-Caveat Lector- Nigerian Muslims try to calm tensions
Nigeria's top Muslim authorities have ruled that a religious edict calling for a journalist to be killed "should be ignored". The Supreme Islamic Council said the deputy provincial governor who issued the edict, or fatwa, had "no authority" to do so. On Tuesday the government of Nigeria's Zamfara state called on Muslims to kill journalist Isioma Daniel over an article she wrote about the Miss World pageant, which was to have taken place in Nigeria. The Zamfara state government has no authority to issue fatwa and the fatwa issued by it should be ignored Rioting that killed more than 200 people in the wake of the article prompted the organisers of the pageant to move the event from Nigeria to London. Ms Daniel apologised for the article, which suggested that the Prophet Mohammed might have approved of the pageant. Last week the office of her newspaper, This Day, was levelled by angry Muslims during the riots in the heavily Muslim town of Kaduna. Appeal for calm "We would not encourage the Muslims who act on that declaration," Alhaji Lateef Adegbite, the General Secretary of the Supreme Islamic Council told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "Certain people are saying that if Nigeria were an Islamic state, this is what would have happened. But those facts are not there," he said. He said that Muslim authorities had done enough to calm tensions in the wake of the riots. The fatwa was issued northern Nigerian Muslims "We of the Muslim faith have appealed to the Muslims to be calm, to avoid further violence," he said. He added that no sanctions should be taken against the deputy governor of Zamfara state, Mamuda Shinkafi, who issued the edict. "He should not be arrested. It should be regarded as a declaration of intent that did not have much serious value. I think it should be overlooked." "I'm sure when the Zamfara state government has an opportunity to review the situation, they will make appropriate statements asking people to discountenance the declaration," he said. 'Against our beliefs' The newspaper has issued an apology for the article. "The offensive paragraph runs against the grain of our beliefs and what we stand for at This Day as we show sensitivity to the complexity of our nation," the editors wrote. Many Islamic scholars said that Ms Daniel's apology amounted to repentance and that the death sentence should therefore be revoked. Ms Daniel, who is not a Muslim, has left the newspaper and fled Nigeria. The government has said it will not allow the fatwa to be carried out, though it did condemn Ms Daniel's article as irresponsible. -- Outgoing mail is certified virus free Scanned by Norton AntiVirus <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
