Here We Go Again

Can anyone say Amina Lawal, Part 2?

BAUCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Islamic courts in Nigeria sentenced two women to death by stoning for having sex out of wedlock, but two men whom they said they slept with were acquitted for lack of evidence, authorities said on Tuesday.
Both sentences, which were passed within the last month in the northern state of Bauchi, have to be confirmed by the state governor before being carried out, and they are open to appeal.

[...]

Hajara Ibrahim, a 29-year-old woman, was sentenced on Oct. 5 by an Islamic Sharia court in the Tafawa Balewa area of the state, having confessed to having sex with 35-year-old Dauda Sani and becoming pregnant, the court said in a statement.
"The court has however handed the woman convict to her guardian to take care of her until she delivers the baby before the sentence will be executed by stoning her to death according to the provisions of the Sharia penal code," the court said.
"There is no evidence to link him with the allegation and consequently the court acquitted him for lack of evidence."
The second woman, 26-year-old Daso Adamu, was handed the same sentence on September 15 by a Sharia court in Ningi area of Bauchi state, said judge Ahmed Musa Wurojamel.
Adamu admitted to having sex with a 35-year-old man 12 times, and is now in custody in Ningi prison, the judge added.
Sharia judgments often go unreported in Nigeria because they are handed down in small, remote court houses and local media interest is limited.

Who needs to go out of their way to give Islam a black eye when so many of its adherents are working overtime to do the job themselves? It is unrealistic to expect international pressure to come to the rescue every time these religious lunatics decide to pass some outrageous decision or another: a long term solution must be found, if not for the people of the Muslim north of Nigeria, then at least for the rest of the country. Those given to spout abstract nonsense about the need for unity above all, or the supposed unviability of smaller states, have the luxury of not having to deal with this sort of madness at close quarters.

Comments

[Brian]

So I guess each had out-of-wedlock sex with herself???

My head is spinning.

[razib]

i think there is traditionally a different standard of evidence for various sex acts depending on gender.

[razib]

i guess in the west this would be called a 'technicality,' but in this case, you can tack on 'and allah demands it!'

[captainblak]

that nigerian federal constitution needs to be re-written to forbid sharia courts.
abiola, what would happen to u if u went up north and committed an act of obvious adultery? are non-muslims bound by the same law?

[Abiola Lapite]

"abiola, what would happen to u if u went up north and committed an act of obvious adultery?"

Why would I be crazy enough to ever do such a thing? I don't have a suicide wish!

"are non-muslims bound by the same law?"

In theory, no, but in practice ... let's just say that a non-Muslim would be lucky to make it to trial without being lynched first.