Not that they said so outright, of course. Missing as usual from the report below is any mention of the Islamic texts that serve to explain the persistence of a cruel and unusual practice and the opposition to abolishing it.
Qur'an 5:38 prescribes amputation for theft. Qur'an 5:33 prescribes amputation of the hand and foot on opposite sides, among other punishments, for those who "wage war against Allah" or "spread corruption in the land."
The Qur'an and Sunnah are the "constitution" of Saudi Arabia according to its Basic Law. To abolish these practices would require amending the "constitution." That would be daunting enough if it were a secular document, but resistance in this case stems from the belief that the creator of the universe is commanding these punishments in the Qur'an.
But for all one would know in this report, the Saudis made it all up. Denying the extent and origin of the problem sets the stage for half-hearted, cosmetic responses to masquerade as "reform." "Saudis urged to stop amputation sentence," from Sky News, December 17:
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has urged Saudi King Abdullah to commute amputation sentences handed down against six men convicted of highway robbery in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.
The sentences to chop off the right hands and left feet of the six Saudis is currently before the Supreme Court for approval and could be carried out within days if ratified by the king, the London-based group said on Friday.
It said they were forced to confess.
''Cross amputation' is a strikingly cruel form of punishment that amounts to torture and should have no place in a criminal justice system,' said the watchdog's Middle East and North Africa interim director, Philip Luther.
'We are urging the king to use his authority to urgently commute these sentences and spare these men this horrific punishment,' he added.
Amnesty said the men are Barzan bin Raheel al-Shammari, 29; Amer bin Eid al-Jarbaa, 26; Mohammad bin Ali al-Shammari, 25; Mohammad bin Dhiyab Maddhi, 27; Abdullah bin Dhiyab Maddhi, 30; and Bandar bin Abbas al-Asadi, 22.
The bedouin men were arrested in October 2010 in Riyadh, accused of 'highway robbery' and taken to Malaz prison in the capital. All were allegedly beaten and forced to confess to the charges against them, Amnesty said.
Jarbaa was reportedly beaten for eight days and told that if he did not confess, his three brothers would be arrested.
'It appears that he signed a confession without knowing its contents and was later held in solitary confinement for 33 days,' it charged.
The men were tried before the General Court in Riyadh with no legal representation and were sentenced in March 2011 to 'cross amputation', it said, adding that an appeal court upheld the sentences in October.
Saudi Arabia enforces amputation of the right hand as a punishment for theft, while cross amputation is imposed in cases of highway robbery, Amnesty said.
Armed robbery can be punishable by execution in the desert kingdom. Rape, murder, apostasy and drug trafficking also carry the death penalty under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
To "wage war against Allah", is simple not to accept Islam/Quran, or not paying jizyah 9:29 as a kafir
Word of the coward, lunatic sadist & misogynist Allah:
5:38 "(thiefs) cut off hands"
5:33 "(unbelievers) crucifixion" "mischief (trouble) in the land"
i.e. 7:103 "those who made mischief" ... reject Allah's signs (Quran/Islam, e.g. pay jizyah 9:29, or for being homosexual, alternative: stoning to death 7:80-84, ...)"
http://schnellmann.org/sharia-law-in-action.html
24:2, 4 "(adulterers) flog with 100, 80 stripes"
(when the rape victim cannot shown four male witnesses,
it will be seen as adultary, and punished with 80 stripes from Allah)
24:13 "...four (male) witnesses to prove it?"
Sharia law. .where the punishment is the crime.
The Written Torah, which predates the Quran by some 2,000 years, requires that a thief simply repay double what he stole. No need for amputations, prison sentences, or torture to exact a confession. In fact, confessions are not acceptable since the Torah also forbids self-incrimination, let alone torture.
Highway robbery????
Isn't that what Mo did to support himself and his cohorts?
They did highway robberies of the Mecca merchants and Mo took a hefty 20% of all proceeds.
/sarc alert/
If at all these guys should be congratulated for emulating Mohammed.
I'm thinking if the victims of these guys had been of the Saudi Shiite minority or even non-Muslims these guys probably wouldn't have even been arrested - it's a non-crime to 'plunder' a non-Muslim isn't it?
The Bedouin (in Saudi Arabia) are the Saudi equivalent of the 'Travellers' (Gypsies) and it must grind their gears that they're all good Sunnis too. They were either a real pain in the arse and/or the Saudi authorities wanted to make an example of the next lot that stepped outa line. Justice Saudi style!
Did Amnesty make as big a fuss with any of the women they have recently flogged for getting raped or driving? Hmmm, methinks not.
'We are urging the king to use his authority to urgently commute these sentences ......'
How can a king called Abdullah (slave of Allah) commute a sentence given by his master? Slaves have no authority.
People, you just won't believe this.
From the Minnesota Star Tribune: "Stop fearing the Muslim Brotherhood," by one Ahmed Tharwat. I hope Spencer sees this, it's just incredible that such vile propaganda could be published in a leading American newspaper. Minnesota has truly submitted to the Barbarians:
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/135762248.html
" it's just incredible that such vile propaganda could be published in a leading American newspaper"
Looking at the matter objectively, this article is an op-ed, under "Other Views" and obviously does not represent the view of the newspaper.
The question is, should Muslim opinions be kept out of the papers? I don't believe so. It's important to know what the opposition is thinking. If you check out this article, you see that the author is not very adept at grammar, or at logic. The big problem is not what gets into the paper as "Other Views". The problem is that up to now, the business and political class has ignored the problem of creeping Islamism. In fact, when you see pieces like this, it means that the counter-movement is worrisome enough to the Islamists and the political classes that they come out of hiding. I'd far rather be denounced than ignored.
Nice one LJ.
"Did Amnesty make as big a fuss with any of the women they have recently flogged for getting raped or driving? Hmmm, methinks not."
Of course they did. Two seconds of Googling would have disclosed that, for you ... if you had wanted to know:
Getting harder and harder still for leftists to avoid those "holy" books, particularly when the question of "Why Do Muslims Insist on Carrying Out Such Punishments?" keeps popping up.
The truth about islam just keeps oozing out, despite the best efforts of muslims generally, imams of course, to deny the truths of islam to the point of lying about it. This includes the OIC's attempts to saddle us with blasphemy charges. Muslims hold that everything about islam is beautiful, including its punishments. But when held up to Western standards, even muslims are embarrassed at islam's so-called "beauty," and seek to stop us from noticing and making judgments.
Now why is that if islam is so self-evidenting beautiful?
''Cross amputation' is a strikingly cruel form of punishment that amounts to torture and should have no place in a criminal justice system,' said the watchdog's (Amnesty International) Middle East and North Africa interim director, Philip Luther.
Just read the Book: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/cruelty/long.html
A few days back I wrote: "'Obey in total submission' is what an abusive parent demands of his helpless children, so a Muslim under Sharia has no choice but to obey, or punishments are severe (stonings, lashing, amputations, beheadings, etc.), as Allah does not love any dissenting opinions or disrespect."
Saudi kingdom is merely following Allah's Law in their 'holy' Koran:
Just acting on Allah's instructions is all. What does Amnesty International have to say about that? … Careful… Choose your words wisely, or be severely punished for blasphemy…. Yes, you too, matters not whether or not you are Muslim. Severe punishments await you, and then later the Hell fires.
Or to paraphrase London Jim's above, "where the crime is the Law".
You beat me to it, Nacazo. My thoughts exactly.
Achmed Tharwat said,
"I can't have a normal conversation about anything, even sports, without someone asking me: What about the Muslim Brotherhood?"
Hey. How 'bout them Vikings!
God Bless America!
Article:
"'Cross amputation' is a strikingly cruel form of punishment that amounts to torture and should have no place in a criminal justice system,' said the watchdog's Middle East and North Africa interim director, Philip Luther.""
________________________________________________________
More of the Religious Chopping Fetish.
Cross Amputation Live. THIS is the Islamic Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2010/05/islamic-amputations.html
"'Cross amputation' is a strikingly cruel form of punishment that amounts to torture and should have no place in a criminal justice system,"
Ah, but the Saudis aren't operating a "justice system"; they're enforcing Sharia law, and Sharia has no place for justice.
@Buraq: How can a king called Abdullah (slave of Allah) commute a sentence given by his master? Slaves have no authority.
So it is written…
King "Slave of Allah" Abdullah has NO choice in the matter: no right to discussion, no personal interpretations, no criticism, no human rights, no innocent until proven guilty, no trial by jury, no equality before the law, no appeal to universal principles of human sanctity and mercy, no kindness, no truth: as slaves have no rights but to obey in 'submission', Islam, viz., no justice. Anything less than pure obedience is mental illness, irrational argument, ignorance, insubordination, insulting malicious 'evil'. Welcome to the horrific world of Sharia, where Amnesty International has absolutely no voice, no rights to criticism of Allah's Law, no appeals, no nothing. In a word "shuttup!"
It is interesting that Mohammad said to cut off the hands and feet of those who commit highway robbery when he himself raided caravans . . .
RS wrote: "Missing as usual from the report below is any mention of the Islamic texts that serve to explain the persistence of a cruel and unusual practice...
Well, actually, they did, sort of:
"Armed robbery can be punishable by execution in the desert kingdom. Rape, murder, apostasy and drug trafficking also carry the death penalty under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
I always wonder if such authors secretly know that "a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law" does NOT constitute the "extremist" nonsense we're expected to believe, and have slipped one past their editors.
Indeed, Mary. .hypocrisy spawned itself through Mohammed's creed. .reptilian to the core.
I'm curious. It was mentioned that rape carries the death penalty. I wonder if it's the woman who is raped that gets the punishment of death?
Your defense of, and excuse for, A.I. uses what can accurately be called an "anecdotal" exception that is unusual insofar as it's out of character for the organization as it operates today, and at odds with Amnesty's normal focus on vehemently denouncing liberal Western constitutional democracies (primarily the U.S.) for the slightest--even imaginary--"failures" while ignoring the outrages committed by the most brutal totalitarian dictatorships on earth.
Far more characteristic and revealing of Amnesty's real agenda and mission was the organization's call, just a couple of weeks ago, for former president George W. Bush to be arrested and "tried" for "war crimes" during his visit to Africa on an AIDS prevention trip. I'm not aware of any comparable demand for the arrest and trial of such monsters as Castro, Arafat, Saddam Hussein, Qadaffi, Kim Jong Il or his equally mad and brutal father; nor of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, or anyone else of their ilk. But perhaps I just haven't googled A.I.'s record diligently enough. So please set the record straight, and correct me if I'm mistaken about where A.I.'s main attention has been directed for at least the past three decades or so.
Good point whitehunter. .and it brings me back to the bone I have to pick with Clive Stafford Smith, who, although he runs his own show at Reprieve, works in tandem with AI. .Yunno the guy, celebrity lawyer who has made a prosperous living out of bashing the US & UK over renditions and Guantanamo. As a newboy at school I had to deliver newspapers and milk to his study bedroom- him being a senior prefect- so I've got a bit of chip on my shoulder from way-back. .Anyway, point-bing that, as far as I know, he has not been very vocal about condemning Sharia law and confronting the enemy of Freedom that has declared itself as such.
London Jim:
I knew Clive Stafford Smith slightly in college, although I doubt he would remember me. I remember him because he ran for student body president and lost. We had some friendly discussions in those days. Then all these years later I saw his name again when he showed up as a Useful Idiot -- it's a shame.
Cordially
Robert Spencer
Yea Mr Spencer. .the guy should have retired from the scene after his 'Green Mile' victory/ies. .he ain't got no s**t in business dealing with these affairs.