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Nigeria's Safiya Freed On Islamic Grounds
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Safiya Husaini
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Report by Khaled Mamdouh, IOL Staff
SOKOTO, Nigeria, March 25 (IslamOnline) – According to Sharia (Islamic Law), an Islamic court in northern Nigeria Monday freed Safiya Husaini who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, overturning her conviction on Islamic rulings. The ruling proves Islam made all provisions necessary to safeguard the dignity of mankind without any form of discrimination.
Husaini, whose case drew concern in Europe and in Nigeria, was free to go with all charges against her dropped, Mohammed Tambari-Uthman, the chief judge of the Upper Sharia Court of Sokoto, declared in court.
Neither the lower court, nor the police had followed laid down procedures including informing Husaini of her full rights, he said, announcing the court's expected ruling.
Judge Tambari-Uthman said that because the alleged act had taken place before adultery became a criminal offence under Islamic law, her case should be dismissed.
"The first court... that convicted her did not follow the appropriate procedure. The police report also did not give all the necessary information related to the offence," he said.
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Nigeria's
12 states applying Sharia |
Commenting on the ruling, prominent law professor and Islamic thinker, Dr. Muhammad Salim Al-Awwa said, “I would like to make it clear that the latest verdict issued by Sharia court of appeal (in Nigeria) is sound and perfect. This is due to a well-established rule in Sharia that punishments and penalties are not applied retrospectively. Rather, they gain their binding force after being announced and made known to the public.
“If it is argued that Sharia rulings are already known to all people, we will say that their suspension for quite a long time, about one century or more, makes its reintroduction take the form of a fresh legal system that needs to be announced and made known to the people. Hence, it is clear that Sharia rulings are not applied retrospectively.
“This brilliant Sharia rule has been applied throughout the long history of Muslims,” Dr. Awwa added.
Meanwhile, the governor of Sokoto slammed the European Union and women's rights groups for criticizing the Islamic court in the state for sentencing Safia to death by stoning.
Governor Attahiru Bafarawa was making his first public comments since Safiya had her conviction on adultery charges thrown out Monday by an Islamic appeal court.
Speaking at a news conference in Sokoto, Bafarawa said he received more than 500 letters from interest groups and individuals protesting at the conviction and sentencing.
These had included representations from the European Union, women's groups, human rights groups and others, urging him to prevent the sentence from being carried out.
"Unfortunately, most of the human rights groups were not patient enough to allow justice to take its course in the case of Safiya," he said. "Instead, they chose to be putting pressure on the executive arm of the government to interfere with the course of justice."
The government had resisted the pressure, he said. "The Sokoto state government, as a responsible government, believes in the principle of the separation of powers in a democratic setting," the governor added.
"Let me explain that the agitators for the immediate release of Safiya without the law taking its course are the ones who have prolonged the case," he said.
"Governments, international organisations, human rights groups and even individuals have all voiced their concerns throughout the period of the trial alleging that we are infringing on fundamental human rights," Bafarawa declared.
"Contrary to such agitations ... Islamic law recognises (the) human rights of the individual more than any other," he added.
Husaini had never been detained despite her conviction, he added, calling for "more understanding" of Islamic law.
He appealed to "the international community, human rights groups, organisations and critics of the system not to draw conclusions out of ignorance. They should rather seek to understand our culture and belief and to respect them."
He added: "Our religion has made all the necessary provisions that would safeguard the dignity of mankind without any form of discrimination."
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