Bashir: Sharia law will be strengthened if South Sudan votes to secede
As part of my own research on Islamic law in Northern Nigeria, I鈥檝e been thinking about parallels between Nigeria and Sudan: both countries have a Muslim-海角大神 split, both have experienced civil war, and both have implemented Islamic law to varying degrees. So I was interested to see this weekend that Sudanese President Omar al Bashir is saying North Sudan will intensify its adherence to shari鈥檃 if southern Sudan secedes in the Jan. 9 referendum.
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鈥淚f south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity,鈥� President Omar Hassan al-Bashir told supporters at a rally in the eastern city of Gedaref.
鈥淪haria (Islamic law) and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language,鈥� he said.
Bashir鈥檚 remarks are noteworthy for two reasons, as The New York Times :
The comments were some of Mr. Bashir鈥檚 strongest words to date seeming to acknowledge the likelihood of an independent southern Sudanese state and outlining his vision for the northern half, which would stay under his control.
Reuters, NYT, and the mention the potential impact intensified shari鈥檃 in the North could have for the region鈥檚 non-Muslim residents. Extending shari鈥檃 in North Sudan could also affect legal and constitutional debates in other African countries 鈥� Kenya recently wrestled with the place of Islamic law in its constitution, and other African countries use shari鈥檃 as a source of law to varying extents. Changes to the legal and political structure in Sudan could even influence political debates in Nigeria.
Sudan has already been an important case study in African Islamic politics; North Sudan will apparently pursue this trend even further.
鈥� Alex Thurston is a PhD student studying Islam in Africa at Northwestern University who blogs at .
