{"id":1822,"date":"2003-09-29T01:57:26","date_gmt":"2003-09-29T06:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?p=1822"},"modified":"2003-09-29T01:57:26","modified_gmt":"2003-09-29T06:57:26","slug":"amina_lawals_acquittal_not_the_end_of_the_struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2003\/09\/amina_lawals_acquittal_not_the_end_of_the_struggle\/","title":{"rendered":": Amina Lawal’s Acquittal: Not The End Of The Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>\n\n\n
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It took pressure from the entire Muslim world, through protests<\/a>, counter-rulings by various Islamic scholars<\/a>, 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\u2019a court judges, saying that Lawal \u201cshould not<\/a> have been charged, much less convicted.\u201d Trouble is, it\u2019s not the end of the story. Amina\u2019s case may have garnered her worldwide attention, but there are other \u201cAminas\u201d pending trial for similar reasons. Muslim groups hailed<\/a> the decision as an example of an Islamic legal system \u201censuring justice\u201d when properly pursued, and argued that hudud<\/i> cases (strictly defined major transgressions with prescribed penalties) are designed to avoid punishment whenever possible, but the controversy over hudud<\/i> punishments (flogging, stoning, amputation, etc.) continues. Problems over implementation of shari\u2019a are most likely to occur where illiteracy and\/or narrow interpretations of Islam exist. The fact the overturning of the case rested on procedural<\/a> issues and the \u201csleeping fetus<\/a>\u201d principle in Islamic law means that future convicts may not be as lucky as Amina. Problems with shari\u2019a implementation \u201cmust ultimately be addressed theologically,\u201d argues the founder of Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights<\/a>, Professor Azizah al-Hibri. Meanwhile, back in Nigeria, Ms. Lawal is looking<\/a> for a husband, hoping to move on with her life, but the struggle to reconcile shari\u2019a implementation with human rights continues.<\/p>\n

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Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.\n<\/p>\n

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So far, the handful of people convicted to death under Nigeria’s shari’a law have escaped punishment. How long will it last?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":530,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-briefings"],"yoast_head":"\n: Amina Lawal’s Acquittal: Not The End Of The Struggle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So far, the handful of people convicted to death under Nigeria's shari'a law have escaped punishment. 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