November 26, 2015

"When Palestinian artist Ashraf Fayadh was tried last year on blasphemy-related charges, the Saudi judges overseeing the case rejected the prosecution's request for a death sentence for apostasy."

"Instead, he was sentenced to 800 lashes and four years in prison over a book of poetry he wrote and for allegedly having illicit relations with women. An appeal was filed and the case was sent back to the lower court, but this time around judges threw out defense witness testimony, refused to accept Fayadh's repentance and on Nov. 17 sentenced him to execution for apostasy.... The case illustrates how courts in Saudi Arabia can issue vastly different punishments based on how judges interpret Islamic Shariah law.... While judges in the initial trial accepted Fayadh's repentance for anything deemed offensive to religion in his poetry book, judges in the retrial said the case was considered an instance of 'hadd' — specific crimes, such as apostasy, that have fixed punishments in Islam...."

From "Artist's death sentence in Saudi points to importance of interpretation in Islamic law" (in U.S. News & World Report).

36 comments:

chickelit said...

When wrong, it's important to get it righteous.

traditionalguy said...

That is fair warning that my grandchildren will face Mandatory Death Sentences if caught Christ honoring at Thanksgiving once Obama's Order to allowing a Muslim invasion pursuant to the UN Law mandating refugee migration here.

And their only hope is a Presbyterian believer named Trump.

Lewis Wetzel said...

'The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.'
-Barack Hussein Obama, 25 September, 2012.

Ron Nelson said...

I guess the lesson is to never file an appeal of a court decision in Saudi Arabia of any punishment other than execution.

pm317 said...

Ha, one more Althouse post where this article is relevant. Treat the Saudis like we did South Africa during Apartheid.

tim maguire said...

Given that 800 lashes is effectively a death sentence as well, this outcome is probably better. Hopefully (though doubtfully), quiet negotiations are underway to secretly shuffle him out of the country. If we can take 65,000 (or 100,000, whatever the latest number is) refugees despite some unknown number of terrorists hiding among them, we can certainly provide a home for a few hundred dissidents each year.

Guildofcannonballs said...

This is the question that needs to be put to all candidates: Is the government of the House of Saud Islamic?

Because of the devastating truth, Islam requires death for apostates according to many leaders in the Muslim community, there will be calls of "you boring racist, you don't have a point so be smarter and more interesting and less racist" in order to obscure unpleasantness.

Then Christians from centuries ago will be erroneously compared to Muslims of today as equal examples of elevating death over life.

The good news is many, perhaps even most, Muslims don't feel the way the lower court that reversed the upper courts ruling (not sure how that process works) feel and change is possible, but only if apostate death isn't excused or even enabled by calling critics highlighting and condemning it racist.

Napier: "Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs."

Jeff said...

This is obviously horrible and wrong, but it has to be said that Fayadh is an idiot. When Saudi courts flog even Saudi citizens for bullshit religious reasons, any sentient non-Saudi should know it's time to leave. Let these assholes do everything for themselves. Not just housekeeping and babysitting, but curating as well. If you work in Saudi Arabia under these conditions, you are a fool.

Wince said...

Ouch, we got a "hot bench"'and a living, breathing Quran here.

Hagar said...

One good thing that may come out of the Obama presidency is that we may be able to ditch the House of Saud. The wahhabists are our enemies, and it makes no sense for us to pretend we are friends and allies.

Sebastian said...

Normal Islam. That's why Hillary! is right we should not speak of "radical islam."

Real American said...

No. The Death sentence points to how Sharia Law is followed by homicidal maniacs.

Bob Boyd said...

"...a complaint filed to the religious police by an acquaintance who accused him of making blasphemous comments about God, the Prophet Muhammad and the Saudi state during a heated discussion at a cafe in Abha, the southwestern city where the case was heard."

"Just days earlier, Fayadh's friends say he may have caught the attention of religious police when he filmed one of them slapping a man on the face and forcibly pinning him against a wall in Abha. The video on YouTube has been viewed nearly 195,000 times."

So Fayahd embarrassed the religious police and they went after him, perhaps compelling this "aquaintance" to denounce him?

David Begley said...

Our friends, the Sauds.

What's the difference between SA and ISIS?
Not that much.

Bob Boyd said...

tim maguire said...
"Given that 800 lashes is effectively a death sentence as well, this outcome is probably better."

Not necessarily. For one thing, in Saudi Arabia they don't hit them full strength whacks. The convict has not been sentenced to death and the lashing is conducted accordingly. It's doubtless painful, but part of the punishment is considered to be the humiliation. Also, they don't do it all at once. They give them some lashes, then they wait for the poor guy/gal to recover for a week or however long. Then they whack them some more.

More info here if you're interested: http://www.corpun.com/counsaj.htm

Gahrie said...

I can't wait until we have Sharia law imposed on us by the religion of peace.

robinintn said...

Artist's death sentence in Saudi points to insecurity created when there is no rule of law.

11/26/15, 9:46 AM

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

What percentage of US Muslims want sharia law? 51%. What percent believe it's OK to use violence against those who blaspheme God? 30%.

Are those Muslims the good Muslims or the bad ones?

traditionalguy said...

So along with Obama's Sweet Call To Prayer we get to hear the shrieks of torture.

pm317 said...

Are those Muslims the good Muslims or the bad ones?

Depends on where those Muslims came from and what type of brainwashing and indoctrination they had from their state overlords (like the Saudis). Even the little people can figure out they can manipulate in little ways using the religion that was used against them by their overlords, (like the clock boy).

cubanbob said...

I'll bet a buck that this is one Palestinian who would rather be judged by an Israeli judge than by an Arab judge.

Bay Area Guy said...

Where's the ACLU and National Lawyer's Guild when you really need them?

FleetUSA said...

The Koran and Sharia should be kept to the Middle East. They are an antithesis to the US system.

Rusty said...

It's barbarism all the way down.

tim maguire said...

Saudi Arabia is our ally because they are useful to our Middle East policy. How they treat their people is...unfortunate...but I doubt U.S. policy makers will take any kind of stand on it.

Drago said...

These punishments have nothing to do with islam and only backward Trump worshipping hillbillies believe that it does.

#reality-based-dems

Chuck said...

The Saudis must be thankful that they can invest their cash in London, get open heart surgery in Cleveland, update their petrochemical technology in Houston, and buy Bordeaux in Paris. The apostates, after all, have something to offer.

pm317 said...

@Chuck, apostates are for the peasants to tackle.

Larvell said...

Thankfully it had nothing to do with Islam.

Clyde said...

Barbarians. Coming to a location near you, soon.

JAORE said...

"The case illustrates how courts in Saudi Arabia can issue vastly different punishments .."

Thank God our courts rule uniformly throughout the land.

JAORE said...

"The case illustrates how courts in Saudi Arabia can issue vastly different punishments .."

Thank God our courts rule uniformly throughout the land.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Who was the poster who was discussing how most Muslims are moderate?

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

They're doing the Lord's work.

mikee said...

I for one believe it important to note attentively the variances from our own civilized norms of those living beyond the US borders.

Know the enemy, as a great warrior once wrote, and empathize with them and understand their desires, as Hillary, our future Commander in Chief, famously said.

That way, when Hillary does absolutely nothing about the egregious behavior of our nation's enemies, and the first of many US cities vanishes in a nuclear mushroom cloud while she shrieks for tolerance of their diversity, we can hate on her all the more because we know exactly what she let flourish in the world.

Bobby said...

exhelodrvr1,

"Who was the poster who was discussing how most Muslims are moderate?"

You're probably referring to me, although we used your definition of "moderate" which you established as essentially being "like the Kurds," whom you claim to support, and the willingness to stand up and fight against Daesh (later, you added a correlation between anti-Semitism and radical Islam, though you never actually perfected it and wholesale ignored that it would now exclude your Kurds from being "moderates"). There was no discussion about domestic social, cultural or legal practices in your definition, so if you intended for that to be in there, that wasn't what I responded t. I'm sure it's my fault for not being able to read your mind.

In any case, I was speaking about the worldwide Muslim community- a population of some 1.6- to 1.8-billion people- that includes Arabs, Kurds, Persians, Indonesians, Malaysians, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangals, Turks, Albanians, etc. etc. This article refers to the Saudi regime, of which there are maybe 30-million Saudis in total and a rather small percentage of 1.6-billion (with the percentage of whose opinions get manifested in policies like these an even smaller amount, but that would be a different point). And of course I have never referred to the Saudi regime or Saudi people as being "moderate," not even with your definition of being "like the Kurds." Matter of fact, I think most of us consider Wahhabism to be among the most radical strains of Islam.