Movies and television? No way. Executions? Bring the whole family -- or else! "Somalis 'made to view executions'," by Mary Harper for BBC News, October 25:
Hundreds of people in Somalia have been forced to watch Islamist militants executing two people accused of spying.
People in Merca said al-Shabaab militia patrolled the town with loudspeakers, demanding they attend the executions.
The militants also ordered schools to close for the day as they were keen for children to watch the two men being shot dead by a firing squad.
Most of those at the execution, on a patch of open ground, are reported to have been women and children.
It is becoming something of a pattern for al-Shabaab to encourage young people to engage in violence.
It recently organised a quiz for young men in the southern town of Kismayo.
The prizes included AK-47 assault rifles, hand grenades and anti-tank mines.
The aim, said al-Shabaab, was to stop young men from wasting time, and to focus on important things like defending their territory and their religion.
Priorities: As the Ayatollah Khomeini said, "There is no fun in Islam."
At the prize-giving ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of people, the militants urged parents to teach their children to handle weapons at an early age.
Somali children's rights groups say al-Shabaab is intent on brainwashing the young to believe in violent Islamism.
In this way, it can ensure it has a steady supply of recruits, ready to fight for its aim of establishing extreme Islamist rule, not only in Somalia but far beyond its borders.
While most will find forced attendance at executions offensive, it is clear that a swift execution performed in a the public square, has deterrent effect.
If the public is aware of the certainty, imminence, and public nature of capital punishment, the frequency of capital crimes would be far less. Unfortunately, in our country, one is more likely to die of old age, before capital punishment can be meted out. The endless delays by appeal, demonstrations by opponents, and clinical nature of modern, non cruel and humane, executions, destroy any deterrent effect of modern capital punishment.
This is not to say that, capital punishment meted out by kangaroo courts in Somalia, for offenses such as apostasy or insulting the prophet are to be emulated. But if the likelihood of execution were more certain and more timely, there might be a reduction in murders and capital crimes.
grimreeperxxx..wow. you got my head spinning!
Actually, this article has nothing to do with any form of justice, but with executions being used simply as a form of repression. Please take your pro-death penalty rant somewhere else. It is really offensive in this context.
Teaching the children how to handle weapons. Yes, and hopefully one of these days they'll know how to use them against the evil muslim Al-Shabaab.
NY Times says: "According to roughly a dozen recent studies, executions save lives. For each inmate put to death, the studies say, 3 to 18 murders are prevented."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/us/18deter.html
If a country won't support capital punishment for criminals convicted of heinous capital offences, one might logically wonder how effectively soldiers can fight against enemies that have been convicted of nothing.
Children should NEVER be forced, or allowed, to see an execution.
Jew Lover
"It recently organised a quiz for young men in the southern town of Kismayo.
The prizes included AK-47 assault rifles, hand grenades and anti-tank mines."
The questions were all about the Qur'an...If you really knew your Islam...you could become a well armed Muslim....
Agreed. I support the death penalty in certain cases, but not like this, as a form of public entertainment. No child, anywhere, should be forced to witness murder.
If a country won't support capital punishment for criminals convicted of heinous capital offences, one might logically wonder how effectively soldiers can fight against enemies that have been convicted of nothing.
JL,
While I am not really convinced that with absence of death penalty the effectiveness of soldiers fighting the enemy must deteriorate (because the enemy has been convicted of nothing) I agree with you that the abolishment of capital punishment has caused great damage to the Western societies by corrupting and confusing the understanding of the nature of justice, retribution, deterrence, mercy and human dignity and their relation.
Of course, forcing children, or anyone else, is as sick as islam itself.
On the same tack as DogWithoutSlippers, how would these clowns know that the recepient of the AK47 wouldn't turn the thing on the gift givers.
Quaere:
Is it more instructive, or less, more fun, or less, than watching those public beheadings in Saudi Arabia to which the public is encouraged to come, or to see those lapidations-unto-death of women taken in, or sometimes merely accused of, not only adultery, but other acts deemed by Muslim men to constitute transgression worthy of death? Is it more fun in Somalia, than it was in Afghanistan, where the once-and-future Taliban used to stage executions of those same women in sports stadiums, so everyone could get a good look, and everyone could even join in stomping on the corpses?
What is "fun" in Islam? Among those who take Islam completely and totally to heart and mind, fun consists in death, death, death. Those videos, for example, that the captors of New York Times reporter David Rohde so enjoyed watching, that were films of decapitations of helpless infidels, with the Allahu-Akbar yells, and the mournful monotonous hideous music of death, and the screams of the victim, and the Infidel blood gushing -- wonderful stuff, if you are a fanatical Muslim, made fanatical by reading, and re-reading, and being mesmerized by, passages in the Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira.
Somali children's rights groups say al-Shabaab is intent on brainwashing the young to believe in violent Islamism.
The truth is that there is no other form of Islam, its all violent and to say someone believes in violent islam, is a double negative. islam is violent, just read the koran and look at the resuls.
correction:
I wrote:
"...forcing children, or anyone else, is as sick as islam itself."
it should be:
"...forcing children, or anyone else, to watch executions is as sick as islam itself."
I agree, Hugh. Muslims lap up execution videos like porn. It is a culture of death that holds millions in its deadly thrall.
" I'll take land mines for $ fifty al shabbab."
Okay, what bugs me is that we in the west have been discriminated against, terribly! Why, we've been taught all along that izlum is the religion of Peace while they've been keeping the REAL fun for themselves! Robert and Hugh are exposing the truth and until now WE'VE all been kept in the dark by the izlum apologists! They keep crying "Peace, Peace" when there is no peace. The wound of my people has been treated lightly.... but I digress. C'mon eyeAttilla! Tell us about the REAL izlum! You naughty boy! Shame on you! You told us that 'there is no fun in izlum'. You were just TEASING us weren't you? Teach us about the PAIN that you intend for us Kaffirs! Tell us about the slavery and the wanton mayhem: don't hide it! Be PROUD of the REAL izlum! Maiming & Raping and DEATH! Oh MY! Maiming and Raping and DEATH! Oh MY! You just wait 'til my lawyers finish with the discrimination case I'm gonna file against you izlummasses for keeping all the fun to yourSELVES. But, I'll let you work in the izlum theme park we're gonna be building. The whole world can come to partake of the nightmare of izlum. Camel rides and cooked human flesh for the kiddies! See the wonders of torture in action! Live executions every day just before evening prayers! Free admission for those turning in a neighbor for not being izlum enough! No fun in izlum? We'll see about THAT!
Forcing children to witness depravity, is more depravity...
Adult witnesses however, are often volunteers and participate by voting 'present'. Sometimes the mob participates directly... Public humiliation, public torture and execution, used to be popular, but civilized people grew out of it...Or at least mostly...Despots are still into it, sometimes these are kufr, but most often they are Mahoundians...
"Why, we've been taught all along that izlum is the religion of Peace"
I wouldn't say "taught." But, I would say "attempted brainwashing." Some swallow the lie, whereas others, like us, don't.
The sole purpose of PUBLIC executions is to terrify and intimidate the population. It is the perfect Islamic tactic.
Somehow, I don't buy that these hundreds of spectators were "forced" to watch. We've seen too many examples over the years of Muslim crowds reveling in mass demonstrations of bloodthirst.
"Jihad is a propagandistic device which, as need be, resorts to armed struggle – two ingredients common to many ideological movements." --Maxime Rodinson
These al-Shabaab jihadists exhibit narcissism; they demand that everyone must stop their lives and come pay attention, watch the jihadists blow something up or shoot somebody or cut off somebody's head. They want to display themselves as powerful in contrast to the weakness and helplessness of their enemies. Terrorism, jihad, and sharia are in a big way about demanding attention, forcing people to pay attention. Islam contains among other things Muhammad's legacy of narcissism.
There is something fundamentally juvenile (or perhaps childish or infantile) about the type of behavior and mind-set we see from this jihad group (besides that al-Shabaab means "the youth"). Imagine the bad-behaving child given everything he wants, including having others conform to his desires, most of which seem to be directed at getting everyone to stop what they are doing and devote their lives to him. Islam does not permit that which is not Islam; devout sharia-supporting Muslims don't want you doing anything other than thinking and talking about Islam.
If there really were no compulsion in Islam, Muhammad would not have needed to try to get any other person on the planet to believe it or obey it. He would not have needed to communicate it. He could have kept it to himself, like that shepherd in the valley that he mentioned in the hadith, who won Allah's favor by merely keeping his mischief to himself and away from others. Why not? Islam is compulsion. It is the legacy of Muhammad's narcissism-based compulsions, his seemingly insatiable need for adoration and obedience from others, and his desire to involve them in his special project (i.e., his journey of self-aggrandizement). No one can be allowed to be doing anything else. No science, no art, no music, no industry, no philosophy, and especially no other religions. Everyone must be doing Islam all the time, seems to be the goal.
"If there really were no compulsion in Islam"
Right - That's an abrogated Meccan verse, it's superseded by the Medinan Verses of the Sword. There's definitely "compulsion" in Islam. End of story.
Darcy,
The "no compulsion" verse (2:256) is classified as early Medinan, but yes the principle of abrogation does apply to it according to some scholars. Some scholars claim it is not abrogated, and that it is possible to interpret some sort of reconciliation between this verse and the much-later-revealed Sura 9. When I criticize 2:256 I usually say something like "many scholars regard it as abrogated, but even if it isn't, apologists are still faced with the problem of reconciling it with 9:5, 9:29, 9:73, 48:16, 8:39, etc." (When dealing with apologists, I don't like to put all my eggs in the "it's abrogated" basket).