From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Fri Feb 01 2002 - 23:05:26 MST
Go to:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/shb/igwe_16_2.htm
or read below.
Last October 1999, the volatile religious and mixture of Africa's
most populous nation, Nigeria, began to stir. Then in February,
Christians and Muslims clashed in bloody fighting in the northern
city of Kaduna that left at least 40 dead. In late March, thousands
fled the northern town of Damboa after violence again broke out
between Christians and Muslims, killing 20. Young Muslims
incensed about the construction of a church in the predominantly
Muslim town attacked the building, prompting retaliation by some
Christians.
A leading cause of eruptions such as these, which are now blamed
for the loss of thousands of lives, is a movement in some northern
Nigerian states to implement Sharia, or Islamic law. Sharia
supporters have assured non-Muslims they will not be tried under
Islamic law, which prohibits such things as drinking alcohol and
the intermingling of men and women in schools and public
transportation. Nevertheless, Christians fear discrimination and
marginalization under the legal regime.
Other opponents, including Nigerian humanists, point to another
problem: the Sharia conflicts with several provisions of Nigeria's
constitution. First of all, Sharia is the Islamic Legal code and its
"full" implementation by any state implies the adoption of Islam
as state religion. This violates the secular status of the
constitution, which states, "The government of the federation or of
a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion."
Furthermore, Sharia sanctions very crude and inhumane punitive
methods such as decapitation, stoning to death, public flogging,
hanging, and amputation of hands or limbs of criminals. Such
punishments are inconsistent with Nigerian Supreme Law which
affirms that every individual is entitled to respect of the dignity of
the human person and that no person shall be subjected to torture
or to inhuman or degrading treatment.
Humanists believe in democracy, not theocracy, as the best means
of protecting the rights of individuals to form their own
worldviews and live out their commitments in a mutually free and
respectful way. Adopting the Sharia legal system in a multi-
religious and multi-ethnic society like Nigeria, is a regressive and
dangerous step which portends ill not only for the states in
question, but for the nation as a whole
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Sep 25 2002 - 13:28:42 MDT