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Rationalist International, 2003-09-26
Amina Lawal Kurami is free - but the fight for the ban of Islamic criminal law in Nigeria's northern states has to continue!
In yesterday's appeal hearing (25 September 2003), the Katsina State Sharia Court lifted the death sentence of Amina Lawal Kurami.
In a split decision, four of the five judges upheld the three major grounds of the appeal given by her lawyers. They recognized
that there had been lack of evidence for adultery (pregnancy out of wedlock is not sufficient proof for adultery), that her
confession in the first court had not been in accordance with the law and 3) that her right of defence had not been duly
respected. The judgement was received with great relief.
Only a few minutes after Amina Lawal's acquittal in Katsina, another stoning-to-death sentence was handed down in the
neighboring Bauchi state. Jibrin Babaji, 20, was condemned for sodomy. It is alleged that he had sexual relations with
three minor boys.
A major part of Nigeria's population, even in the predominantly Muslim north states, is worried about the re-implementation
of Sharia criminal law and wants the move to be reversed. There was broad support for Amina Lawal. A congress of civil rights
groups, held in Kaduna last week, organised demonstrations and hunger strikes and called for acts of civil disobedience all
over the country, if the court failed to set her free. The government is facing strong criticism for turning a blind eye to
the re-implementation of Sharia. The Nigerian Constitution of 1999 guarantees fundamental freedom and provides the option to
challenge laws violating it. President Obasanjo had not only the opportunity, but also the responsibility to use this option.
Mr. Nwachekwu Ika, senior lawyer and head of the Civil Liberties Organisation CLO, makes it very clear: "Executing the
jurisdiction of Sharia to cover criminal matters is unconstitutional", he said. "The governmnet seems to have
abdicated its responsibility."
The re-implementation of Sharia comes along with other alarming signs of creeping Islamization. A recent decree forces all
Muslim girls in the north state Badijo to wear head scarves at school. Christians are afraid that the new order could even
be extended to the non-Muslim minority, as the decree reads "all female students".
See also:
Webmaster's comment:
But Sharia law remains in effect.
Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ, Quebec Secular Movement), 2003-09-03
The MLQ supports the Canadian government's intention to legalize same-sex marriage, but criticizes the proposed
legislation which would implicitly recognize the right of religious institution to preform civil marriage.
The MLQ promotes a complete distinction between civil marriage and religious marriage. Only civil marriages should
be legally recognized, and only government-appointed agents should be mandated to perform them, leaving
religious institutions complete freedom to do as they please with religious marriage.
See also:
Globe and Mail — Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2003-09-01
In the midst of a campaign against same-sex marriage, and still reeling from the crisis of pedophilia that has shaken its
foundations in recent years, the church is in no mood to discuss what to many is an open secret: that seminaries in North
America are becoming significantly gay places. The priesthood in the 21st century will be perceived as a
"predominantly gay profession," says Rev. Donald Cozzens, an American priest who wrote a book on the topic.
According to scholars, as well as current and former priests, the priesthood in North America is a vocation with a
sisproportionately high number of homosexuals. As many as 40 per cent of priests in the United States are gay, Father
Cozzens estimates. In Canada, more than 25 per cent of 203 seminarians and priests surveyed in 1996 were gay or bisexual,
according to a book by Martin Rovers, a former priest and a professor at Ottawa's St. Paul's University.
...
This summer, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith criticized same-sex unions, calling marriage holy
and homosexual acts "against the natural moral law." Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary even warned Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien, who is Catholic, that he risks burning in hell if he legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.
Three Canadian priests dared to disagree, including Rev. Paul Lundrigan of Goulds, Nfld., who called the Vatican's opposition
to same-sex marriage hypocritical. "This institution that will not allow [gay] marriages . . . demands that its leaders
lead a celibate life and suppress their sexuality to the point that hundreds of them around the world have been perverted
into abusers of children," said Father Lundrigan, who was sanctioned for his sermon.
...
Father Brown hopes his decision to stay and work openly with the gay community, as well as with people living with AIDS,
will force the church to accept the unique gifts of gay priests, many of whom are accustomed to being marginalized. "Why
shouldn't I be a priest?" he says. "If I just pack my bags and leave, then the church will never change."
Webmaster's comment:
Any gay man who becomes or remains a Catholic priest in the 21st century has chosen a life of abject
hypocrisy. He should have the good sense to defrock. The point is not to reform the Catholic Church; but rather to destroy its
power base by getting it out of the schools and cutting off all public funds which are funnelled to it. This must be done for
all churches, including liberal ones.
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