: Amina Lawal’s Acquittal: Not The End Of The Struggle

It took pressure from the entire Muslim world, through protests, counter-rulings by various Islamic scholars, and the bright lights of the news media to do it, but last week the death sentence against Amina Lawal for having a child out of wedlock was overturned by 4 of 5 Shari’a court judges, saying that Lawal “should not have been charged, much less convicted.” Trouble is, it’s not the end of the story. Amina’s case may have garnered her worldwide attention, but there are other “Aminas” pending trial for similar reasons. Muslim groups hailed the decision as an example of an Islamic legal system “ensuring justice” when properly pursued, and argued that hudud cases (strictly defined major transgressions with prescribed penalties) are designed to avoid punishment whenever possible, but the controversy over hudud punishments (flogging, stoning, amputation, etc.) continues. Problems over implementation of shari’a are most likely to occur where illiteracy and/or narrow interpretations of Islam exist. The fact the overturning of the case rested on procedural issues and the “sleeping fetus” principle in Islamic law means that future convicts may not be as lucky as Amina. Problems with shari’a implementation “must ultimately be addressed theologically,” argues the founder of Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, Professor Azizah al-Hibri. Meanwhile, back in Nigeria, Ms. Lawal is looking for a husband, hoping to move on with her life, but the struggle to reconcile shari’a implementation with human rights continues.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.