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Tuesday 5 January 2016

Nigerian Islamic Cleric Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy In Accordance With Sharia Law



Abdulaziz Inyass, a Nigerian Tijaniyyah cleric, has been sentenced to die by hanging in Nigeria's northern city of Kano. The sentence was handed down by a sharia court after a secret trial for allegedly making uncomplimentary and "blasphemous" remarks about the "Holy Prophet of Islam."
The trial was held in a secret location to prevent its disruption by irate supporters of Mr Inyass who had razed a sharia court after he was arrested last May. Kano is the capital city of Kano state, one of 12 states, out of Nigeria's 19 northern states, that have adopted sharia law. Two of these states, Borno and Yobe, happen to be the hotbed of Boko Haram's terror campaign. The states claim that sharia law is only applicable to muslims.


While the people of many countries are fighting to separate religion and state, and to expunge antiquated blasphemy laws from their law books, Nigeria is doing the exact opposite, and its peoples continue to wonder why their country has gone to the dogs.

Kano state was in the news recently for forcing about 2000 women (all divorcees or widows) to remarry "in order to check prostitution and other vices in society." 

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state, but that part of the constitution has been conveniently ignored, and Nigeria has been a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation since 1986. Religion has even crept into Nigeria's politics; as an unwritten rule, to stand a chance of winning the presidential elections, not only must either one of the presidential and vice presidential candidates come from the north and south of the country, they both cannot be of the same religion, meaning that one must be a christian, and the other a muslim. Go figure.

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