Reuters Africa:
Six people convicted by Islamic sharia courts in a northern Nigerian state are awaiting death by stoning, while 46 others are waiting for amputation, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported on Friday.
...The report did not say how many people were facing such penalties in 11 other northern Nigerian states that have criminal courts using sharia law. Such data is not collated centrally...
...Bauchi is one of 12 states in Nigeria's mainly Islamic north that adopted a harsh sharia-based criminal code eight years ago. The move alienated large Christian minorities and sparked bouts of sectarian violence that killed thousands...
It's not like they weren't warned. Authorities have helpfully distributed posters to describe various crimes and their consequences.
This poster depicts the crime on the left with the associated punishment on the right.
Crime: riding on a bike with a male.
Punishment: death by stoning.
Crime: stealing a cow.
Punishment: amputation of a hand.I wonder if Archbishop Rowan Williams has seen these helpful posters?
Posters: Southern Illinois University Museum (exhibit by John C. McCall and Christey Carwile)
This poster was not "distributed by the authorities" in Nigeria. It's a commercially produced calendar available in the market. There are others about government corruption, witchcraft, etc. The poster isn't intended to advocate Sharia law. It's a form of pop culture tabloid sensationalism.
ReplyDeleteSharia law is illegal in Nigeria for two reasons: 1) their constitution requires a separation of church and state. And 2) all police are national - no state or local militia are permitted. Some northern states, however, have been dabbling in Sharia and the Gov't has been slow to respond and ham fisted as usual.
-Dr John C McCall
(Original source of the poster)
Regarding the motorcycle, the crime is not riding with a man, the crime is riding astride and not sidesaddle. Riding astride places the rider's privates in contact with the driver. In 3rd world countries, passengers riding sidesaddle is so routine that mopeds and motorbikes commonly only have a passenger footpeg on the left side there is a metal saddlebag-type storage box mounted on the right, where a passenger riding astride otherwise might place his/her leg.
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