provisions, must conform to the Sharia law, its principles and general spirit.
Section Three of the Act states that where a judge does not find an express provision of law to apply in the case before him, he shall apply the provisions of the Quran and Sunna; the consensus of Islamic Schools; the analogy of Islamic rules; judicial precedents in Sudan which do not conflict with the Sharia; customary law which does not conflict with the Sharia.
This fundamental law indicates that all sources of law in Sudan are Islamic and if such source or sources are not Islamic, they must conform to the Sharia law, otherwise they will not have legal validity. It has to be noted that the recognition of custom as one of the sources of law in Sudan does not strictly speak or envisage indigenous African law. The original recognition of customary law under Section Five of the «Civil Procedure Act 1974», meant indigenous African customs. But this recognition has changed since 1983.
These days, the recognition of custom as a source of law, exclusively refers to the customs of the Arab communities before the advent of Islam. In the Law of Evidence (1993), evidence which conflicts with the spirit of the Sharia Law, is inadmissible in a case heard before a judge.
Total Islamization
The Sources of Judicial Decisions Act 1983, islamizes Sudan’s legal system. The Civil Transactions Act, 1984, islamizes the land. Section 558 of this particular Act vests the ownership of land in Allah (God). Thus, the Islamization of the entire legal system and of the land (admitting of no exceptions) implies that all the people in Sudan must be Muslims.
The contents of Article Four of Sudan’s 1998 Constitution, make clear that Allah is the legitimate or real ruler of Sudan. People exercise sovereignty of the Umma only as trustees or agents of Allah. («Umma» is the «Homeland» or «Nation» of Muslims). Non-Muslims are not contemplated as being part of this nation.
People are deemed to be worshipping Allah when they exercise sovereignty or when they administer the country. Hence the administration of the Umma is part and parcel of the worship of God. It follows that the country’s administrators must all be Muslims because there is no distinction between the administration of the land and the worship of Allah or Islamic Religion. The Constitution is silent about non-Muslims’ participation in the country’s political system.
Article 18 of the 1998 Constitution is equally powerful when considering the Islamization of the Sudanese people as a whole. The provisions of this article establish the Umma or Nation of Muslims in Sudan, where Islam governs the whole way of life of the nation. The Umma must be defended by «Jihad«or «Holy War» (hence the declaration of jihad on non-Muslims in southern Sudan).
Sudan’s Islamisation enters the very fabric of society, especially where public morality is concerned. «Good morals» referred to in Article 16 of the Constitution are conceived in an Islamic way. Such morals must be enforced by law. For example, in Khartoum, since 1989, women who brew liquor are arrested. Also, women are forced to wear Islamic dress and are made to sit separately from men in public transport. A male cannot walk with a female hand-in-hand. This applies to everybody, regardless of religious affiliation. It is a clear indication that all Sudanese are presumed by law to be Muslims.
In other words, Sudanese society is totally governed by principles of the Islamic religion.