Posted by KRICO on January 04, 2001 at 12:13:53:
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Thursday, January 4 2:04 AM SGT Crowd crams Nigerian court to watch boozers being flogged The crowd burst into chants of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Great") as the men, 22-year-old Nugu Abdullahi and 63-year-old Sa'adu Aminu, were given their punishment by Islamic court officials in Kano, the capital of the state bearing the same name. The sentence is the first handed out by Islamic officials in Kano State since it introduced strict Islamic Sharia law on November 26. Proscecutors said the men were both Muslims and had been found in possession of half-drunk bottles of alcohol. They were caught and handed over to police by members of Hizbah, a vigilante group which monitors adherence to the Islamic code. On Tuesday, a Christian trader in Kano claimed he had been beaten by Islamic vigilantes after being found in possession of a bottle of gin. The state government has made it clear, however, that Sharia law does not apply to Christians and has appeared embarrassed by the beating of the man, Obi Livinus, 50. The law bans gambling, prostitution, the consumption of alcohol and other activities considered vices by Muslims, and also sets out a list of Islamic duties which Muslims must fulfill. Zamfara State was the first to introduce Sharia law, in January last year. Since then, eight other northern states have either introduced the law or declared plans to do so, despite opposition from President Olusegun Obasanjo, Christians and human rights bodies. Already one man has had his hand amputated, several people have been flogged and in a contentious case in Zamfara State, a court has sentenced a 17-year-old girl to 180 lashes after she was found to be pregnant while unmarried. She gave birth last week and is now awaiting her punishment, which human rights activists have warned could kill her. Authorities in several states have also started introducing restrictions on the dress and behaviour of women in public. Authorities in Kebbi State, which introduced Sharia law on December 1, on Wednesday warned women to dress "decently" or face the "wrath of the law". They also ordered all motorcycle taxi operators to stop carrying women passengers who refuse to wear "hijab", the Islamic legal dress for women. Non-Muslim women are also warned to dress "decently ... as no religion encourages nudity." Ain'tcha kinda glad that the Moors were chased outta Spain ("Matamoros", as in Matamoros, Spain and it's sister city Matamoros, MX, means "Kill the Moors"...)a few hundred years back? Some of you guys would be gettin' publicly whipped outside of Adelita's right now... I'm sure Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Attorney General appointee Ashcroft, et al... would approve.... KRICO
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