The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) said Muslims in the South West seeking to resolve issues under Islamic law is not a privilege, but a constitutional right.
The JNI said this in reaction to the recent uproar over the establishment of Shari’a panels in some parts of south-west Nigeria.
The JNI Secretary General, Professor Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, in a statement yesterday, Feb. 2, in Kaduna said: “The undue resistance, inflammatory rhetoric, and outright distortion of facts by certain groups opposing these panels are deeply concerning and least expected from a people that claim to be tolerant.”
He added that the right to Shari’a adjudication is constitutional.
“The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) guarantees the religious freedoms of all citizens, including Muslims. Specifically, sections 38 and 275-279 provide for the establishment and operation of Shari’a courts for civil matters where applicable,” he said.
He said the Sharia arbitration panels “do not infringe on the rights of non-Muslims but merely offer a voluntary alternative dispute resolution mechanism for Muslims who choose to settle personal matters such as marriage, inheritance, and family disputes according to Islamic law.
“For the discerning mind, Islam has very interesting and enriching inheritance codes that have remained inalienable to Muslims’ lives. It is, therefore, mischievous and deceptive to suggest that these panels aim to ‘impose’ Shari’a on non-Muslims.
“The panels are strictly for Muslims, adjudicating only cases where both parties consent, a practice that exists in various pluralistic societies worldwide.:
He recalled that Shari’a adjudication is not new to the South West, adding, “Historically, Yoruba Muslims have settled civil disputes through customary Islamic mechanisms, predating colonial rule, and even under British rule, Native Courts recognised Shari’a-based adjudication in predominantly Muslim communities.”