Sharia not that impossible

Sharia not that impossible

I refer to the interview in The Jakarta Post dated Jan. 4,
2003 titled The enforcement of sharia: Impossible, unviable in
which the paper interviewed Abdullahi Ahmed An'naim, Professor of
Law at Emory University, United States.

Since Abdullahi has been away from Sudan for more than two
decades, he is not in a position to evaluate the Sudan
experience fairly and justly, rather, he has been echoing the
negative propaganda disseminated by rightist groups in the States
against Islam in general and Sudan in particular. In addition, he
may be stuck in the eighties experience, which is completely
different with what is going on now.

Secondly, the Sudan experience in implementing sharia is very
old, and it has been applied partially in different aspects of
the Sudanese Muslims' life for centuries. Though it was
interrupted by British colonial rule in 1898, it has continued to
largely govern all aspects of life throughout modern Sudanese
history, until some unapplied provisions, not more than 20
percent of the prevailing laws, were introduced in 1983.

Later in 1991, the current government revised those laws, and
since then, sharia has been applied in a very comprehensive way
in all aspects of life in Sudan peacefully, with the exemption of
non-Muslims and South of Sudan from the provisions of any article
of law which carries a specific Islamic injunction not shared by
creeds, as in the case of Hudud (Penalties).

Furthermore, the application of Hudud which is of great
concern to many, was made according to the penal code (1991),
with strict safeguards for its application, and subject to the
approval of the Supreme Court.

Moreover to safeguard the rights of non-Muslims, according to
the 1998 Constitution of the Republic of Sudan "All people are
equal in rights and duties as regards to function of public life,
and there shall be no discrimination by reason of race, sex, or
religious creed. They are equal in eligibility for public posts
and offices and must not be discriminated on the basis of
wealth."

Sudan, fortunately by the grace of Allah, has managed to set a
good example of sharia application through building very
successful and sound political, economic and social institutions.
For instance, we have been applying successfully the Islamic
principles in our banking system for the past two decades, and
now all commercial and insurance companies apply these principles
smoothly, and many countries and institutions from all over the
world, including Indonesia, have sought to learn from the
Sudanese experience in these very important and crucial economic
tools. Our social institutions of zakat and takaful are working
well and coping with the changing circumstances.

This has enabled Sudan to accommodate the Muslim aspirations
as the majority in Sudan and guard carefully the rights of non-
Muslims with rational administration and good governance. Sudan
has managed to build stability and is moving forward to achieve
prosperity. Given this fact sharia is relevant and applicable at
all places and at all times, since it covers all human
activities, moral and material.

BADRELDIN ABDALLA
Charge d'Affairs
Sudanese Embassy
Jakarta