Kenya
Kenya
Jihad Threatened If Muslim Demands Are Not Met
30 April 2003 Muslim leaders in Kenya are threatening armed conflict if the new Kenyan constitution does not enshrine Islamic courts (known in Kenya as Kadhi courts). Proposals in the Draft Constitution to widen the scope and power of the Kadhi courts have been described as discriminatory by the General Secretary for the National Council of Churches of Kenya. He has called for the new constitution to be free from all matters touching on religion. General Secretary Rev Mutava Musyimi said that the proposals “are discriminative in nature as they seek to elevate Islamic religious courts, which serve one religious sector…Let us be consistent to what the draft constitution says. We are saying delete everything on religion, provide for equality of religions in the constitution, and if you want now to have specific provisions for specific faith communities, that should be provided by statutes of parliament, by normal legislation, not by the constitution”. Muslim clerics, led by Sheikh Ali Bin Mayaka of the Eldoret mosque, responded, “We should try to mobilise Muslims countrywide for Jihad if anyone will try to intimidate us and provoke our religion...We shall fight up to the end with all ways to retain Kadhi courts in the constitution even if it means to seek help from our fellows around the globe.” The chairman of The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), Sheikh Ali Shee, threatened that Muslims in coastal and north-eastern provinces would break away if there was no provision of the courts in the new constitution. In order to oppose any attempt to remove such provision from the Draft Constitution, CIPK, The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) and Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) issued a joint statement calling for demonstrations on Friday 25 April after noon prayers [East African Standard, Nairobi, April 24]. SUPKEM and the Muslim Consultative Council have both withdrawn from Ufungamano, a large inter-faith initiative pressing for constitutional reform. Ufungamano described this move as sad, but the Hindu Consultative Council saw it as “blackmail” and claimed it showed that the Muslim delegation were not “patient or tolerant” of differing opinions. Many Christians fear that the new proposals for Kadhi courts are a major step in the direction of introducing full Shari’ah (Islamic law) in Kenya. They also believe that these proposals will undermine the basic constitutional principle of the equality before the law of all Kenyan citizens, irrespective of religion. However it is not just the church which is expressing concern over the Draft Constitution. At a meeting of MPs cabinet minister Martha Karua said that if the courts were made part of the constitution then the country risked being seen as having adopted Shari’ah. She also warned that any extension of the jurisdiction of the Kadhi courts into the proposed areas of commercial and civil disputes was a dangerous step towards blurring the division between state and religious laws. The courts currently only have jurisdiction over strictly domestic and familial affairs and can be overruled by the secular Supreme Court of Kenya; the Draft seeks to make the courts accountable to the secular judicial system only where constitutional matters are involved. PRAY Pray that the proposals to extend the power of Kadhi Courts will be withdrawn from the new constitution when it is finally implemented. Pray that there will continue to be peaceful and harmonious relationships between Christians and Muslims in Kenya. BARNABAS FUND E-MAIL NEWS SERVICE The Barnabas Fund’s e-mail news service provides our supporters with short urgent news briefs and prayer requests for suffering Christians around the world. Please do share these news items with your Christian friends and churches. All news items are available on our website in a more colourful user-friendly presentation format which you can access, print and pass on. If you are not already receiving these news briefs directly from the Barnabas Fund and would like to, please contact us with your name, postal and e-mail addresses, and details of the church you attend. The Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, PEWSEY, Wiltshire, SN9 5DB, UK, Tel 01672 564938, Fax 01672 565030, E-mail info@barnabasfund.org Web www.barnabasfund.org