One wonders how many Iranians were misled in 1982 by the notion that the Islamic Penal Code — replete with the nastiest punishments Sharia has to offer, including amputations and stonings — was “just” a five-year experiment. What a perfect exercise in state-sponsored taqiyya, in a land where “Allah knows best” meets “government knows best.”
“Iran Extends Enforcement Of Islamic Penal Code, Including Stoning,” from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, February 8 (thanks to Twostellas):
Ahmadinejad on February 6 issued a notification to extend enforcement of the code until March 2012, the beginning of the Iranian new year, following ratification by the Iranian parliament in December 2010.
Lashing, amputation of hands, and stoning to death are among the punishments permitted under the code.
Qur’an 24:2 prescribes lashes for adultery. Qur’an 5:33 prescribes amputation for “spreading mischief in the land,” and 5:38 prescribes it for theft. Stoning depends on Islamic tradition, which holds that Muhammad approved of and participated in stonings. Clearly, Shi’ites have upheld that tradition as well as Sunnis.
The Islamic Penal Code was originally ratified by the parliament’s Legal and Judicial Commission in 1982 and passed by the top legislative body, the Guardian Council, for an experimental period of five years. Since its revision in 1991, the law’s experimental implementation has been repeatedly extended.
According to Iran’s constitution, the experimental implementation of a law is approved by parliamentary commissions and is never debated by all lawmakers. Such laws are not permanent.
… except when they keep getting extended.
Abdolkarim Lahiji, the Paris-based vice president of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, told Radio Farda on February 7 that the experimental implementation of Iran’s Islamic punishment law has been repeatedly extended for three decades.
He said this shows the Iranian regime is incapable of making laws compatible with today’s social conditions.
But what is the basis for the regime’s legislation? They’re not even writing their own material here.
He said Iran’s Islamic punishment law has never helped prevent crime, but rather has incited violence in its severest form.