Nigeria acquits adultery defendant

A court in Nigeria has upheld the appeal of a Muslim woman who had been
convicted of adultery under Islamic law and sentenced to death by stoning.

Others have committed worse crimes, but because they are men, and because
they have influence in high places, they are not punished

Safiya Husaini won her case after the court in the northern town of Sokoto
said the original ruling was unsound.

In the courtroom, Safiya, smiling broadly, was surrounded by the world's
media holding her one-year-old daughter in her arms.

It was the conception of this child out of wedlock that had been proof
enough at the first trial of her adultery.

But in Monday's ruling, the judge said that, because the alleged act had
taken place before adultery became a criminal offence under Islamic law, the
case should be dismissed.

The BBC Lagos correspondent Dan Isaacs says the ruling will be welcomed by
human rights groups around the world.

Anti-adultery laws, however, remain on the statute books in Nigeria's
northern states.

Under Islamic law as practised in Nigeria, pregnancy outside marriage - even
for a divorcee - is sufficient evidence to convict a woman.

In the court case, the man accused of fathering the child was found not
guilty.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is himself a devout Christian, had called
for Safiya's acquittal.


With the very best of good wishes,
Musa Amadu Pembo
Glasgow,
Scotland
UK.
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Da’wah is to convey the message with wisdom and with good words. We should
give the noble and positive message of Islam. We should try to emphasize
more commonalities and explain the difference without getting into
theological arguments and without claiming the superiority of one position
over the other. There is a great interest among the people to know about
Islam and we should do our best to give the right message.
May Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,guide us all to His Sirat Al-Mustaqim (Righteous
Path).May He protect us from the evils of this life and the hereafter.May
Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,grant us entrance to paradise .
We ask Allaah the Most High, the All-Powerful, to teach us that which will
benefit us, and to benefit us by that which we learn. May Allaah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family
and
companions..Amen.

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