Well, despite the bland and empty assurances of the Islamic apologists who frequent the site, we are about to be treated to yet another spectacle in Iran.

Nine Iranians have been sentenced to death by stoning for the alleged offense of adultery. The eight women and one man were convicted in cities throughout Iran by different judges. The disproportionate number of women faces death is revealing. Ater all, if one has enough "evidence" to sentence the female half of the adulterous pair to death then one must necessarily have enough evidence to so sentence the male half. Apparently, there is an extra burden of proof if one desires to convict a male adulterer under Sharia law.

Where is Hureea with his assurances that a death sentence for adultery is practically impossible? That it requires multiple witnesses to the act of penetration? According to Shadi Sadr, a human rights lawyer in Iran, six of those convicted were convicted solely on the basis of alleged confessions given to the judge...confessions obtained without witnesses or lawyers present. No witnesses, let alone four witnesses, testified in their cases.

Last week, two women were "executed" in Afghanistan by Taliban "authorities" for the alleged offense of pandering for the Coalition Forces. Of course, they were not stoned to death. The Taliban, captured on film by a reporter at the scene, shot the women. One was shot multiple times in the back as she knelt among her killers. The other was shot multiple times in the head as she too knelt among her killers. I suspect we will not be afforded the opportunity to examne the "evidence" against these two women but I am pretty sure it did not consist of multiple independent witnesses who observed any overt act.

Eleven people, convicted under Sharia law and killed or awaiting death...deaths Hureaa et al assure us will never happen due to the generous legal protections Sharia affords. One wonders how long after Sharia comes to America or Britian, as some authorities suggest should be allowed to happen, we will see Muslim communities murdering their members...

No matter how much such acts disgust most people, they are fairly common place in within the Islamic world. I wonder exactly happened to account for this man facing death by stoning? Usually the vast majority of the victims of such stonings are women. I am sure there was some extra perceived insult to the Islamic authorities which sealed the mans fate.

Well, Law.. there have already been documented cases of Honor Killings in the US and Canada. But please don't be just alarmed for Islamic women.. stats are equally alarming all over the world.. just here in the US..

MURDER. Every day four women die in this country as a result of domestic violence, the euphemism for murders and assaults by husbands and boyfriends. That's approximately 1,400 women a year, according to the FBI. The number of women who have been murdered by their intimate partners is greater than the number of soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.

BATTERING. Although only 572,000 reports of assault by intimates are officially reported to federal officials each year, the most conservative estimates indicate two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year. At least 170,000 of those violent incidents are serious enough to require hospitalization, emergency room care or a doctor's attention.

SEXUAL ASSAULT. Every year approximately 132,000 women report that they have been victims of rape or attempted rape, and more than half of them knew their attackers. It's estimated that two to six times that many women are raped, but do not report it. Every year 1.2 million women are forcibly raped by their current or former male partners, some more than once.

I get the point that many of these victims are not then killed, as are those under Sharia Law, yet.. Justice Dept stats are dismal when it comes to seeking justice for the crimes against women. ...

it's dicey business being a woman.

I think LM is talking about stoning to death being legal punishment for adultery in Afghanistan, Iran,Sudan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and in parts of the states in Nigeria. Iran is especially brutal towards women, this is true. This past year the UAE, after much human right lobbying dropped a case.

btw Wandering, in Latin American countries, ‘crimes of passion’ committed by men are treated very leniently and many times excused. They are not classified as murders. The abuse of women’s knows no boundaries. There are abuses in all cultures and religions.

I get it CG.. but as I was thinking about the point Law was making (the usual Muslim defense found on this board and Sharia Law in general) the topic jumped in my mind to a big picture of global/historical proportions.. (there's no medication for that fyi)

*you did it too, lol

Wandering, I know you do... When Muslim countries like the ones I listed advocate this type of punishment, it only inspires, Muslims worldwide to practice honour killings in their own neighborhoods...illegally. The real question LM should be asking is, why on earth are US companies like Halliburton, ones who have benefited financially from the War in Iraq, now headquartered in a place like the UAE? The UAE one of the few Muslim countries who stones women to death if they are found to commit adultery. Where is LM's outrage?

Dubai, of course has become the "jewel" of the ME...replacing Beirut with all it's spendor! Until these leader countries banish this practice, I am afraid it will continue our neighborhoods in the USA...

Stoning is a very archaic and barbaric practice for those who refuse to join the modern world and want to try to hold on to old and unfair (Especially to women) forms of justice.

Many of the countries that practice this sort of justice are U.S. Allies and we need to stress to them that these practices must cease if we are to continue are relationships with them.

I believe you answered the question within the question.. 'have benefited financially'



I tend not to invite LM's outrage.. it seems to have a very natural path. Best for one not to interfer with that...

Unfortunately, Law, I haven't seen hureea around here since April. I'm afraid others will have to take up the slack.

Once upon a time, women in Iraq ran businesses, not only attended universities but taught in them as well, managed hospitals.
They could wear whatever they chose in public.
They did not have to wear hajib unless they chose to do so.
They could wear make-up if they pleased.
They could marry for love and they could get divorced if it didn't work out.

No more...
Bush and his supporters ended that for the women of Iraq. Now, they can be stoned to death...