Sharia Alert. This woman was killed after giving birth, following Muhammad's example:
There came to him (the Holy Prophet) a woman from Ghamid and said: Allah's Messenger, I have committed adultery, so purify me. He (the Holy Prophet) turned her away. On the following day she said: Allah's Messenger, Why do you turn me away? Perhaps, you turn me away as you turned away Ma'iz. By Allah, I have become pregnant. He said: Well, if you insist upon it, then go away until you give birth to (the child). When she was delivered she came with the child (wrapped) in a rag and said: Here is the child whom I have given birth to. He said: Go away and suckle him until you wean him. When she had weaned him, she came to him (the Holy Prophet) with the child who was holding a piece of bread in his hand. She said: Allah's Apostle, here is he as I have weaned him and he eats food. He (the Holy Prophet) entrusted the child to one of the Muslims and then pronounced punishment. And she was put in a ditch up to her chest and he commanded people and they stoned her. - Sahih Muslim 17.4206.
In this case, the child was stillborn, so they were able to skip right to killing the mother. "Somali woman stoned for adultery," from BBC News, November 18:
A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people.
A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man.
He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes.
It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for adultery by al-Shabab.
The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis.
'Lenient'
According to reports from a small village near the town of Wajid, 250 miles (400km) north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, the woman was taken to the public grounds where she was buried up to her waist.
She was then stoned to death in front of the crowds on Tuesday afternoon.
The judge, Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman, said her unmarried boyfriend was given 100 lashes at the same venue. [...]
Meanwhile, another woman waits:
Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for adultery in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu.
His pregnant girlfriend was spared, until she gives birth....
Let's get this straight, here, just for any newbies who might be reading:
A divorced (no longer married) woman and an unmarried man get together, and it's considered "adultery". I had always understood it to mean an affair between one or more married people (not married to each other). At any rate, here, it might be grounds for divorce, but that's about it.
So if you're an older or a younger couple, who are not "officially" married, perhaps common-law, or may not even live together yet, take note - this is what Islam thinks should happen to you, no matter how good, caring and healthy the relationship.
Islam - feel the love.
Barbaric and instructive of the difference between Jesus and Mohammed's directives respecting those who have transgressed traditional mores. Regardless of one's religious beliefs or lack thereof, any person of sense should see that the route from Jesus to Mohammed is a route downwards.
Yep, Jesus pointed out that no one is without sin and told the woman to "go and sin no more".
Mo made everyone he didn't like a rockpile.
"The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis."
What's the difference between a "strict" interpretation of sharia and a "lenient" interpretation?
Size of the stones?
Do Muslims like throwing stones coz they have none of their own?
Ah, yes ... fear, cruelty, pain, blood and death -- the answer to all social ills.
Tell us, A.M. Tell us how this is unIslamic. Explain it using Islamic texts and references. And then go to Somalia and explain it to Al Shabab so that they can mend their ways and practice Islam the right way.
Waiting...
"The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis."
So what are the Somalis who don't like strict Islamic law being imposed on them doing about it? Are they willing to protect people like this young woman or are they just going to wait for someone else to rescue them (and then complain when their rescuers do something "against" Islam)?
If it's the latter, they're in for a long wait.
It depends on who defines adultery. The Catholic Church would call all intercourse outside of marriage adultery. Two single people aren't being unfaithful to anyone else but they are still considered adulterers. Intercourse with anyone but a spouse is considered sinful.
It's harder to understand how Islam defines adultery, since a man can have up to four wives. Does Islam still allow concubines? If the man divorced her, the woman certainly wasn't being unfaithful to him. Who accused her of adultery?
Regarding the issue of lapidation, don't let the apologists diminish its relevance by their claim that very, very few woman have been stoned the death over the centuries that Islam has existed. The appropriate response to this assertion:
The reason there have been so few stonings over the centuries is because Muslim families typically dispatch the transgressor of Islamic moral codes via honor killing...long before the case ever develops into a judicial matter. In fact, a public stoning in which neighbors and even family members participate is itself such a spectacle that avoiding it is a major contributor to the persistent phenomenon of honor killings in the Sharia societies.
I don't know about the Catholic church, but an unmarried person who engages in sexual activity with another unmarried person is a fornicator. Adultery is committed when one or both of the parties are married to someone else. Fornication or adultery: you are doing one or the other unless you are with your spouse.
Indeed, take a look at the life, actions and words of Jesus Christ as opposed to old Mo. Kinda sums up the whole picture of mohammedism, doesn't it?
I guess if Abby Cadabby comes here, he'll say that Robert took the quote from Sahih Muslim out of context; Muhammed's ruling was just for that time and place, not for now. Abby doesn't see (or won't admit)that this is an illogical argument, because this stoning happened in Somalia today. Even if all JW'ers become convinced by Abby that Robert's posted quotes are "out of context", huge numbers of Muslims from all around the world are going to believe that the rulings apply now, and will act upon them. We would like Muslims to stop acting upon those aspects of their religion that are barbaric, regressive, misogynistic, totalitarian, oppressive, supremist, and so on. Abby, and Muslim groups, can join in this effort. Or they can try to thwart it, by attacking us and protecting Islam at all costs.
You're right. I stand corrected. To be considered adulterous, one of the parties must be married.
It appears Islam and Christianity define adultery differently, or that Islam doesn't distinguish between adultery and fornication, since the woman was divorced and her apparent partner was also unmarried.
It seems to me that roughly one quarter of the world lives within societies bound by depravity, cruelty & barbarity. These, obviously, are the less wealthy nations to whom we owe the debt of reparations for having been civilized enough to grow while their environments drowned under our pollutions.
Stealth jihad is merely one ominous cloud on our horizon. The wizards of OZ, Soros, Gore, little green people with little green jobs; have been attempting to level the world's socio-economic playing field in order to put US on a par with peoples who gather 'round 200 strong to watch a woman's life extinguish under a barrage of STONES...
Our imam-in-chief seems hell-bent on 'flying our nation into the ground': a saying old as aviation yet recently twisted by the looney left to lambaste a republican senator for the sacrelige of diminishing 9-11 victims by using the phrase.
Politicians are spending our country into economic doom. Otto Strasser once spoke to Hitler about 'nationalizing' some industries. An enraged Hitler rebuffed: "Do you think I would be so mad as to destroy the German economy?"
I think we still have a fighting chance to overcome our attempted backwardization, oust leaders not as smart as Hitler, and let All The King's Men hang themselves, beginning with the NY terrorism trial initiators...
I am not religious, but the wisdom, gentleness and kindness
in Christ's response as opposed to Mohammed's in similar situations is stunning. Karen Armstrong has excused the excesses of Mohammed's actions in several cases (as in the killing of the Jewish prisoners) by saying that he was simply following commonly accepted practices of the time. Well, if the "messenger of Allah" could not get beyond the barbaric practices of his day, Christ in stark contrast, time and time again does just that. In the passage quoted, Mohammed, "the perfect man all should emulate", is the ultimate in hideous cruelty. I wonder if the chapter ends with "Allah, oft forgiving, most merciful" as laughably so many chapters do after detailing the sadistic burning hell he has prepared for the "unbelievers". Gosh,as an agnostic,I wonder which is the superior belief system....?
You know, comparing Mohammed with Jesus (or any other religious figure) is a little insulting to Jesus.
Mohammed does not demonstrate mercy, compassion or forgiveness. He does display cruelty, misogyny, and greed. I could go on.............. but you get the point.
I really think a great effect could be made by the various speakers such as Mr. Spencer, who are warning us about the dangers of Islam. The passage from the New Testament of Jesus and the adultress("let he who is without sin...") could be read, followed by the hadith quoted in the above article where Mohammed orders the stoning of the woman, after taking her child away. Then the question "now which sounds like a religion of peace to you?" could be asked. Pretty clear,a pretty powerful and obvious contrast. What civilized being could fail to be disturbed by the behavior of Allah's "prophet"?
It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for adultery by al-Shabab.
............................
Yes—and that first "woman" was a little thirteen-year-old *rape victim*.
more:
Earlier this month, a man was stoned to death for adultery in the port town of Merka, south of Mogadishu.
His pregnant girlfriend was spared, until she gives birth....
.............................
And, God help us, I doubt she'll be the last—not with the "justice" of barbaric Shari'ah law in full swing in the Horn of Africa.
And there we have it, folks. The path from the seventh century to the......seventh century.
Great post, kiphamilton. I'm not religious either, but feel exactly as you do.
As others so clearly point out, the models of Jesus vs. Muhammad are opposite, plain and simple. Whenever I ponder "moderate" Muslims and what degree of personal tolerance I feel toward them, I always bump up against the issue of anyone actually accepting Muhammad as a figure to be revered and emulated.
And there we have it, folks. The path from the seventh century to the......seventh century.
Great post, kiphamilton. I'm not religious either, but feel exactly as you do.
As others so clearly point out, the models of Jesus vs. Muhammad are opposite, plain and simple. Whenever I ponder "moderate" Muslims and what degree of personal tolerance I feel toward them, I always bump up against the issue of anyone actually accepting Muhammad as a figure to be revered and emulated.
Vee- Thanks- You make a very good point. How can anyone with a sense of decency or kindness follow a religion, part of which requires the reverence for the cruelest of men? This reverence requires the belief that he was the most perfect man who ever lived, and that his life should be emulated in every possible way. That alone contradicts any meaningful definition of the word "moderate" as far as I am concerned.