Everyone knows that the Islamic Republic of Iran is “extremist,” but in fact, in Islamic terms stoning is not “extremist”; it is Islamic law for adulterous women. The caliph Umar, one of Muhammad’s closest companions, even maintained that it was originally in the Qur’an:
‘Umar said, “I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, “We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book,” and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession.” Sufyan added, “I have memorized this narration in this way.” ‘Umar added, “Surely Allah’s Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him.” (Bukhari, vol. 8, bk. 82, no. 816)
“Allah’s Apostle” is, of course, Muhammad, who did indeed carry out stonings. Here is the hadith in which he challenges the rabbis about stoning, and in which there is amidst the barbarism and brutality a final act of love and compassion:
The Jews came to Allah’s Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah’s Apostle said to them, “What do you find in the Torah (old Testament) about the legal punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?” They replied, (But) we announce their crime and lash them.” Abdullah bin Salam said, “You are telling a lie; Torah contains the order of Rajm.” They brought and opened the Torah and one of them solaced his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and following it. Abdullah bin Salam said to him, “Lift your hand.” When he lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, “Muhammad has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave the order that both of them should be stoned to death. (‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said, “I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones.” (Bukhari, vol. 4, bk. 56, no. 829)
Even the monkeys practiced stoning, according to another hadith:
During the pre-lslamic period of ignorance I saw a she-monkey surrounded by a number of monkeys. They were all stoning it, because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I too, stoned it along with them. (Bukhari, vol. 5, bk. 58, no. 188)
Muhammad’s example is, of course, normative for Islamic behavior, since “verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah much” (Qur’an 33:21).
Sharia Alert from the Islamic Republic of Iran: “Stoning Returns as Punishment,” by Firoozeh Matin for Rooz, April 30 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):
The controversial “Islamic Punishment” law that was rejected by the Guardians Council returned and eventually was passed last week. To the disappointment of human rights activists and the promises of some Majlis representatives, not only stoning is not negated in the law, it is in fact emphasized.
Hamid-Reza Tabatabai, the vice-chairman of Majlis”s judiciary committee told the press, “Stoning is not negated in the new “Islamic Punishment” law. Its execution has been modified. This was requested by the Guardians Council. According to the law stones do not have to be used to implement the law and hanging, or other innovative methods by the judiciary, can be used to accomplish the same goal.”
He did not provide details about what those “innovative methods” of the judiciary could be. But recently, an extremist Muslim group in neighboring Iraq used an innovative method of the act by throwing blocks of cement on the head of the victim.
Recently the judiciary of the Islamic republic of Iran in the city of Shiraz unveiled an apparatus that had been built to dismember a person’s body organ. As reported by ISNA the tool is nothing but an electric saw made to cut off a person’s fingers. French news AFP compared the tool to the medieval torture tools.
With the new law in place, the judiciary is expected to come up with new “innovative methods” killing people.
The newly passed law had originally been drafted during ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi’s term as the head of Iran’s judiciary and sent to the executive branch. It was subsequently rejected by the Guardians Council and sent back to the Majlis for changes, which were ultimately made, paving the way for its implementation.
In an interview during his term, Shahrudi had said at one point that the punishment of stoning had been removed from the law and that stoning had stopped being used as judges ruled on other methods of punishment. Just a few months ago on February 17, Shahrudi told Fars news agency that stoning had been removed from the new Islamic punishment law because of its negative international impact and that the final decision lay with the Guardians Council. He also restricted its legal basis to be only used against the most severe offences of adultery and applied only to women.
The spokesperson of Iran’s judiciary also acknowledged the negative domestic and international reaction to the practice. “The eight Majlis removed stoning as a judicial practice and this form of punishment was removed from the new Islamic Punishment law,” he is reported to have said. He did however qualify his remarks by saying that this was a divine concept that existed in the Sharia law.
But…but…Hamas-linked CAIR and Imam Rauf and Reza Aslan told us that Sharia was benign and perfectly compatible with Western legal systems! Are the Iranians yet again misunderstanding Islam?