illustration, a Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile phone on May
27, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia. Olivier DOULIERY /
AFP
Several Nigerians have reacted to the judgment of an
Upper Sharia Court in Kano which on Monday sentenced a musician,
Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, to death by hanging for
blasphemy.
Sharif-Aminu, 22, was found guilty of blasphemy against Prophet
Muhammad in a song he circulated via Whatsapp in March this
year.
He has 30 days to appeal the judgment.
In the aftermath of the court’s decision, thousands of Nigerians
trooped to social media to express their opinions on the
judgment.
A Twitter user @FakhuusHashim said nothing should warrant the
killing of any Nigerian for what they have said.
“Nothing, and I mean nothing should ever warrant the killing
of anyone for anything they’ve said. This is repulsive and
regressive. Death sentencing for blasphemy are a human rights
violation and the FG must act to stop the sentence from being
carried out.”
Another user, YOjora, said Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria
affects only the poor and enemies of the powerful.
“Sharia law in northern Nigeria never affects the rich, only
the poor and political enemies of the powerful… There’s a video of
a certain person packing dollars, I wonder why he hasn’t lost his
hands..”
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A journalist, David Hundeyin, described the judgment as
“state-sanctioned terrorism.”
“Boko Haram regularly executes musicians and artists for
“blasphemy” in the villages they occupy, citing Sharia Law. I’d
love to know how this is not state-sanctioned terrorism. What is
the difference between the Kano State government and Boko Haram?
Please do tell.”
The West African coordinator of the Afro Arab Youth Council,
Bello Shagari, said no muslim has the moral right to react angrily
to blasphemy.
“No Muslim has the moral right to react angrily to
blasphemy; that doesn’t mean one cannot be angry. Meanwhile, the
sharia law on blasphemy cannot be done to a non Muslim. It is only
applicable to Muslims who commits a ‘certain degree’ of blasphemy
in a circular state.”
social media as a musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu,has been sentenced
to death by hanging for blasphemy.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/08/11/nigerians-react-as-kano-court-sentences-musician-to-death/