Religious Law in Nigeria - Picture of the Day

• A sign in Kano reminds visitors that religious law is in place throughout the state and that they should "take heed."
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  Article: Nigeria Turns From Harsher Side of Islamic Law

Nigerians meld Christianity, Islam with ancient practices

From the Canadian Press

Nigerians meld Christianity, Islam with ancient practices

Oct 14, 2007

OSHOGBO, Nigeria - Wasiu Olasunkani drops to his knees in the sacred grove, lowers his chin to his chest and turns his palms skyward: a gesture of thanks to a traditional water goddess embodied by the massive stone idol with outstretched arms that sweep over an ancient shrine.

Olasunkani, a Muslim whose 1998 pilgrimage to Mecca fulfilled one of the five pillars of Islam, joins tens of thousands of ethnic Yoruba people each year to pray before the idol and offer libations to her mermaid-like spirit, Osun. Last year, Olasunkani beseeched the goddess for a baby. This year he's thanking her for twin boys, Farook and Cordroy.

"If you want to get a baby, you come here and pray, and you'll certainly have one," said the 46-year old doctor after finishing his riverside reverie. Speaking of his fellow Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria - 20 million strong and roughly evenly split between Christians and Muslims - he says: "We've been doing this for centuries."

Across West Africa, churches or mosques can be found in virtually every settlement: evidence of deep Christian and Muslim roots sown by the merchants, missionaries and slave traders who brought the religions hundreds of years ago. But also firmly settled in the red soil are indigenous practices that West Africans integrate with the foreign beliefs.

The results may sometimes seem to flout the monotheistic holy books, the Bible and Qur'an. But many West African faithful say their interpretations are equally valid - although they don't always tell their pastors or imams.

He says his prayers to Osun, only one goddess in the Yoruba pantheon, are cultural, and shouldn't be considered in conflict with Islam's monotheism.

"I believe that there is God. What I mean is that we should have the fear of God," he says, water still dripping from his face after ablutions in the river also called Osun, near the city of Oshogbo.

"In Saudi, they'll tell you that this isn't good. But God is our creator, and he made everything. If God thought this wasn't good, he wouldn't allow it."

Tunde Osunleti, a Christian also at a recent festival celebrating Osun, agrees.

"Jesus is the one who created this Osun. I just believe we're serving one God," says the 19-year old artist. "My pastor would say, 'Don't go here.' But my pastor is not my God. I only believe in God, and myself."

In the largely Christian areas farther south, many professed Christians have more than one wife, which tallies with pre-Christian practices where men took on many spouses to ensure survival of the bloodline during times of drought or war.

Some people practice both Islam and Christianity. One taxi driver in Freetown, Sierra Leone, tells of travelling with his first wife to mosque on Friday and his second wife to church on Sunday.

In Nigeria, shrines with old icons abound, with members of many ethnic groups praying to their old gods.

The first visitors who brought Christianity, largely by boat to the coasts, and Islam - to inland areas by camel over the Sahara Desert, tried to end local practices. Their spiritual descendants, now often Africans themselves, are still trying.

"Generally Christianity tries to preach against what's considered idolatry, or idol worship. There may be aspects of local culture that the church allows, but as long as it tries to wipe out the worship of God, we're against it," said Rev. Akintunde Popoola, a spokesman for the Anglican communion in Nigeria

"As a Christian, I sincerely believe, the Bible says there's one God and it makes me believe all other attempts to worship are futile. My Bible tells me accept one God, not two Gods."

Christians, particularly evangelicals, have told some followers to smash the idols near their homes. In Nigeria's Muslim north, some imams tried to end the tribal dances and mask displays.

But the prayers to multiple gods, or treating animals as deities, continues even among self-avowed Christians and Muslims.

Nigerians joke that their notoriously corrupt politicians enter office swearing on the Bible or Qur'an to uphold the laws of the land, but if they were forced to promise fealty to the law before their local god of thunder, the thievery would end immediately.

Still, Christian and Muslim leaders are powerful in Nigeria.

The top traditional leader in the predominantly Muslim north - a young reformer called the Sultan of Sokoto who emphasizes female education and literacy - has about 70 million subjects.

Baptist preachers draw crowds of hundreds of thousands, and the leader of the Anglican communion is at the centre of an international row over the ordination of a gay bishop in America, which threatens to cause a schism.

Back at home, the persistence of local beliefs seems to have led to a general tolerance.

While the Yoruba are evenly divided between Muslims and Christians, religious disputes are rare among them, and Islamic extremism virtually unknown. The sheer volume of belief systems forces Nigerians to accept others' practices, lest their own be rejected.

Across Nigeria, members of the two faiths live in close quarters, and when fighting has occurred, ethnic or other considerations have also been a major factor. Usually, uneducated and impoverished young men are cajoled into conflict by cynical leaders.

"Where there's understanding, it helps that we have more than one religion" in Nigeria, says Popoola, the Anglican spokesman. "We must understand each other while holding onto our beliefs. The problems arise when there's not enough understanding, and one religion tries to lord it over another."

While many of the old practices go on in secret, others don't. Each year, upwards of 100,000 Yoruba people like Osunleti and Olasunkani travel to a forest in the middle of the southern city of Oshogbo to pray to Osun.

Osun, the fable holds, rose from the river to help lead the Yoruba people to the area, and each year hordes of Yoruba people of all ages cram into the riverside glen that has been named a UNESCO world heritage site.

On a recent Friday, throngs of people made their way down into the forest to partake in the festivities, where they give thanks and praises.

The festival is so popular that it's broadcast live on national television, sponsored by Nigerian telecommunications and alcohol companies.

Liquor company employees hand out sachets of schnapps to the crowds - a libation to be poured on the ground as an offering to Osun, although much of the tongue-scorching liquid never makes it into the earth. "Original 1 Prayer Drink" reads one huge advertising banner strung between trees.

Beneath the stone idol of Osun, about five metres high with arms flung straight out like the bars of a cross, worshippers cast money into the river and toss in doves, their wings broken so they can't immediately fly away. As cash and birds swirl in the eddies of the muddy river, droves of Nigerians fill jerrycans from the river, carting home the sacred water.

Later, a virgin is presented to the water goddess amid nearly hysterical drumming and dancing. Worshippers touch the stone Osun statue.

"Some people may say we're worshipping idols. But no, this is our heritage and we can't forget it," says Oladunjoye Wasiu, a 25-year-old student standing by the river. "Allah sent the water in the days of our forefathers, so there's a rapport," he says.

"We Yoruba people, we have many small deities, but they are all servants of God," says Osunleti, the artist. "All these idols are servants of God: I'm a Christian, I'm a Muslim, I'm an idol worshipper, I'm an artist, I believe in everything," he says.

"I just believe in God. We're all servants of God, and we can pray through anything."

Nigeria's Anti-Gay Witch Hunt

Nigeria's anti-gay witch-hunt

Peter Tatchell

August 29, 2007 2:00 PM

The arrest on August 5 of 18 men at a private party in the northern state of Bauchi is the latest incident in a wave of ongoing homophobic persecution in Nigeria - much of which is incited by Christian bishops and Muslim imams.

Bauchi is a predominantly Muslim region that has adopted sharia law. Police officers acted on a tip-off from the hisbah Islamic anti-vice squad of the Bauchi sharia commission. They seized the men, aged 18 to 22, in rooms at the Benko hotel in Bauchi.

Those arrested were alleged to have "dressed in women's clothing" and conducted a "gay wedding". The latter allegation continues to be repeated by sharia officials and the Nigerian media, despite no evidence of wedding paraphernalia such as marriage certificates or the presence of any minister of religion or marriage registrar.

The men were initially accused of vagrancy, cross-dressing and practicing sodomy as a profession, contrary to section 372, subsection 2(e), of the Bauchi state sharia penal code. A sodomy charge carries a sentence of death.

Fortunately, at their hearing on August 21 in the Tunda Al Khali area court, Judge Malam Tanimu Abubakar ruled that the 18 men should not be charged with sodomy - only with vagrancy and cross-dressing. Nevertheless, even if they are found guilty of these lesser charges, they could face up to one year in prison and 30 lashes.

All the defendants pleaded not guilty. The judge released five of them on bail and remanded the other 13 men in prison, pending a further hearing on September 13.

According to the Weekly Trust newspaper, the prosecuting counsel, Aliyu Ibrahim Idris, was not happy with the lower level charges. He requested the adjournment to "look for the possibility of changing the charges in order to ensure fair judgment as contained in the Bauchi State Sharia Penal Code". This has raised fears that at the reconvened hearing on September 13 the prosecutors may yet press for more serious sodomy charges.

All of the 13 men who remain in detention are believed to be Muslim. Given reports that only the non-Muslims were freed on bail, some Nigerian human rights activists have expressed concern that the Muslim detainees might be singled out for special punishment in the staunchly Muslim state of Bauchi.

There are vociferous local demands for the men to be stoned to death. At last week's court hearing, an angry mob of Muslim homophobes assembled outside the court. They shouted anti-gay epithets and demanded that all 18 men be sentenced to death. Furious at the judge's decision to opt for non-death penalty charges, they pelted the defendants with rocks as they left the court, attacked the police, and attempted to lynch the judge and to set the court building ablaze, according to the Nigerian newspaper, ThisDay online. To their credit, the Nigerian police protected the defendants, firing tear-gas canisters and shooting their guns in the air to disperse the queer-bashing mob.

Last Friday, August 24, in a continuation of the anti-gay rioting, vigilantes tried to force their way into the prison where the 13 remanded defendants are being held. The Nigerian news agency NAN and News24.com reported that prison chief, Mohammed Nata'ala, said the mob had attempted to lynch the detained men.

Joel Nana of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) attended the court hearing last week. He confirms the atmosphere of hysterical, violent homophobia:

"Both the prisoners and their lawyers were dehumanized and attacked by the crowd," said Nana. "It seemed as if these men had already been tried and convicted."

IGLHRC notes that although female guests were also among those initially arrested, they were swiftly released.

Joseph Akoro of the Nigerian gay human rights group, The Independent Project, reports that contrary to police claims, the arrested men were not dressed as women when they were arrested.

"This leads us to believe that the charges have been drummed up to incite hatred against gay people," Akoro said.

Akoro added that the arrested men were, in fact, guests at a straight wedding.

The official version of the arrests is also questioned by Davis Mac-Iyalla, director of the gay Christian group, Changing Attitudes Nigeria (CAN). He is on the run and in hiding, following repeated death threats. The Nigerian police would sooner arrest him than provide him with protection. But Mr Mac-Iyalla is defiant.

He confirmed to me that five CAN members were among the 18 men arrested in Bauchi. Mr Mac-Iyalla is concerned that although the Christian detainees were bailed, most of the Muslim men were not.

"I am shocked by the arrest of these 18 men," said Mr Mac-Iyalla. "They had met in a private capacity in a hotel and, according to the news reports, were not engaged in any kind of sexual activity ... They were arrested because they were alleged to be ... taking part in a gay wedding, which isn't legally possible in Nigeria."

Condemning what he sees as the odd priorities of the Nigerian government and police, Mr Mac-Iyalla cited recent riots in the southern city of Port Harcourt, which left 18 people dead, and said:

"While this violence escalates, the government uses powers to invade private parties and bedrooms to arrest and imprison innocent ... people.

The arrest of these men shows that Nigeria is a very dangerous country ... Violence against gays is widespread and official harassment is common ... Members of Changing Attitude Nigeria have also been arrested on different occasions because of police suspicions about their sexuality.

Neither the government of Nigeria nor the (Anglican) Church of Nigeria has any solution to prevent these dehumanised situations, and yet they find the resources to attack gay people ... Archbishop Peter Akinola has been stirring up homophobic prejudice ... He has helped create the homophobic atmosphere that encourages police harassment and vigilante attacks.

Sharia law prevails in the northern states of Nigeria. It stipulates the death penalty for same-sex relations. Article 214 of the Penal Code prescribes up to 14 years imprisonment for a male person who permits another male to have carnal knowledge of him ... So long as these sanctions remain, Nigerian gay people will continue to be at risk of blackmail, arrest, jail and execution.

Changing Attitude Nigeria calls upon national and international human rights organisations, and on the Archbishops of Canterbury and Nigeria, to challenge the breach of fundamental human rights in Nigeria, which are affecting the lives of tens of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."

Nigeria's anti-sodomy laws contravene the anti-discrimination provisions of various African and UN human rights conventions that Nigeria has signed and pledged to uphold. These include the African charter on human and peoples' rights, which came into force in 1986. It affirms the equality of all people, without discrimination. Similar provisions are included in the UN international covenant on civil and political rights to which Nigeria acceded in 1993.

Nigerian lesbian and gay rights campaigners like Davis Mac-Iyalla are merely asking their government to honour the human rights conventions it has signed. Specifically, they are calling for the repeal of the laws that criminalise same-sex relations. They also want the introduction of comprehensive hate crime laws, to tackle the widespread prevalence of homophobic discrimination, harassment and violence.

The persecution of gay Nigerians is symptomatic of a wider tyranny, which tramples on individual freedom and civil liberties, as documented by Human Rights Watch.

Given these manifold abuses, Davis Mac-Iyalla and his gay activist colleagues rightly stress that the struggle for gay equality is only one aspect of the broader battle for human rights. Building alliances with other human rights organisations and progressive social movements is, together with international solidarity campaigns, the key to queer liberation in Nigeria. Bravo!

News: Mob in Northern Nigeria Attacks Prison, Injures Official

25/08/2007 13:14 LAGOS, Aug 25 (AFP)

Mob in northern Nigeria attacks prison, injures official

Angry demonstrators have injured a prison official in northern Nigerian Bauchi state in an attempt to lynch suspected homosexuals being held in custody, official news agency NAN said Saturday.

The prison chief, Mohammed Nata'ala, was quoted by NAN as saying the unnamed official was injured while preventing the mob from forcing their way into the prison late Friday.

The demonstrators were said to be protesting the substitution of the charge against the suspects from sodomy, which carries the death penalty under the Islamic sharia code, to idleness.

The sharia penal code was adopted in Bauchi and other states in Muslim northern Nigeria eight years ago following the end of military rule.

The suspects, 18 in all, were arrested on August 4 in a hotel in Bauchi for wearing women's clothing and allegedly attempting to conduct a gay marriage.

But a judge granted them bail on August 21 after the prosecution had substituted the charge of sodomy with idleness, which carries one-year imprisonment.

Five of the men who satisfied the bail conditions, including payment of 20,000 naira (156 dollars, 114 euros), were released pending the resumption of the case on September 13.

The remaining 13, who have not yet satisfied bail conditions, were sent back to the Bauchi prison after appearing in court.

As the suspects left court, the crowd hurled insults at them and pelted them with stones, some of which hit police and journalists covering the trial. Police fired into the air and used tear gas to restore order.

©2007 AFP