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Protection from Islamic law
Bishops fear implications of sharia

Nigeria’s Catholic bishops have called upon President Olusegun Obasanjo to protect the non-Muslim minority in northern Nigeria from abuse under the strict Islamic sharia law.

The African nation was rocked last year with clashes between Christians, who dominate in southern states, and Muslims, who are a majority in the north, after some northern states announced plans to implement the strict religious code in civil law.

“There are many Nigerians who feel that their rights are being infringed upon where the sharia has been imposed as state law,” said Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria. 

Despite months of calm after fighting that left hundreds dead last year, “It is dangerous to presume that all is well simply because we are no longer burning houses or killing one another,” Archbishop Onaiyekan said. “No one should expect a situation of blatant injustice to continue indefinitely without consequences.”