Maryam Namazie

Maryam Namazie is a political activist, campaigner and blogger

Now can you understand why it’s important to focus on Islam?

Isabelle Wilczynska just sent me her artwork called ‘Stoning of unknown girl’ [See featured photo]. Lest we forget, people are still being sentenced to death by stoning in a handful of countries (all – surprise, surprise – under Sharia law).

Just this month, a young widow and her daughter were stoned and shot dead in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. The officials blamed the Taliban, who they said had accused the women of ‘moral deviation and adultery’ – the same accusations levelled against the majority of women in Afghanistan’s ‘official’ prisons.

Over 20 await death by stoning in Iran, including Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

Women and men are buried in a ditch, and stoned to death until they are dead. The law even specifies the size of the stone in Iran – not to big to kill too quickly and not to small to take too long. It has to be just right…

Now can you understand why it is important to focus on Islam?

Comments

11 responses to “Now can you understand why it’s important to focus on Islam?”

  1. Infidel753 Avatar
    Infidel753

    But unfortunately Islamism is not a perversion of Islam, and theocratic movements like the Taliban and al-Qâ’idah are authentically Islamic. This is simply a fact which remains true whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, and which is apparent to anyone who reads the Koran and the career of Muhammad with an open mind. A campaign to enlighten cannot succeed if it is based on comfortable but easily-exposed falsehoods.

    The problem is not perversion of religion or stereotypes of religion or some specific version of religion. The problem is religion.

    Reply
  2. Riley Avatar
    Riley

    *Sighs.* Once again the best way to combat Islamism is to define it as a perversion of Islam, not to present recent theocratic movements as inherently Islamic that only helps them. Also while the hysteria about “war with Iran” is just that baseless hysteria but I really like the idea of little Basij thugs hanging out at the border clutching their .22s in fear that that shadow that moved is actually the 75th ranger regiment.

    Reply
  3. theophontes, Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane Wielding Tardigrade Avatar
    theophontes, Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane Wielding Tardigrade

    @ NotYou

    You DO know that there is no proof of this being real?

    Do you mean mohammed or jeebus?

    Reply
  4. Alethea H. Claw Avatar
    Alethea H. Claw

    No proof of it being real? WHAT THE FUCKE ARE YOU ON? It happens. You can easily find youtube videos of women being stoned to death. There is a BBC news report in this blog entry. There is a link to a campaign against it with lots of detail. Amnesty Intyernational regularly reports on cases. You can go read wiki-fucking-pedia

    How badly in denial can you get?

    Reply
  5. NotYou Avatar
    NotYou

    You DO know that there is no proof of this being real? You even call it “artwork” in your story, which means YOU cannot really vouch for the authenticity, can you?

    To lump all Islam (or any religion) into one stereotype is short-sighted and stupid. Just as you would be upset if I said all Catholics are child molesters or all LDS members are polygamist child molesters, there are way too many Muslims who are just as offended by the event “depicted” as you people are.

    The Taliban are not practicing Sharia, but are actually invoking their own tribal laws and using religion as a cover for old-school misogyny. It’s no different than using religion in our own country to cover plain, old-fashioned racism and hatred.

    Reply
    1. Robert B. Avatar
      Robert B.

      Yeah, NotYou, it’s artwork, like she said. You are not looking at an actual stoning and no one has claimed that you are. Someone has drawn a picture, or made a sculpture.

      It’s artwork that depicts a punishment that is called for in a religious text, for actions that are not even properly crimes, and which is routinely carried out in countries where that religion gets to write the laws. I am glad that many, many adherents of that religion find this appalling. I missed the part where this excuses the religion for its direct causal role in these brutal deaths.

      For that matter, could you explain to me the exact difference between “tribal law” and “religious law”? That one’s a little too subtle for me, also.

      Reply
    2. Nele Avatar
      Nele

      Mhm. Must be something about my ears, I keep hearing “no true Scotsman, no true Scotsmann”. Strange thing, that.

      Reply
  6. rorschach Avatar
    rorschach

    I understood already.

    Reply
  7. grumpyoldfart Avatar
    grumpyoldfart

    I remember the videos of the executions in the football stadium in Afghanistan. The place was full of spectators cheering on the executioners.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4l267pCGdA&oref

    Things won’t change until the hoi-poloi get off their arses and depose their religious leaders.

    Reply
  8. Upright Ape Avatar
    Upright Ape

    There is no reason to think of the Taliban as anything other than devout “originalist” muslims. True, most muslims in today’s world do not find their behavior to their liking. But the truth is, if their behavior is repugnant that does not make it unislamic. If you read the hadith you will see that the prophet and his successors all behaved this way.

    Reply
  9. Ophelia Benson Avatar
    Ophelia Benson

    I heard a story on public radio years ago, in about 1996, about the Taliban stoning a woman with her children watching. After awhile they made one of the children check her to see if she was dead yet. She wasn’t, so the stoning resumed…

    Reply

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