Stoning in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Stoning in afghanistan.jpg|right|thumb|190px|A public stoning carried out in Afghanistan. Rajm is the Islamic punishment for illegal sexual intercourse, as ordered by Muhammad himself.]]
[[File:Stoning in afghanistan.jpg|right|thumb|190px|A public stoning carried out in Afghanistan. Rajm is the Islamic punishment for illegal sexual intercourse, as ordered by Muhammad himself.]]


==Definition==
'''Stoning to death''' (رجم ''Rajm''), according to traditional interpretations of [[Islamic law]], is a punishment for married adulterers as well as certain other unlawful sexual relations including [[Islam and Homosexuality|homosexual]] relationships, and is one example of [[Abrogation|abrogation]] (naskh) being applied to Qur'anic text (which specifies lashing as the punishment for [[Zina|unlawful sexual relations]], but was interpreted as applying to unmarried fornicators). The criminals "hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack." They are then "buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried upto her shoulders."<ref>[http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm What happens in Stoning?] - apostatesofislam.com</ref> The stones which are to be thrown at the criminal "should not be so large that the offender dies after a few strikes, nor so small as to fail to cause serious  injury."<ref>[http://www.iheu.org/node/262 Should Sharia laws be reconsidered?] - Sandhya Jain - International Humanist and Ethical Union, March 9, 2004</ref>


'''Stoning to death''' (رجم ''Rajm''), according to traditional interpretations of [[Islamic law]], is primarily a punishment for persons who engage in unlawful sexual relations (which include [[Islam and Homosexuality|homosexual]] relationships), and is one example of [[Abrogation|abrogation]] (naskh) being applied to Qur'anic text. The criminals "hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack." They are then "buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried upto her shoulders."<ref>[http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm What happens in Stoning?] - apostatesofislam.com</ref> The stones which are to be thrown at the criminal "should not be so large that the offender dies after a few strikes, nor so small as to fail to cause serious  injury."<ref>[http://www.iheu.org/node/262 Should Sharia laws be reconsidered?] - Sandhya Jain - International Humanist and Ethical Union, March 9, 2004</ref>
==In the Modern World==


==In the Modern World==
The implimentation of the punishment of stoning is relatively rare today, practiced primarily in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, and occasionally in the Islamic Republic of Iran.


Due to the Islamic laws on [[rape]] requiring four male eye witnesses before guilt can be ascertained, many rape victims end up being charged with '[[adultery]].' As was the case for 13-year-old ''Aisha Ibrahim Dhuhulow'' in Somalia<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm Stoning victim 'begged for mercy'] - BBC News, November 4, 2008</ref> who in October of 2008 was buried up to her neck and stoned to death in front of more than 1,000 people in a football stadium. She was the victim of gang-rape. Another Somalian female who gave birth to a stillborn child, was also stoned to death in front of a crowd of 200 in November (one of at least four Somalians to be stoned for adultery in 2009).<ref>[http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/11/18/somali-woman-stoned-death-adultery.html Somali woman stoned to death for adultery] - The Jakarta Post, November 18, 2009 </ref> Her boyfriend received 100 lashes. Incidents of stoning have also been reported in Iraq and Pakistan, and forms a part of Afghan, Iranian, Nigerian, Indonesian, Sudanese, Saudi Arabian, and United Arab Emirate law.<ref>[http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning Stoning - Frequently Asked Questions about Stoning] - stop-stoning.org</ref> While the modern views of many contemporary Muslims scholars and believers are diametrically opposed to any implementation of such punishments, it is very much an accepted part of Islam for traditional scholars and millions of lay Muslims around the world. An August 2009 Pew survey<ref>Pew Report: [http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/265.pdf Pakistani Public Opinion - Growing Concerns about Extremism, Continuing Discontent with U.S.Religion, Law, and Society] Page 3</ref> revealed that 83% of Pakistanis believe that adulterers should be stoned. Another survey carried out in Indonesia (the world's most populated Muslim country) found that "almost half the respondents back stoning as a punishment for adulterers."<ref>[http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/163989.php 50% Support Stoning for Adultery in 'Moderate' Muslim Country] - The Jawa Report, March 18, 2006</ref>
Due to the Islamic laws on [[rape]] requiring four male eye witnesses before guilt can be ascertained, many rape victims end up being charged with '[[adultery]].' As was the case for 13-year-old ''Aisha Ibrahim Dhuhulow'' in Somalia<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm Stoning victim 'begged for mercy'] - BBC News, November 4, 2008</ref> who in October of 2008 was buried up to her neck and stoned to death in front of more than 1,000 people in a football stadium. She was the victim of gang-rape. Another Somalian female who gave birth to a stillborn child, was also stoned to death in front of a crowd of 200 in November (one of at least four Somalians to be stoned for adultery in 2009).<ref>[http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/11/18/somali-woman-stoned-death-adultery.html Somali woman stoned to death for adultery] - The Jakarta Post, November 18, 2009 </ref> Her boyfriend received 100 lashes. Incidents of stoning have also been reported in Iraq and Pakistan, and forms a part of Afghan, Iranian, Nigerian, Indonesian, Sudanese, Saudi Arabian, and United Arab Emirate law.<ref>[http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning Stoning - Frequently Asked Questions about Stoning] - stop-stoning.org</ref> While the modern views of many contemporary Muslims scholars and believers are diametrically opposed to any implementation of such punishments, it is very much an accepted part of Islam for traditional scholars and millions of lay Muslims around the world. An August 2009 Pew survey<ref>Pew Report: [http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/265.pdf Pakistani Public Opinion - Growing Concerns about Extremism, Continuing Discontent with U.S.Religion, Law, and Society] Page 3</ref> revealed that 83% of Pakistanis believe that adulterers should be stoned. Another survey carried out in Indonesia (the world's most populated Muslim country) found that "almost half the respondents back stoning as a punishment for adulterers."<ref>[http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/163989.php 50% Support Stoning for Adultery in 'Moderate' Muslim Country] - The Jawa Report, March 18, 2006</ref>
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