Your government is a fucking sicko travesty. Here’s why:
A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house.
According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, troubles for the woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, began last year when a member of the religious police entered her house in the city of Al-Chamli and found her with two unrelated men, “Fahd” and “Hadian.” Fahd told the policeman he had the right to be there, because Sawadi had breast-fed him as a baby and was therefore considered to be a son to her in Islam. Fahd, 24, added that his friend Hadian was escorting him as he delivered bread for the elderly woman. The policeman then arrested both men. Fahd was sentenced to four months in prison and 40 lashes; Hadian was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes.
Recently, King Abdullah replacing many of the hard-line religious zealots in his cabinet with (slightly more) moderate members, mostly to appease a populace that’s increasingly resistant to the abuses of the religious police. Still, the zealots are as busy as ever, as I pointed out on Sunday. One human-rights activist, who will be representing the elderly woman in this case says:
“ It has nothing to do with religion. It’s all about control. And the more you spread fear among people, the more you control them. It’s giving a bad reputation to the country.”
Damn straight.
“It’s giving a bad reputation to the country.”
That’s my nomination for UOTD (Understatement of the Day).
If the policeman had followed his own logic, he should have arrested himself, because what was he doing in the home of a woman he’s not related to?
This makes me sick to my stomach. I wish I could say that I was outraged, but I stopped being shocked by Saudi Arabia’s actions long ago. Does the Saudi government truly think that Wahabism (Salafism) is the true interpretation of Islam?
Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.
I hope that readers of this story know how disgusted other Muslims are with this militant interpretation of Islam.
@Liz. For real. Mohammad (pbuh) specifically spoke out against the abuse of women. This would so not be okay with him.
@Marie: The beauty of their logic is: they’re the religious police, so whatever they do is okay. Especially if it’s in the name of cracking down on the sinful excesses of temptresses like this poor grandma.
I doubt that they considered it, but this kind of trauma to an elderly woman is particularly dangerous for health. It could amount to a death sentence.
The Qu’uran calls for the honoring of mothers and this woman was clearly a mother like figure to the men involved in this case. This people aren’t about religion they are about controlling Saudi society.
@BeckyShaper: I realise that. It’s jusst baffling that the policeman didn’t spontaneously combust out of pure shame. But hey, he probably persisted in his outrage until the end because he was afraid his penis would fall off if he admitted he was wrong.
Cognitive dissonance for the fail.
[...] allowed in 2005. The Saudi people don’t have any political recourse. We have covered their crimes against humanity before. Just last week, they publicly executed and crucified a man. There are plenty of atrocities [...]