The Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, SCSN, has criticized a proposal from US lawmakers on Sharia practice in the country.
In 1999, the Sharia law was adopted as a main body of civil and criminal law and operates side by side with statutory and customary law in Nigeria, mainly in 12 northern states.
The Sharia tenet is regarded as the religious, moral, and legal framework of Islam.
Lately, the US lawmakers have in their actions reinforced the called for the revocation of the Muslim law over allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria. The federal government has rejected this claim that religious persecution is one-sided, as other faith adherents have had to suffer from the direct consequences of terrorist activities in the name of religion.
The call by the US lawmakers was re-echoed in a report released on Monday and submitted to the White House.
Condemning the US lawmakers stance in a statement issued Wednesday by Nafiu Ahmad, SCSN secretary general, the council refuted the report, stressing that Sharia constitutes a comprehensive way of life for Muslims and embodies spiritual, moral, social, and legal dimensions.
The statement partly reads: “No power or authority can arrogantly make Muslims relinquish its practice in response to external pressure, misinformation, or political intimidation,”
The group reminded the US lawmakers that Sharia in Nigeria is backed by the constitution which emphasizes freedom of religion and permits worshippers to conduct personal matters in accordance with their faith.
SCSN added that Nigeria is a sovereign, multi-religious nation with a plural legal system, noting that external interference constitutes efforts to undermine the country’s sovereignty, constitutional order, and the fundamental principle of religious freedom.
The SCSN also rejected reports of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, stating that, “This claim misrepresents Nigeria’s security crisis and detracts from the truth. The violence confronting the nation stems from terrorism, banditry, organized criminality, and governance deficits.”
“The government appears either indifferent or incapable of resolving the security problem which has claimed the lives of Muslims and Christians alike.”
The Supreme Council for Sharia concluded its statement by observing that the US lawmakers’ posture of looking at insecurity in Nigeria as a one-sided religious genocide is “inaccurate and unhelpful.”
