Veritas, Napier University's student newspaper

A PARADE of pretty faces, a swirl of chiffon, a heartfelt plea for world peace and a burning desire to work with children and animals. The bright smiles of the annual Miss World pageant, held this year in Kaduna, Nigeria, contorted into masks of hate and violence last month, when a comment made by a Nigerian journalist sparked riots which resulted in more than 200 deaths and left many more fleeing for their lives.

The pageant itself was to be held over a number of weeks in Nigeria, but primarily in the southern, largely Christian parts of the country. However, the northern regions of the country are, for the most part, Islamic states, governed by Sharia law.

Sharia is a code of practice, laid down by the Koran, by which orthodox Muslims lead their lives. It governs every aspect of a Muslim’s life, from prayer and fasting, to the conduct and acceptable dress of women. However, in some Islamic countries and states, such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the Zamfara province of Nigeria, Sharia has been implemented as statutory law.

When Zamfara governor Ahmed Sani introduced Sharia law in January 2001, he told sceptics that it was intended to curb drunkenness, gambling and prostitution, and insisted that the country had nothing to fear. However, the introduction of Sharia has been controversial, and has seen Nigeria become a country divided. Punishments under Sharia are severe, including amputations for thieves and the stoning to death of those accused of adultery.

Controversy first raged when the decision was made to hold this year’s pageant in Nigeria, home of last year’s triumphant beauty queen. Islamic clerics raged against the immorality of the event, and the contest was further soured by a walk-out by four of the contestants, protesting on behalf of Amina Lawal, a young woman sentenced to death by stoning under Sharia law.

Reporting on the dispute, Isioma Daniel of Nigeria’s This Day newspaper, remarked that, far from being affronted at the show of vanity, the prophet Mohammed would most likely have chosen a wife from amongst the participants.

Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu, deputy governor of the Zamfara province, immediately called for a fatwa to be issued against Miss Daniel, a Christian. ‘Fatwa’ loosely translates as ‘holy war’, a term made infamous though the death sentence pronounced against novelist Salman Rushdie by the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1988 following the publication of Rushdie’s book, ‘The Satanic Verses.’

Tensions ran high in Kaduna, the political capital of Nigeria, as four days of rioting between Christians and Muslims resulted in the deaths of 215 people, with many more fleeing for their lives.

However, the issuing of the fatwa has been dismissed as invalid by other Muslim countries, as Miss Daniel is a Christian and is therefore not subject to Islamic law. The Nigerian government has stated that it will not allow a death sentence to be carried out on Miss Daniels; a politically delicate situation, as relations between the secular government and the Islamic states are tense.

The pageant has been relocated to London, and the situation in Kaduna has been quelled, though many residents of the city are still too afraid to return to their homes.

The issuing of the fatwa against Miss Daniel, whether it is valid or not, highlights the issues of interpretation of free speech: It can be argued that Miss Daniel, as a journalist, employed a phenomenal lack of tact and judgement in carelessly remarking on such a tempestuous issue, but what are the implications of this, both in terms of restrictions on a so-called free press and for those in the West?

At the end of the day, when religious and secular cultures collide, as in Nigeria, a lack of diplomacy can result in the death of hundreds of people. Religious bigotry cannot be allowed to impose a climate of fear upon those who wish to live according to secular laws, but similarly it is morally indefensible to ride roughshod over the beliefs of others.

Nigeria is a country in the grip of turmoil: while the West cannot turn its back upon the plight of those such as Amina Lawal, proceeding with the location of the Miss World contest - against an unfortunately realised possibility of death and disorder – cannot be defended as any more than a morally bankrupt decision.