Abas Hussein Abdirahman was a 33-year-old man in the town of Merka in southern Somalia. He is said to have confessed to adultery and according to the BBC News (Nov. 6, 2009), he was stoned to death for this. His lover has been condemned to the same fate once she delivers the baby she is carrying.
The execution took place before a crowd of about 300 people, one of whom told the BBC “He was screaming and blood was pouring from his head during the stoning. After seven minutes he stopped moving.”
Stoning an Ancient Form of Execution
The technical term for stoning is “lapidation,” but no matter what it’s called it is seen as barbaric in most parts of the world today. It is referred to in Christian, Jewish, and Islamic texts and is probably one of the oldest forms of execution.
It is still practiced in some Muslim countries, notably Iran, Saudi Arabia, northern Nigeria, and recently, areas of Somalia controlled by extremists. It is also said to take place outside the law in places such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Execution by Stoning Described
At the website apostatesofislam.com, which is operated by people who have quit the Muslim faith, the process of stoning is described:
“In stoning to death, the victim’s hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack. Then, this human ‘package’ is buried in a hole, with only the victim’s head showing above the ground.”
The community gathers in a circle around the subject and begins to throw stones; through this joint effort there is no single executioner.
It is stipulated by sharia law, which orders death by stoning for adultery, that the stones must be small enough so that they do not kill with just one or two blows, but they must be large enough to cause real physical harm.
It can take as much as 20 minutes for the condemned person to die.
Stoning Executions in Iran
Officially, the conservative clergy who rule Iran say they stopped the practice of stoning in 2002. However, Amnesty International says people are still stoned to death in the country despite official denials; it says it has credible reports of at least two people being stoned to death in May 2006.
Writing for IPS News (Sept. 29, 2006), Allison Langley reported that seven women had been sentenced to be stoned to death. “Both men and women can be sentenced to die by stoning,” she wrote. “In practice, however, an overwhelming number of women receive that penalty.”
Debate over Stoning in Indonesia
Aceh province in the world’s largest Muslim country, Indonesia, has approved a sharia law that calls for the stoning to death of adulterers. According to ABC News (Sept. 15, 2009) “The law replaces elements of the civil code with sharia or Islamic law, and stipulates punishments of up to 100 lashes of the cane for an unmarried person who commits adultery, and death by stoning for a married person.”
The enactment of the harsh law has created a debate in Indonesia. An opinion piece in The Jakarta Post (Oct. 1, 2009) states: “Allowing adulterers to be stoned to death is not just improper but is generally perceived as uncivilized nowadays. Stoning is neither in line with the Indonesian legal system, nor with the spirit of how the Prophet Muhammad dealt with adulterers.”
Rupert Taylor - Rupert Taylor is the editor of a magazine that provides background to current events.
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