The Sharia Controversy in Northern Nigeria and the Politics of Islamic Law in New and Uncertain Democracies

Abstract

In recent years, scholars have struggled to explain high levels of support for both state-sponsored Islamic law (sharia) and democracy in many new Muslim-majority democracies. The origins of popular support for Islamic law in uncertain democratic environments can be considered using the case of Northern Nigeria, where twelve states implemented sharia through democratic institutions during the early 2000s. Sharia implementation movements gain popular support by framing problems common to new democracies (corruption, inequality, poor governance) as moral concerns to be addressed by the state's enforcement of ethical conduct. While sharia implementation has had a dubious effect on democratic governance in Nigeria and elsewhere, support for Islamic law is likely to endure within Muslim communities where governance remains poor.

Global Norms vs. Global Actors: International Politics, Muslim Identity, and Support for Shariʿa

“…International organizations have characterized the Muslim world as a "desert of non-compliance" due in large part to provisions that refer to shariʿa (Modirzadeh 2006:192) and have unambiguously condemned its application, even when implemented democratically (Kendhammer 2013a) and the most sensationalized aspects of some shariʿa-based penal codesincluding floggings, amputations, and stonings -do not occur (Kendhammer 2013b). Even more benign discussions of shariʿa among global actors tend to define it as illegitimate: in a 2008 letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted with concern that wartime chaos was forcing Afghans to "revert" to shariʿa (Ban 2008:7).…”

“…Many of the actors that are in positions to define belonging to global society, including scholars, activists, Western politicians, and international organizations, identify shariʿasometimes called Islamic law -as among the primary competing meaning systems complicating global cultural diffusion (Abiad 2008;Boyle et al 2002;Eltantawi 2017;Kendhammer 2013bKendhammer , 2013aKorteweg 2008;Boyle and Meyer 1998). Previous empirical scholarship has largely treated shariʿa as a unitary belief system, using survey data to explore how adherence to shariʿa structures individual values and attitudes (Ciftci 2012;Davis and Robinson 2006;Moaddel and Karabenick 2008).…”

Restructuring Nigeria: The Dilemma and Critical Issues

“…In what Hassan (2015:5) tagged as "the strands of misunderstanding and outright stereotypes", Sharia is seen by many who are ignorant of what it envisages/have its phobia or have subscribed to the anti-Sharia conspiracies and narratives, especially in the recent, as the attempt to by the Muslims, particularly the elements from the Northern Jihadist to continue the Jihadist Dan-Fodio march to Sea with the Holy Qur"an. It has therefore been most sensitive and controversial, and thus the Military in 1977Military in -8, 1989 and 1994 constitutions making made over-rulings with "no go areas", including the Sharia question (Kendhammer, 2013). To break deadlocks in past constitutions makings and in order to avoid rancour in making processes, the lingering phobia, misconception, political manipulation and conspiracies and narratives prompt the imperativeness of its extensive and intensive deliberations in any restructuring bid for the Nigerian state.…”

Some Observations on Indian Federalism in Comparative Perspective

“…From here, also, the large recognition of the linguistic rights of the various ethnic groups, as it is done on the basis of both Article 345 of the Indian Constitution (Poggeschi, 2013: p. 169), so that the states of the Indian Union can be defined as "linguistic states" (Amirante, 2012), and Article 54 of the Ethiopian Constitution (Mazza, 2008: p. 180). It is true that, in India, the linguistic pluralism is in addition to religious pluralism (Parashar, 2013), but it is no less true that in Nigeria the ethno-federal power sharing is strongly influenced, especially in its practical application, by the persistent religious conflict (Kendhammer, 2013;Miles, 2003). The Indian federalism, ultimately, is a pragmatic federalism.…”