Law 37, Chapter 4 of Nigerian Constitution can improve Islam

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Aug 6, 2022 at 01:25

Dear Dr Pipes,

For anyone who wants to get wiser, wisdom is sprinkled everywhere. I applied my heuristic about religious tolerance to the Nigerian Constitution. I wanted to see how an African country in Islamic neighborhood treated religions. I was very impressed by Law number 37 included in Chapter 4 of the Nigerian constitution (Ref1). For the most part, this law outlines how countries should treat religions.

There was no reason for me to doubt Nigeria's constitution. I just stumbled upon it. So rightly, I had to wait till law 37 before a reference to religion came. The first 36 laws were about more important matters. The Muslim constitutions, on the flip side, pay their allegiance to Islam within the first few lines.

The more I observe the non-Islamic societies, the less I tend to respect Islam. Muslims worldwide are oblivious to the mistreatment of non-Muslims by Muslim countries and Muslim scriptures. The apologists for Islam like the ones we see in the Western governments, in leftist media, and in the United Nations, treat all religions and philosophies as equivalent and refuse to admit the self-imposed inferiority of Islam in principle and practice.

There is no excuse for Islamic theocracies to exist on our planets. Human thoughts and beliefs do not have to be suppressed under the banner of Islam.

Law 37 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution is not an exception in the non-Muslim world. It is pretty much the rule. But for Muslims, it will be a good lesson to learn from. I invite all Muslim readers of this message to read law 37. I invite all non-Muslim readers to spread the word.

Ref1: Nigerian Right to private and family life (law 37, ch4) https://publicofficialsfinancialdisclosure.worldbank.org/sites/fdl/files/assets/law-library-files/Nigeria_Constitution_1999_en.pdf

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".