By Rauf Oyewole
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, Aminu Mohammed, popularly known as DanMaliki has said that the controversies trailing Shariah is needless as it does not threaten the unity of the country.
He said this on Monday while reacting to the calls to abolish Shariah Law in Nigeria, Danmaliki who is also the President, Bauchi State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (BACCIMA), believed that the Islamic Law is only applicable to Muslim.
He said that: “Let me enlighten the Christian crusaders the crucial truth that cannot be ignored: Shariah law, as practiced in Northern Nigeria, is not a threat to any non-Muslim. It is a proven, humane, rights-based legal tradition whose influence shaped not only the Muslim world, but the Western world, including the very foundations of English and American common law.
“When people today hear the word ‘Shariah’, they imagine something foreign or extreme. But historically, Shariah was seen even by Europe as a sophisticated and advanced legal system worthy of respect.
“Scholars such as John Makdisi have shown that English common law adopted several Islamic legal institutions through Norman contact with Muslim Sicily,” he said.
According to him, Christians in Nigeria are often treated as if Shariah is a political weapon. Saying that Shariah in Nigeria applies only to Muslims.
Danmaliki further argued that it is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Shariah practices at state levels were passed by the houses of assembly.
“Accordingly, non-Muslims cannot be prosecuted under Shariah criminal law. Non-Muslims cannot be forced into Shariah courts. Non-Muslims retain full access to secular courts.Shariah enhances justice without harming non-Muslims
“Ironically, many Nigerian Christians voluntarily go to Shariah courts especially when the case involves a Muslim because: judgments are faster, corruption is lower, procedures are clearer, judges are more morally accountable. This is why Shariah persists: not because it is imposed, but because it delivers justice.
“Shariah does not threaten the unity of Nigeria. Nigeria legally recognises three systems: English-based common law (Which is an off-shoot of the Shariah Law). Customary law and Shariah law. Each serves the community that believes in it. This is multiculturalism, not division.”
0 Comments