Cruelty to AIsha Ibrahim Duhulow
by Muuse Yuusuf
Sunday, July 11, 2010
This week the Islamic Republic of Iran is learning that implementing some aspects of the Islamic Sharia is unacceptable in a modern world. It is learning this reality in a hard way after it had to back down from stoning a woman adulterer to death for adultery. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43-year-old Iranian citizen, mother of two, was arrested in 2005 and was convicting of having an “illicit relationship”. She was then whipped 99 lashes in front of her son. Her case was again re-opened and she was convicted of adultery during her marriage. Stoning to death for adultery is enshrined in the Iranian Penal Code, and although the Iranian judiciary has suspended this kind of punishment, the practice continues. Although fifteen people were saved from stoning to death, according to human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, eight men and three women were waiting to be executed by stoning to death.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani could have been the latest victim of this barbaric medieval practice, which is against the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party. However, a campaign by human rights’ organisations, woman’s grown-up children and her lawyer had saved her at the last minute after organising an international campaign. The Iranian Embassy in London has confirmed the woman will be saved from stoning her to death although her destiny is unclear, i.e. whether or not she would be executed in other methods. Furthermore, Iran is revising its Islamic Penal Code and the Iranian Embassy in London has confirmed stoning adulterers to death is not in the draft of a penal code currently under consideration in the parliament. This is a clearly a U-turn in the Republic’s theocratic and philosophical thinking, a country where clerics and Mullahs have turned it to a fundamentalist medieval state, where un-Islamic things are not tolerated. However, realities of modern world have forced its clerics to accept that modern men and women throughout the world would not accept and tolerate medieval practices, such stoning people to death for what is private and family affairs that could be resolved in others means of conflict resolution.
So the imposing question is can Iran still be called Islamic Republic because the parliament is clearly dismantling “stoning to death” one of the main principles of Islamic teachings, which requires Muslims to stone married adulterer to death? At this moment in time and at crossroads, it does not obviously seem that Iran could be called as Islamic state because its parliamentarian’s move apparently contradicts a clear and unequivocal Quranic instruction and teaching. What we are probably seeing is a country that is being forced to come to terms with reality in modern times, which pushing it towards secularism, where the state is not interested in people’s private and personal life as long as it does not harm others.
This brings me to the mess in our beloved country where “Islamists” and wanna-be Wahabis are experimenting their distorted ideology of Islamic Sharia. As the world knows, one of the first victims of these lunatics' distorted ideology was a 13-year-old girl. Her name was AIsha Ibrahim Duhulow. She was a child, who was a victim of rape. This poor girl was stoned to death in October 2008 in a stadium in front of one thousand spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo. Reports had it that the girl was stoned to death while she was crying and begging for mercy, and what makes the whole story sad and heart-breaking is that she had already reported three men had raped her. Anyway, the point here is that the 13-year-old child was not lucky enough as the Iranian woman to have human rights campaigners, lawyers or international media taking up her case in order to save her. On the other hand, she might not have been from a stronger clan to protect her in a tribal society where genealogy and kinship are more important and relevant than ideology or religion. She ended up butchered by long-bearded, sadomasochists, gun-totting, women-hater lunatics. Imagine if that child was from a strong or prominent clan in other regions in Somalia, such as the northwest, northeast, Mudug etc. Would they have stoned her to death? I leave the answer to that question for your imagination.
In conclusion, the Iranian woman’s case shows how modern men and women would not accept or tolerate stoning adulterers to death or executing other barbaric acts as “punishment.” Therefore, as I argued in previous articles posted at Hiiraan, let us keep Somalia a secular state forever. I must say I am proud of Somaliland and Puntland who, having adopted the original Somali Penal Code, have so far resisted in hastily implementing what is clearly a medieval practice, such as chopping off thief’s hands, which cannot be implemented in the 21st century, or as one of my audiences put it:
“You people who believe religious dictator will solve our modern problems are bigots. It has never worker before and it will never work. There’s nothing wrong with Sharia laws but no one is capable to materialize it in modern times. They failed in Asxaab times and its impossible today. What is sure will work is to give every citizen a vote. No one can claim he know what’s best for me, I know, if my candidate looses then I will accept the outcome and I should wait till next election, but it must be free with no intimidations. No matter why majority chooses some certain candidate, it can be Amir Godane, but the people should have a vote. That’s democracy.”
Muuse Yuusuf
[email protected]