Newspaper Page Text
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MARCH 21, 2002
Nation/World
Nigerian Islamic court deliberates
appeal verdict in landmark stoning case
By GLENN McKENZIE
Associated Press Writer
SOKOTO, Nigeria
Prosecutors rejected calls
Monday to overturn a land
mark decision by an Islamic
court condemning a Nigerian
woman to death by stoningon
charges of adultery.
After a day of arguments
before an appeals panel Mon
day, the case was adjourned
until March 25, when a ruling
was expected.
Safiya Hussaini was sen
tencedin October to be stoned
todeath whileburied up toher
neck in sand after an Islamic
court convicted her of conceiv
ing a child with a married
neighbor in violation of
Shariah, or Islamic law.
Lawyers, activists, journal
ists and a few members of
Hussaini’s family packed into
a sweltering courtroom Mon
day in the northern city of
Georgia
PEMOML
More than a hundred years ago, Bahau'llih, the foun
der of the BahaT Faith, addressing heads of state, pro
claimed that the age of maturity for the entire
human race had come. The unity of humankind was
now to be established as the foundation of the great
peace that would mark the highest stage in human
ity’s spiritual and social evolution. Revolutionary and
world-shaking changes were therefore inevitable.
The BahaT teachings state:
The world is moving on. Its events are unfolding omi
nously and with bewildering rapidity. The whirlwind
ix}f(its passion is swift and alarmingly violent. The New
orld is insensibly drawn into its vortex.... Dangers,
undreamt of and unpredictable, threaten it both from
within and from without. Its governments and peo
ples are being gradually enmeshed in the coils of the
world’s recurrent crises and fierce controver
sies...The world is contracting into a neighborhood.
America, willingly or unwillingly, must face and grap
ple with this new situation. For purposes of national
security, let alone any humanitarian motive, she must
assume the obligations imposed by this newly cre
ated neighborhood. Paradoxical as it may seem, her
only hope of extricating herself from the perils gath
ering around her is to become entangled in that very
web of international association which the Hand of
an inscrutable Providence is weaving.
Sokoto, the traditional Mus
lim capital of northern Nige
ria, where a panel of Muslim
elders washearingtheappeal.
Hussaini showed up wear
ingawhiteshawland cradling
her 13-month-old daughter,
Adama —the product of the
union that prompted authori
ties to put her on trial. Adama
cried during the hearing until
Hussaini began nursing the
child and fanning her with a
piece of paper.
Under the October ruling,
which hasbeen placed on hold
pending her appeal, Hussaini
could be executed as soon as
her child stops nursing.
“I’'m happy to be here, but I
will not rest at ease until this
is finished,” Hussaini said.
Prosecutors began by rebut
ting defense motions — made
in January — to throw the
case out because four witnesses
had not testified to seeing the
act of adultery being commit-
The Destiny of America
and
The Promise of World Peace
At this time of world turmoil, the United States Bahai community offers a
perspective on the destiny of America as the promoter of world peace.
AUGUSTA FOCUS
ted, something thedefense said
was required by Islamic law.
But prosecution lawyer
Mohammed Bara’'u Kamarawa
argued Monday that witnesses
were not needed because the
evidence—Adama’sbirth last
year —was enough. The pros
ecution further argued that
Hussaini had initially con
fessed to adultery, a claim the
defensedenied.
Hussaini and her lawyers
say she was impregnated by
herformerhusband before their
divorce “some years ago.” Al
though the infant was born
more than a year after the
marriage ended, the defense
argued that up to seven years
can pass between conception
and birth under Islamic law
despite the biological improb
ability.
During the original case,
Hussaini claimed to have been
raped by her neighbor, Yakubu
Abubakar. She withdrew the
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The American nation, Bahdis believe, will evolve,
through tests and trials to become a land of spiritual
distinction and leadership, a champion of justice and
unity among all peoples and nations, and a powerful
servant of the cause of everlasting peace. This is the
peace promised by God in the sacred texts of the
world’s religions.
Establishing peace is not simply a matter of signing
treaties and protocols; it is a complex task requiring
a new level of commitment to resolving issues not
customarily associated with the pursuit of peace. |
|
Universal acceptance of the spiritual principle of the
oneness of humankind is essential to any successful
attempt to establish world peace. /
Racism, one of the most baneful and persistent evils,
is a major barrier to peace.
The emancipation of women, the achievement of full
equality of the sexes, is one of the most important,
though less acknowledged, prerequisites of peace.
The inordinate disparity between rich and poor
keeps the world in a state of instability, preventing
the achievement of peace.
For more information and for a free copy of the booklet
The Promise of World Peace
Please visit our Web site at www.usbahai.org
or call us toll free at 1-800-22-UNITE
rape accusation after
Abubakarfled, apparently fear
ing arrest.
In a positive sign for the
defense, BelloSilame, the chief
Islamic judge presiding over
Monday’s appeal, noted the
alleged adultery occurred be
fore Shariah law came into
effect last year.
Kamarawa, the prosecutor,
agreed but argued that
Shariah law should be applied
retroactively.
The case is stirring outrage
wellbeyond thistroubled West
African nation, where opposi
tion to the imposition of Is
lamic law, or Shariah, in the
north hasresulted in Muslim-
Christian violence that has
killed thousands since early
2000. International rights or
ganizations, women’s groups
and European Union parlia
mentarians have all con
demned the ruling.
Harvard-led study says a few
drinks weekly may help women
with blood pressure
By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO
Women who have a few alco
holic drinks a week have an
almost 15 percent lower chance
of developing high blood pres
sure than teetotalers, new re
search shows.
"However, the study also
found that consuming more
than about 11/2 drinks daily
increases the high blood pres
sure risk by 30 percent com
pared with nondrinkers. The
increased risk was associated
equally with wine, beer and
hard liquor.
The reduced risk among
light drinkers appeared stron
gest with beer, though more
research is needed to clarify
whether the type of drink re
ally makes a difference, said
the authors, led by Dr. Ravi
Thadhani of Harvard Univer
sity Medical School.
The findings are based on
70,891 people ages 25 to 42
who participatedin the Nurses’
Health Study, which tracked
thousands of female nurses
for a variety of studies.
Smaller studies have found
similar findings in older
women, and other studies have
suggested that light or moder
atedrinkingmayreducemen’s
and women’srisk of heart dis
ease. But experts caution that
drinking has been linked to
other health risks in women,
including breast cancer and
birth defects.
Exercise and reducing salt
Unbridled nationalism, as distinguished from a sane
and legitimate patriotism, must give way to a wider
loyalty, to the love of humanity as a whole.
Religious strife, the cause of innumerable wars and
conflicts throughout history, is a major obstacle to
progress. The challenge facing the world's religious
leaders is to contemplate, with hearts filled with
compassion and the desire for truth, the plight of
humanity, and to ask themselves whether they can
not, in humility before their God, submerge their
theological differences in a great spirit of mutual for
bearance that will enable them to work together for
the advancement of human understanding and peace.
Bahais pray, “May this American Democracy be the
first nation to establish the foundation of interna
tional agreement. May it be the first nation to pro
claim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to
unfurl the standard of the Most Great Peace.”
During this hour of crisis, we affirm our abiding faith
in the destiny of America. We know that the road to
its destiny is long, thorny and tortuous, but we are
confident that America will emerge from her trials
undivided and undefeatable.
— National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahd's of the United States
intake are other ways to con
trol blood pressure, and
Thadhani said women should
be wary of interpreting the
findingstoconcludethatit’sa
good idea to start drinking.
“Whether a woman wants
to initiate alcohol to reduce
her risk” of high blood pres
sure “is certainly a personal
decision,” he said.
The study is in Monday’s
issue of Archives of Internal
Medicine.
About 6 percent of partici
pants _ almost 4,200 _ devel
oped high blood pressure dur
ing eight years of follow-up.
The reduced risk was found
in women who drank an aver
age of one-quarter to one-half’
a drink daily, or two to three
drinks a week. One drink
equaled about a 12-ounce
bottle of beer, a 4-ounce glass
of wine or a little less than a
shot of liquor.
Attention
Kmart Shoppers
Inthe Kmart March 24,2002
weekly ad circular on page 28,
features Marc Anthony’s
“Mended” CD. This item will
notbeavailableat thistimedue
totherecordingstudio’schange
of release date.
Weregretanyinconvenience
this may have caused our cus
tomers.