As with so many applications of Islamic law, we see here again that it is an empire of fear, with virtue enforced by draconian punishments that make people too afraid to step out of line. Behind the Islamic moral critique of the West is not genuine virtue, but people cringing in fear of being lashed, getting their hands amputated, getting stoned to death, etc.
“Shopkeepers Selling Cigarettes in Mosul Under ISIS Face 80 Lashes,” NBCNews.com, November 10, 2014 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):
Shopkeepers caught selling cigarettes in the ISIS-conquered city of Mosul now face 80 lashes, more than two weeks in jail and a hefty fine. The 700,000 Iraqi dinar penalty is the equivalent of $580 — or enough to buy an iPhone 5S or Windows 7 laptop computer in the country. Anyone caught trying to import cigarettes into the northern Iraqi city also faces 80 lashes, as well as four months in jail and a fine of up to 4 million Iraqi dinar — the equivalent of about $3,300.
The punishments are among the strict Islamic laws imposed by the extremist group which has seized parts of Iraq and Syria. They were detailed on the website of the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights. A staff member at the University of Mosul, who spoke on condition of anonymity for his own safety, confirmed to NBC News via telephone that the laws had been implemented and were in effect. He said anyone caught smoking in Mosul could be fined 20,000 Iraqi dinar — or around $16. That’s enough to by a pair of jeans or groceries to provide three meals for a family of four. One Mosul resident told NBC News that the new rules had sent the price of cigarettes soaring in the city. He added that people were now afraid to smoke in their homes.
Neil Jennison says
What our health fascist anti-freedom politicians in the UK wouldn’t give to have the punishment for selling fags 80 lashes in UK law….
forthfaran says
Don’t speak too soon,they’re probably drawing up plans as we type.
Oliver says
Do NOT let Michael Bloomberg (former New York City mayor-although probably better in total then De Blassio) see this.
He would be upset that he had not thought of this-for his anti smoking crusades. (The same is true of the other crusaders against tobacco).
(I do not and never have smoked, but do not care if others do).
mortimer says
There will be a tremendous underground trade in cigarettes.
john spielman says
odd that ISIS would be antismoking but IN FAVOR of rape stealing ampututions stoning pedophilia crucifying ect! I guess that is because ol mo didn’t smoke but did rape steal murder etc. After all nuhammed-pbuh*WAS their “perfect man”!
pbuh* -perpetual banishment unto hell!
UnEasyOne says
If they had had cigarettes back then, Mo would have probably been a smoker. Especially if it was considered “bad”. What evil DIDN’T he commit, after all? A pretty good rule of thumb is: If Mohammed didn’t do it, it isn’t evil.
duh_swami says
There is going to be a lot of nervous tobacco addicts if they get cut off from their addiction. The price of even one cigarette could go way up.
ConnectingDots says
Islamic State, meet Westminster, MA.
Westminster, MA, meet Islamic State.
http://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2014/11/massachusetts_town_weighs_nati.html
Now get a room, you two!
Perhaps Westminster will rename itself Sharia, Massachusetts!
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Another case of Nothing To Do With Islam (#NTDWI).
How can tobacco-smoking be prohibited by sharia, when tobacco is a plant that Muhammad (pbuh) and his Quran scribes knew nothing about? Tobacco did not exist in Eurasia until Columbus brought it back from the New World after 1492. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tobacco
What Quran passage or hadith prohibits the inhaling of tobacco smoke?
Sharia experts, please speak up!
Salah says
Check out this fatwa…
Proof for the prohibition of smoking in Islam:
In the Qur’an, we read: “be not cast by your own hands to ruin; and do good. Lo! Allah loveth the beneficent.” (Al-Baqarah:195). Smoking causes fatal sicknesses, for example, lung cancer, tuberculosis, etc.
In another verse, Almighty Allah says: “And do not kill yourselves.” (An-Nisaa’: 29). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “Whomsoever drinks poison, thereby killing himself, will sip this poison forever in the Hell-Fire.”
http://www.islamawareness.net/Smoking/sfatwa001.html
My comment on this fatwa:
Muslims are not allowed to kill themselves through smoking, but if they blow themselves up while killing infidels, that’s OK.
Indeed, the Islamic deity is a blood-thirsty one!
Champ says
islam is a shame and fear based *death cult* …
And I will no longer refer to islam as a “religion”; even though islam believes in a god: allah. But allah is a false god: satan. Therefore islam is a death cult, and it does not deserve a title that should be reserved for a genuine faith in the one true God ..imho. There, I feel much bettah!
TH says
Virtue, according to Aristotle, is a permanent disposition toward the good so that it is a perfection of the person and it makes doing good easy as it opposes vice within the person and is obviously the result of many good acts performed freely. Self.control, according to the same Greek philosopher, is not virtue as the person who controls his instincts doesn’t do so because he has achieved facility in doing good and has thus perfected his nature, but imposes on himself self.control which could be due to fear of punishment or other motives like fear of being ridiculed and such or being punished for breaking some law. Of course, self- control is important for the person who lacks virtue and it is much better than vice, but far inferior to true virtue. Also, forcing others to do something considered to be good is light years distant from true virtue. In reality it would appear that mahommedanism knows nothing about virtue and the seeking of the true good of human persons and the human society. Of course, as the Founding Fathers of the U.S. knew well, democracy cannot function without virtue among the citizenry. Allah is totally arbitrary and dictatorial, so that both virtue and democarcy a re totally foreign to his cult and his pseudo prophet. Likewise free wil is foreign to mahommadism as on it depends the practice of virtue and a way of life worthy of the Creator. n any case, how could a bandit, a pedophile, a sex maniac and a mass murdered conceive of virtue?
Dave J says
Education and taxes reduce cigarette consumption in the West.
But Islam is opposed to education and free will.
Pakistan removes physics and chemistry texts, replaces with Islamic text:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-pakistan-education-idUSKBN0IJ1G820141030
John Lee Pedimore says
If you sell them you get 80 lashes………. but if you smoke them you get cancer.
Nobody wins this one.
Ayatrollah says
Indonesia, the largest Muslim country is the largest smokers too. They might riot before they would let the Islamic state take away smoking. It will be interesting to see.
forthfaran says
It is because it is regarded as a form of intoxicating substance. There isn’t much that Sharia doesn’t ban,except sexual perversion ,head and hand lopping and the odd stoning and of course whipping. No wonder most people have to be converted on pain of death.
Salah says
Robert rightly wrote:
“As with so many applications of Islamic law, we see here again that it is an empire of fear…”
This is why I’ll say it again and again: Most Muslims are Muslims out of fear.
Muslims fear their fellow Muslims, they fear their own families, even here, in the West. Actually, Muslims are VICTIMS, and I’m not talking about the victim status they claim every now and then. I’m talking about Muslims being the first and real victims of Islam itself. They live in a huge prison, they’re unable to get out.
Fear and ignorance are the ONLY reasons why Muslims (jihadis not included) are still Muslims.
That’s what Muslims do when they learn more about Muhammad and when they feel relatively safe:
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/01/egyptian-muslims-tear-up-quran.html
salamander says
We have an expression up here in Scotland for a night out boozing, it’s called going out on the lash. This may take on a whole new meaning when we come under sharia law. Muslims will have their work cut out in some areas , Scots like a drink, fag and a bacon sandwich. For any Americans reading this post, fag is slang for cigarette, but we do have gays as well. So muslims very haram place , you would be better trying to find somewhere else , it’s very cold here and there is no sand. And our youth don’t look much like scattered pearls ,and can be a bit aggresive
Jay Boo says
Coming so soon after Ashura, the Shiite Muslims who missed a few strokes due to fatigue or laziness must be loving this and puffing away like crazy.
Why do all that work when ISIS will do their flogging for free.