By the BBC's Dan Isaacs In Funtua, northern Nigeria

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria has begun hearing an appeal from a woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning under controversial Sharia, or Islamic, law.

Amina Lawal will have to wait a while yet for the judgement. After hearing from her defence counsel today, the four Sharia judges have adjourned the case until next month.

If there is one issue that threatens to divide this country more than any other it is the implementation of these strict Islamic laws

Her lawyers, funded by human rights organisations, are claiming that the father of Amina's child is her former husband, using the defence allowable under Islamic law, that the foetus lay dormant in her womb since the divorce two years ago.

This is the second such case to come before the Sharia court of appeal.

The previous conviction was overturned earlier this year after intense international pressure from human rights groups.

Despite the Nigerian federal government declaring such strict Sharia punishments unconstitutional, the country's northern states appear determined to enforce these laws.

Amnesty International is campaigning against the stoning sentence

The convicted woman, Amina Lawal, now has an eight-month old baby daughter.

The existence of this child, born to a divorcee, was evidence enough to convict her of the crime of adultery.

Unless she can win an appeal against the judgement, she will be stoned to death.

Human rights campaigners say that the punishment is not only inhumane but severely discriminates against women.

To convict a man of the same crime he must either confess directly to the court, or no less than four men have to attest to witnessing the physical act of adultery.

Religious split

If there is one issue that threatens to divide this country more than any other it is the implementation of these strict Islamic laws in the majority Muslim northern states.

Women's rights groups say Sharia is harsh for women

Although the punishment only applies to Muslims, Christians in the north feel threatened and tensions between the two communities have led to major outbreaks of inter-religious violence over the past three years.

The federal government has declared such Sharia punishments unconstitutional but, in direct defiance of this, northern leaders have pressed ahead, resisting what they describe as "undue pressure" from non-Muslims in the Nigerian Government.

If Amina Lawal loses her appeal this time, she can take her case all the way to the Supreme Court in Abuja.

Only then would the debate come to a head and the constitutionality of the strict Sharia punishments really be tested.