Islam and Violence: Difference between revisions

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===Amputation===
===Amputation===
{{Main|Amputation}}Amputation is the removal of part or all of a body part enclosed by skin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12537 |title=Definition of Amputation |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12537 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - Medicine Net</ref> It is a prescribed punishment in the Qur'an, and within the context of Islamic law, it refers to the removal of the hands or feet. Today, amputation is used as a punishment for theft in Saudi Arabia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arabnews.com/?page=0&section=1&article=27038&d=5&m=6&y=2003 |title=Kingdom’s Leading Executioner Says: ‘I Lead a Normal Life’ - Mahmoud Ahmad, Arab News - June 5, 2003 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=0&section=1&article=27038&d=5&m=6&y=2003 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref> and Northern Nigeria, which reintroduced Shari'ah law in 1999<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2005-09-19-nigerian-islamic-court-orders-amputation |title=Nigerian Islamic court orders amputation - Mail & Guardian Online - September 19, 2005 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2005-09-19-nigerian-islamic-court-orders-amputation |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref>. In Somalia, a court run by an extremist Islamic group sentenced four Somali men in June of 2009 to each have a hand and a leg cut off for allegedly stealing mobile phones and guns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528139,00.html |title=Islamic Extremists Sentence 4 Somalis to Amputations - Associated Press, FoxNews.com - June 22, 2009 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528139,00.html |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.javno.com/en-world/somali-islamists-amputate-teenagers-hands-legs_267541 |title=Somali Islamists Amputate Teenagers` Hands, Legs - JAVNO, June 25, 2009 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.javno.com/en-world/somali-islamists-amputate-teenagers-hands-legs_267541 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref> In 2008, the Islamic Republic of Iran saw five double amputations in a single week -- five convicted robbers were each sentenced to have their right hands and left feet amputated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/middleeast/11iran.html |title=Spate of Executions and Amputations in Iran - Nazila Fathi, The New York Times - January 11, 2008 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120909/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/middleeast/11iran.html |archivedate=2012-09-09 |accessdate=2012-09-09}}</ref> When the Taliban, an Islamic militant group, took over Afghanistan in 1996, within a year, public executions, amputations and stonings were a regular Friday event in Kabul.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1600136.stm |title=Flashback: When the Taleban took Kabul - Terence White, former AFP correspondent in Kabul - BBC News - October 15, 2001 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120713/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1600136.stm |archivedate=2012-07-13 |accessdate=2012-07-13}}</ref>
{{Main|Amputation}}Amputation is the removal of part or all of a body part enclosed by skin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12537 |title=Definition of Amputation |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12537 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - Medicine Net</ref> It is a prescribed punishment in the Qur'an, and within the context of Islamic law, it refers to the removal of the hands or feet. Today, amputation is used as a punishment for theft in Saudi Arabia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arabnews.com/?page=0&section=1&article=27038&d=5&m=6&y=2003 |title=Kingdom’s Leading Executioner Says: ‘I Lead a Normal Life’ - Mahmoud Ahmad, Arab News - June 5, 2003 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=0&section=1&article=27038&d=5&m=6&y=2003 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref> and Northern Nigeria, which reintroduced Shari'ah law in 1999<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2005-09-19-nigerian-islamic-court-orders-amputation |title=Nigerian Islamic court orders amputation - Mail & Guardian Online - September 19, 2005 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2005-09-19-nigerian-islamic-court-orders-amputation |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref>. In Somalia, a court run by an extremist Islamic group sentenced four Somali men in June of 2009 to each have a hand and a leg cut off for allegedly stealing mobile phones and guns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528139,00.html |title=Islamic Extremists Sentence 4 Somalis to Amputations - Associated Press, FoxNews.com - June 22, 2009 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528139,00.html |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.javno.com/en-world/somali-islamists-amputate-teenagers-hands-legs_267541 |title=Somali Islamists Amputate Teenagers` Hands, Legs - JAVNO, June 25, 2009 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.javno.com/en-world/somali-islamists-amputate-teenagers-hands-legs_267541 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}}</ref> In 2008, the Islamic Republic of Iran saw five double amputations in a single week -- five convicted robbers were each sentenced to have their right hands and left feet amputated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/middleeast/11iran.html |title=Spate of Executions and Amputations in Iran - Nazila Fathi, The New York Times - January 11, 2008 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120909/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/middleeast/11iran.html |archivedate=2012-09-09 |accessdate=2012-09-09}}</ref> When the Taliban, an Islamic militant group, took over Afghanistan in 1996, within a year, public executions, amputations and stonings were a regular Friday event in Kabul.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1600136.stm |title=Flashback: When the Taleban took Kabul - Terence White, former AFP correspondent in Kabul - BBC News - October 15, 2001 |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120713/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1600136.stm |archivedate=2012-07-13 |accessdate=2012-07-13}}</ref>
===Lashing===
{{Main|Zina}}
The Quran prescribes the punishment of 100 lashes for free unmarried men and women guilty of fornication ([[zina]]). For men, this is defined as sexual relations with a woman who is not his wife or slave, or for a woman, a man who is not her husband. For a slave woman (whether married or unmarried) who has sexual relations with someone other than her husband or master, the punishment is half that i.e. 50 lashes. The punishment is still present in the legal codes of some Muslim majority countries, or individual provinces such as Aceh in Indonesia.
===Stoning===
===Stoning===
{{Main|Stoning}}Stoning to death, according to traditional interpretations is primarily a punishment for married persons who engage in unlawful sexual relations (which include homosexual relationships). 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 up to her shoulders."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm |title=What happens in Stoning? |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - 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>{{cite web |url=http://www.iheu.org/node/262 |title=Should Sharia laws be reconsidered? |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.iheu.org/node/262 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - Sandhya Jain - International Humanist and Ethical Union, March 9, 2004</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' (that is, on alternative evidence such as pregnancy). As was the case for a 13-year-old girl in Somalia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm |title=Stoning victim 'begged for mercy' |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120712/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm |archivedate=2012-07-12 |accessdate=2012-07-12}} - 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. Incidents of stonings have been reported in Iraq and Pakistan, and forms a part of Afghan, Iranian, Nigerian, Indonesian, Sudanese, Saudi Arabian, and United Arab Emirate law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning |title=Stoning - Frequently Asked Questions about Stoning |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - stop-stoning.org</ref> The Qur'an itself does not explicitly mention the act, but there are several sahih (authentic) hadith which speak of Muhammad ordering people to be stoned to death. According to a sahih hadith, the Qur'anic verses of stoning were written on a piece of paper and were lost when a goat ate the paper.<ref>References: Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal. vol. 6. page 269; Sunan Ibn Majah, page 626; Ibn Qutbah, Tawil Mukhtalafi 'l-Hadith (Cairo: Maktaba al-Kulliyat al-Azhariyya. 1966) page 310; As-Suyuti, ad-Durru 'l-Manthur, vol. 2. page 13</ref>
{{Main|Stoning}}Stoning to death, according to traditional interpretations is primarily a punishment for married persons who engage in unlawful sexual relations (which include homosexual relationships). 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 up to her shoulders."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm |title=What happens in Stoning? |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - 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>{{cite web |url=http://www.iheu.org/node/262 |title=Should Sharia laws be reconsidered? |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.iheu.org/node/262 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - Sandhya Jain - International Humanist and Ethical Union, March 9, 2004</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' (that is, on alternative evidence such as pregnancy). As was the case for a 13-year-old girl in Somalia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm |title=Stoning victim 'begged for mercy' |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120712/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm |archivedate=2012-07-12 |accessdate=2012-07-12}} - 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. Incidents of stonings have been reported in Iraq and Pakistan, and forms a part of Afghan, Iranian, Nigerian, Indonesian, Sudanese, Saudi Arabian, and United Arab Emirate law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning |title=Stoning - Frequently Asked Questions about Stoning |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - stop-stoning.org</ref> The Qur'an itself does not explicitly mention the act, but there are several sahih (authentic) hadith which speak of Muhammad ordering people to be stoned to death. According to a sahih hadith, the Qur'anic verses of stoning were written on a piece of paper and were lost when a goat ate the paper.<ref>References: Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal. vol. 6. page 269; Sunan Ibn Majah, page 626; Ibn Qutbah, Tawil Mukhtalafi 'l-Hadith (Cairo: Maktaba al-Kulliyat al-Azhariyya. 1966) page 310; As-Suyuti, ad-Durru 'l-Manthur, vol. 2. page 13</ref>
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