venting 101

so on cnn there was an article about a rape of an 18 year old girl in saudi arabia. The case is that the girl while meeting with a male friend was attacked by 7 men, kidnapped and both were raped. The 7 men were jailed and given sentences ranging from 2 - 9 years. The major shock factor is that the victims were also given sentences of 90 lashes. And after the girl appealed, the court raised the sentence to 200 lashes because she had spoken to the media about the case. Sach bolna bhi ghuna hai! Her lawyer has been banned from the case and his license has been confiscated.

Heres what understanding-islam.org says about punishment of rape as per Shariah

"The Shari`ah has actually prescribed the punishment for four major crimes. It has prescribed the punishment for murder and other bodily harm, theft, fornication and qazaf (to accuse someone of zinaa - fornication - without adequate evidence). Besides these crimes, if a crime is committed against the community rather than an individual or if the crime is of the nature of religious persecution or if the motive of the crime is to spread a wave of terror through the whole community or if the crime is committed against the state, the Qur'an calls it "Fasaad fi al-ardh"[1]. In case of Fasaad fi al-ardh, the Qur'an has given four options for the person administering the punishment. Thus, the punishment may be severe or comparatively soft depending upon the nature of the crime committed and on the various conditions surrounding the accused. The punishments mentioned in the Qur'an , from among which one of the punishments shall be administered are:

Taqteel: Taqteel in the Arabic language means to kill in a very painful manner. One of the methods of taqteel, as adopted in the times of the Prophet (pbuh) was rajam, i.e. stoning to death. Other methods might include killing through the Electric chair etc.

Tasleeb: Tasleeb means to crucify. Crucifixion is the other option given by the Qur'an . Both taqteel and tasleeb are different methods that may be adopted to punish a criminal that in the eyes of the judge deserves no mercy and should not be allowed to live in the society.

Amputation of a hand and a foot: The third option is to cut off a hand and a foot of the criminal. This option shall be administered if the judge feels that the criminal has committed such a heinous crime that even if he is allowed to live, he should be made an example for the other members of the society and should not be allowed to live a normal life.

Banishment: The fourth option given to the judge for punishing such criminals is to banish them from their hometown. This option shall be used for such criminals who, in the eyes of the judge have the potential of correction and who, only due to their bad company in their own land had committed a grave crime.

Punishments for crimes other than those mentioned above shall be determined by the collectivity of the Muslims, through their legislative body. The basic guideline provided by the Qur'an for the determination of the punishments for other crimes is that no crime other than that, which falls under the category of murder or "Fasaad fi al-ardh" can be punished by death. Death sentence can only be administered in these two cases.

In view of the above explanation, it is quite clear that the Shari`ah does not determine the punishment for rape. There may be certain cases of rape, which fall under the category of Fasaad fi al-ardh. In such cases, any of the punishments provided for crimes that fall under this category may be administered, keeping in view the nature of the crime committed, the psyche and various other conditions of the criminal. For cases of rape, that do not fall under the category of Fasaad fi al-ardh, the legislative may, under the stated guideline provided by the Qur'an , decide about the punishment to be administered. This punishment may or may not be the same as stipulated for fornication in the Qur'an . "

Sometimes I am so appalled by the lack of logic, compassion, and understanding of these stupid judges in the Saudi court. I dont understand what kind of kick they get by showing they are so powerful and opressing the weak.

Their defense is that the girl was with a non-mahram and that she brought this onto herself. This kind of bullshit mentality just irks me. First of all, she was in a public place and the law says that you arent supposed to be with a non mahram in private. Secondly even even if it were something not permissible, there is something called compassion, something called humanity.

Isnt your kindness, your religion? Isnt your understanding, your religion? Isnt your actions, your religion?

how can you give such a sentence after all that this girl has gone through! How would they feel if it were there own child has to go through this? When will these people understand? I just dont get it. And why is this sentence so lenient for the 7 rapists. and since when did the judicial court in Saudi decide they can play God. The whole thing just irritates me.

I had an uncle when asked what is the city you would love to live in. He always said Saudi Arabia, since its considered by muslims as the most holy place. This is the opinion of many pple. They have this rosy image. But when things like this happen, the image gets distorted.

Its the worst for women. The restrictions are ridiculous. You cant drive. What if you have no family , what if you are a single women and have no one to depend on and have to work. and may have to drive to work, but you cant coz you arent allowed. Even for Haj which is your right, you need a mahram to accompany you. The law as I would like to blieve was written in terms that there is someone to take care of you and so you are protected.But things have gone a long long way. What if there isnt anyone, how can they prevent you from doing Haj!

SO SO Ridiculous

And you know what is going to happen now ,rather than seeing this as how screwed up the judicial system is in Saudi Arabia, this is going to be blown out in the media here and add to the alread y negative image of Islam. and alllllll because of these idiots.

I do think there is a desperate need to revisit these laws, there is a need to stop taking things as either black or white. My favourite hadith that I believe explains this concept beautifully is the story of the prostitute and the dog. A prostitute while passing by saw a thirsty dog which noone had bothered with. She filled her shoe with water and gave it to the dog. And it is said that God forgave her for all her sins, for that one act of kindness.

If it were upto these idiotic judges they would have probably beaten the prostitute and the dog for accepting water from her.