Stop and imagine for a moment what it would be like to be stoned to death - buried up to your chest with only your neck and head above ground and pelted with rocks (small ones so you don't die too quickly) until your flesh is ripped open and the pain is unbearable and you finally die. Now think about the fact that such killings, of gays and women who are not virgins or are caught in adultery, are routine in much of the Islamic world. This blog even has a link to a video of an actual stoning, which I cannot watch. And this blog has some suggestions on what we can do to help stop such killings. I have a hard time imagining anything more barbaric than this. The sooner it no longer exists on our planet, the better.
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I came across this post at Howard Friedman's religion law blog and it got me to thinking. The post is about Pakistan amending their state law to allow for women convicted of premarital sex to be "rehabilitated" rather than put to death, as their law previously demanded. I was repulsed by the notion…
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The "video of an actual stoning" is actually a well done, 48 minute documentary about honor killings and treats the viewer with respect. The subject matter is shocking not its treatment.
those are some great links Ed. I like the part about how if we help stop stonings, we might be able to help Iranian dissatifaction with Ahmadinejad.
Thanks for pointing this out, Ed. I went to Eteraz's, and sent the e-mails and what-not, just in case it helps.
Looks like I'll be popping by Eteraz's site again in the future.
Slightly off-topic, I suppose, but back when I still visited Zionist web sites, I would often see people yell at Israelis for using guns on mobs of people armed "only" with rocks. I found this ironic, given that some of those same people came from countries where stoning was still used to kill people.
Entirely agree with your position here, but just want to question your terminology. In every case I've seen the term 'honor killing' used -- in an Islamic sense -- it has referred to rhe killing of a woman -- and perhaps her lover -- by her family, for being 'unchaste' in some way, for contracting a rewlationship with a non-Moslem, sometimes even with a Moslem of the wrong class, or simply for having sex before marriage. (In some cases killing a family member who was raped and revealed it, thus bringing 'shame on the family' is referred to in this way.)
What you are referring to is the application of Sharia law by the state.
Both are wrong and truly horrible, but they are different things.