Sharia Information and Documentation Project (SIDOP)

SIDOP BULLETIN No. 1, July 2003

SIDOP: The Context - the Mission

Since the return to democracy in 1999 and the introduction of Sharia Penal Codes in twelve states of Northern Nigeria thereafter, political and religious tensions have increased significantly in the country. The positions of Sharia supporters and opponents, respectively, appear fundamentally incompatible, as they are not merely based on different interest. Rather, they are based on radically differing views of cultural rights and of the role of religion in state and society as a whole. Moreover, the so-called "Sharia issue" is not new, but an old one. It refuses to go away and rears its head each time issues of constitutional, administrative or government change is on the horizon. Because of the deep-seated nature of this matter, each side appears to be little prepared to understand the other's position and to approach the well-known Nigerian situation of compromise.

To compound the problem of deep-seated and irreconcilable views on Sharia in contemporary and multi-religious Nigeria is the issue of the communication and information gap, which exist especially for the proponents of Sharia. While the publicly held views of the opponents to Sharia receive extensive coverage in the print and electronic media, both nationally and internationally, the views of Sharia proponents are left to the local, the underground and the folk media. Only a few English speaking and writing Northern elites who support the introduction of criminal Sharia manage to get their views into national and international media.

The result is that Sharia is at best seen as a political weapon of a recently disempowered Northern elite or at worst understood in terms of a global movement in support of political Islam. This is a partial, ill informed and simplistic view. This is a perspective, which either neglects the views of ordinary citizens or assumes that the poor and women are victims of Sharia and therefore do not or should not support the pro-Sharia lobby. This is a perspective that is devoid of empirical grounding. This is also a perspective leading to stereotyping and a deepening gap in understanding between the North and South in Nigeria.

The recent public debate between the North and the South over the Miss World Beauty Competition and the tragic riots which followed in Kaduna State have raised the stakes even higher and brought to the fore the dreadful consequences of insensitive use of the communication media and the dire need for clearer understanding of positions and arguments less they be trivialized.

The heightened stakes makes it increasingly difficult to build 'working compromises' between the proponents and opponents within communities and States of Northern Nigeria, as well as between the North and the South of the country as a whole. The growing tension also tends to overshadow critical human rights issues resulting from Sharia implementation, because concerns expressed "from the wrong side" tend to be perceived as mere instruments within the wider religious-political divide, rather than genuine issues.

The failure of the political proponents of Sharia to meet the raised expectations of the majority of Muslim Umma for marked increase in access to Justice and social welfare improvements could conceivably lead to heightened and more virulent fundamentalism. Dashed expectations do not often lead to withdrawal. On the contrary they could lead to pushing harder.

The Sharia Information and Documentation Project (SIDOP) addresses the information and communication gaps, which have compounded the problem of nation building to date. SIDOP is therefore a national project and not a religious one.

The objectives of the SIDOP project are:

1. To provide and distribute empirical, truthful and balanced information about the Sharia, its implementation, and the human rights situation in Northern Nigeria.
2. To de-escalate the highly politicised Sharia debate in Nigeria.
3. To provide a means to improve the mutual understanding of Sharia amongst supporters and opponents in Nigeria.
4. To place human rights concerns - rather than identity politics and power tussles - back into the focus of public attention, as societies draw upon religious and traditional foundations to define their future.

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