This is a very significant case. It will be interesting to see how Shariff-Aminu’s appeal is received. This recalls the case of Robert Hussein Qambar Ali, a Kuwaiti national who converted from Islam to Christianity in the 1990s. Hussein was arrested and tried for apostasy, even though the Kuwaiti Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion and says nothing about the traditional Islamic prohibition on conversion to another faith. Mohammad Al-Jadai, one of Hussein’s prosecutors, explained: “Legislators did not regulate the question of apostasy in the Constitution because they never thought this kind of thing could happen here. The freedom of belief in the Constitution applies only to the religion of birth.”
When Hussein asked during a court hearing to see a memorandum from the prosecution, the prosecutor told the judge, “His blood is immoral! This document contains verses from the Holy Qur’an and should not be touched by this infidel!” Then he began quoting a passage from the memorandum that made abundantly clear the relationship between Kuwait’s ostensibly tolerant secular law and the Sharia: “With grief I have to say that our criminal law does not include a penalty for apostasy. The fact is that the legislature, in our humble opinion, cannot enforce a penalty for apostasy any more or less than what our Allah and his messenger have decreed. The ones who will make the decision about his apostasy are: our Book, the Sunna, the agreement of the prophets and their legislation given by Allah.” Even in some places where it is not fully enforced or is not officially the law of the land, the Sharia retains the status of a kind of meta-law, often overriding and superseding the laws of the land.
“Blasphemy: Musician appeals conviction, says Sharia law illegal,” Punch, September 4, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
A 22-year-old musician, Yahaya Shariff-Aminu, who was sentenced to death for blaspheming Prophet Mohammed, has filed a notice of appeal before a Kano State High Court, describing Sharia law as practised in the state as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Shariff-Aminu was sentenced to death by an Upper Sharia Court on August 10, 2020, but was given 30 days to file an appeal.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had expressed readiness to sign the convict’s death warrant once the 30 days lapses.
In the notice of appeal marked CR/43/2020, and filed by his lawyer, Kola Alapinni, the convict sued the Attorney-General of the state and the governor.
He based his appeal on the grounds that the Sharia law, which formed the basis of his conviction, was illegal and unconstitutional.
The notice of appeal read in part, “The appellant’s trial, conviction and sentencing by the Upper Sharia Court of Kano State pursuant to the Kano State Penal Code Law, 2000, were unconstitutional, null, void having grossly violated and conflicted with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended and having violated the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, respectively.”
The musician said the confessional statement was a nullity because the alleged crime did not exist in the constitution.
He added, “The Penal Sharia Code Law is only applicable and permissible in Islamic theocracies or countries, whose constitution allows for such, whereas Nigeria is a secular state with constitutional democracy and the constitution being the supreme law.”…
gravenimage says
Nigeria: Musician sentenced to death for blaspheming Muhammad appeals conviction, says country isn’t under Sharia
………………………..
*Very* disturbing–this poor man.
But proving that Nigeria is not a Shari’ah state, when they have sentenced victims of incest to death, will likely be a long haul.
Ismail Ali says
Kano state of Nigeria operates Sharia law, for Muslims. Especially if the case involved is within Islamic doctrines.. The issue of Nigeria not under sharia can not hold water ..sharia law is in the constitution of Nigeria .period.
gravenimage says
And so Ismail Ali agrees that vicious Muslims have the “right” to murder this man. *Ugh*.
James Lincoln says
gravenimage,
100% correct analysis.
Ismail Ali is a very devout muslim – and we can clearly see his worldview…
gravenimage says
Yes–appalling.
David M says
Ismail go and drink camel piss like a good Muslim who follows the false prophet.
Roger Woodhouse says
Proving yet again that Islam is fear driven.It can only exist in third world countries whose populations are living in fear of that so called ‘religion’The UN should warn Nigeria of its place in the world.
Merri-joy says
All we Westerners should stand with 22-year-old musician, Yahaya Shariff-Aminu & his Lawyer – it is wonderful to see the push back!
Ismail Ali says
The law will definitely take its course .justice will be done according to sharia law,.ok
gravenimage says
In other words, Muslims will sentence a peaceful man for daring to say anything critical about Islam.
And the victim is not a Muslim–he has left the vicious creed of Islam, But of course under Shari’ah no one is allowed the freedom to leave.
Boycott Turkey says
There’s No justice in Islam and sharia
b.a. freeman says
Ismail, i urge U to compare *any* other religion to the brain disease of islam. to the best of my knowledge, none of them urges murder of unbelievers, although the supposedly-pious of every religion have violated their scriptures and murdered same. only muhammed’s sock-puppet “god” needs to have the help of his believers to survive and grow.
do U deny that the al-insan al-kamil called black people raisin-heads (sahih al-bukhari 1:662 and 9:256)? do U deny that that the arabic word “abd,” which once meant “black,” has been used for centuries in the ummah for “slave” as well? do U deny that virtually 100% of male black captives of arabic slave-traders were castrated so that it would be impossible for them to mate with non-black arabs, and that babies born to black female slave were murdered so as to not “pollute” the arabic gene pool? i also refer U to
https://islamicvirtues.com/2013/12/12/superiority-of-the-race-of-arabs-over-non-arabs/
for illustration that arabs are considered the best muslims. isn’t that supremacism?
of course, U are free to deny all of this – that is, if U wish to deny what allah said in the most “holy” books of the sunnah, which the document at the link above proves is a (forgivable) sin in islam, along with the several ahadith found there in muslim, the second-most “holy” volume of the sunnah. personally, i am praying the the *real* God heals your heart of its inculcated hatred, racism, and evil, the same thing that He, by the sacrifice of Jesus, did for me.
Boycott Turkey says
I always thought Nigeria was a Christian country this is so unjust I hope somebody can save this poor man Islam islam is unjust and evil where are those usless human right groups trying to save him like amnesty international or those Christian leaders condemning this? sharia courts are kangaroo courts biased racist sexist they are trash like Islam and Muhammad.
Ismail Ali says
Point of correction. Nigeria is a country with a huge Muslim population. 65% of population are Muslims. 30% Christians and 5% others .and Sharia law is in our constitution ,applicable to the Muslim faithfuls only . Hence he is a Muslim ,he has to face the Sharia law ..blasphemies is death sentence.
gravenimage says
Actually, Nigeria is about 49.3 percent Christian and 48.8 percent Muslim.
https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/nigeria/#:~:text=A%202012%20survey%20by%20the,practices%20with%20Islam%20or%20Christianity.
This from Ismail Ali is just wishful thinking.
And the victim here is *not* Muslim–but Islam never wants to let anyone leave. What a hideous violent creed.
James Lincoln says
So I guess we’ll find out if sharia law trumps the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
A harbinger of things to come in the UK with their many sharia courts…
Ismail Ali says
The sharia law application in Nigeria is very clear ,it aplies to Islamic faithfuls only.. .
Eur says
Sharia is fascism.
spiro says
Not now looks like sharia is taking over with 65% Muslim
It’s over
James Lincoln says
Ismail Ali,
So what happens if a former “islamic faithful” leaves and becomes an apostate?
Since the apostate is no longer an “islamic faithful” then, according to you, sharia law would NOT apply…
Mike 2 says
Who holds the accused awaiting trial by sharia courts in UK. Run, mate. Run far and fast.
JohnTheRevelator says
This is Islam, an intolerable and intolerant ideology which crushes all freedoms and puts a Damocles sword over everyone’s head permanently.
If you value freedom, crush Islam. Muslims should hate/oppose this ideology as much as non-Muslims.
Roger Woodhouse says
They do untill they arrive in Britain .Then suddenly they all find it again,when it suits.Islam must be shut down in all Western countries.We are at the 11th hour.Choose your leaders very carefully in future.
b.a. freeman says
JTR, U have to remember that virtually all muslims (my guess would be about 99.99% – only about 1.6 million or so deluded converts) were raised by parents infected with the brain disease of islam. natural selection – yes, i am a born-again christian who accepts that as a valid *scientific*, as opposed to *religious*, theory supported by valid evidence – has ensured that when young children are taught things by their parents, those things become part of their core beliefs, because the children who didn’t blindly accept what they were taught when very young usually did something stupid against which their parents had warned them and died, producing no young of their own. and even if U aren’t an evolutionist, God Himself has told us in proverbs 22:6 to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” this means that parents can lovingly teach their children to be loving and fair, yet careful of the world, but sadly, they can also be taught to be hateful, envious gang-bangers who lie, cheat, steal, and murder at will. overcoming this early training, whether it was for good or ill, is *EXTREMELY* hard to do, so most muslims have a very hard time doing it on their own.
this means that most muslims don’t see that sword hanging over their heads. because islam is a gang-banger cult, muslims see nothing wrong with being gang-bangers. leaving islam usually requires exposure of one type or another to non-criminal cultures so that they see, if nothing else, the advantages of cooperation, love, and voluntary giving of time, money and – most importantly – self (as opposed to mandated zakat). i hate the fact that the ummah is serving the hard-core left as a proxy army to destroy us, but with humble hearts, we should take any opportunity we have to show love to muslims, who most assuredly do *NOT* expect that from us.
and finally, since almost every western and westernized nation has been poisoned by leftism, almost all of them are under direct internal attack by the imported ummah. i have little doubt that most such nations will descend into civil war. the left *wants* civil wars, because in almost all cases, they were only able to seize power in any nation during times of great societal flux and chaos. in the u.s., at least, roughly half of us don’t believe leftist bulls**t, so there are likely enough people to rebel against the nazi elites, and perhaps to even be victorious. your last paragraph, JTR, says it all: destroy the brain disease of islam, and muslims, the largest group of victims of the disease, have more grounds to hate the cult than anybody else.
The Political Oracle says
Did Nigeria forget that the ICCPR was entered into full force on October 29,1993. Human rights council of the UN has an obligation to investigate this case! The death penalty handed down to this innocent man is in direct violation of his civil and political rights. Is the ICCPR now a pile of garbage?
James Lincoln says
Political Oracle,
I guess that we will soon find out if there are any teeth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights…
b.a. freeman says
PO, the UN is a cesspool of thieves, liars, and leftists (but i repeat myself); there is no reason to expect anything other than lies and bulls**t from those people. in my estimation, we should stop paying *ALL* money going to this criminal organization, but continue to appoint officials to it, so as to help deplete the funds available for propaganda efforts and direct theft by f***ing pious muslims and hard-core leftists (not to mention the garden-variety dictator-appointed liars and thieves “serving” in it). furthermore, we should allow NY state and NYC tax the snot out of the land, which is probably worth many billions of dollars. nah, cancel that; i don’t care if one group of thieves and liars steals from another, but i “*DON’T* want either the state or city of NY to benefit from it. maybe we could allow them to tax it if the money were to go to state and city taxpayers, with no extraction of “fees” or taxes.
b.a. freeman says
He added, “The Penal Sharia Code Law is only applicable and permissible in Islamic theocracies or countries, whose constitution allows for such, whereas Nigeria is a secular state with constitutional democracy and the constitution being the supreme law.”…
—
a valiant attempt, and one which i pray will succed, but a probably-pious muslim dictator rules the nation, so unless the Lord changes the evil hearts of many people within 30 days, i fear that this brave man will be murdered.