"Religion and law are supposed to guide society and...

"Religion and law are supposed to guide society and to enable human beings to live in harmony. Therefore, when these two respected institutions instead connive to bring about injustice and violation of human rights, we might as well say they work to bring insanity in society," stated an Africa News Service editorial. "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognises the sanctity of human life. While we might have different laws for different countries or societies, as citizens of the world, we should, at least, uphold life. This is why utmost pressure must be put on Nigeria and other countries that subscribe to Sharia-based penal codes to apply those laws in full respect of international human rights standards. At a time when countries are calling for the abolition of the death penalty and granting amnesty (painfully, though) to architects of the Rwanda genocide, perpetrators of the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and convicted murderers, it is difficult to justify punishments such as public flogging, stoning or amputation even for the flimsiest of mistakes."