A Saudi court has ruled in favor of the public display of a crucifix, despite a Kingdom-wide ban on Christian symbols. The only proviso is that a beheaded human body has to be attached to it:
RIYADH (Reuters) – A Saudi court of cassation upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a 22-year-old man convicted of raping five children and leaving one of them to die in the desert, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The convict was arrested earlier this year after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation. The child left in the desert after the rape was three years old, Okaz newspaper said.
International rights groups have accused the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, of applying draconian justice, beheading murderers, rapists and drug traffickers in public. So far this year about 40 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia.
In Saudi Arabia, crucifixion means tying the body of the convict to wooden beams to be displayed to the public after beheading.
November 3rd, 2009 | 12:53 pm
Although I usually hold First Thought in highest regard, it must be said that this post –especially the title — is incredibly tasteless and shows no compassion for the victims. It is not humorous at all.
November 3rd, 2009 | 2:24 pm
I agree with Chris. I usually greatly enjoy the First Things blog, but I find this post to be in bad taste to say the least.
November 3rd, 2009 | 2:47 pm
I appreciate the delicacy of the sentiments expressed, but I stand by my post. The bad taste, I maintain, lies in the Saudi practice, not my report. There is a monstrous irony in the fact that a country that bans the possession of crucifixes for the purpose of personal devotion nonetheless uses the cross to desecrate human bodies. How should one react to such horrors except through irony?
November 3rd, 2009 | 2:52 pm
David is right Lads. The world is an untidy place.
November 3rd, 2009 | 4:25 pm
Pitch perfect if you ask me.
November 3rd, 2009 | 4:47 pm
Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear, that when it comes to things related to Islam, First Things simply steps done from its usually excellent level of discourse.
November 4th, 2009 | 12:54 am
I find it amazing how reality can be so ‘tasteless’, while at the same time stepping ‘down’ from an excellent level of discourse. Personally, from my own experience, real life is about the recognizing reality and dealing with it – regardless of how daintily it is displayed and on whatever level.
This is a great post. Thanks.
November 4th, 2009 | 1:46 am
A political comment, a cultural comment, a honest comment. Thanks
November 4th, 2009 | 7:22 am
I am old enough to remember, that, in the good ole days, if one professed to being offended, one could count on being chastised by one’s peers/immediate audience with chants of “This is a free country! People can say whatever they want! If you don’t like it, why don’t you grow up?”
That type of peer pressure probably does more to equip one to deal with reality than lots of therapy and group hugs.
“Between stimulus and response, man has the ability to choose!” – Viktor Frankl
“Offense is always in the receiver, not in the transmitter!” – Me
David – Keep up the good work! If you have to burst a bubble every now and then, so be it! People can always read what ever they wish and think as they choose! Keep calling em like you see em!
Thanks!
November 4th, 2009 | 8:56 am
The world is not just untidy, it is cold, ruthless and blood-soaked. In fact, I’ll even go one step further. Had the Christian world never decided to take the Jews’ advice and accept one G-d under a covenant relationship, the sort of world the Saudis have created would be more the norm than an article of bad taste.
November 4th, 2009 | 9:09 am
This is standard faire for humanity.
November 4th, 2009 | 9:50 am
Deuteronomy 21:23 forbids leaving a corpse overnight at the place of execution. Jewish law by no later than the Second Temple was extremely sparing in the use of the death penalty (the most-quoted rabbinic dictum is that a court that handed down one death sentence in a century was a “hanging court”), and absolutely forbids desecration of corpses. That is because the human being is made in the image of God. There seems to be is no such restriction in Islamic law: the intent of crucifying a headless body evidently is not to punish or to warn, but to horrify. I would be interested to know if any readers can shed light on this issue.
November 4th, 2009 | 1:19 pm
Not in bad taste at all. We need to start treating our child molesters and rapist in a similarly public and brutal fashion. The current punishments for such horrible crimes do nothing to deter these twisted individuals. It is very cruel and very unusual punishment, but so is the crime they committed.
I hope every one is offended. Now get over it.
November 4th, 2009 | 4:37 pm
Robert Spencer cites a Koranic verse supporting crucifixion for “those who wage war on Allah and his messengers:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/saudi-court-upholds-sentence-of-beheading-and-crucifixion.html
November 4th, 2009 | 8:32 pm
While it is easy to source verses sanctioning executions and crucifixions from the Quran;
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/005.qmt.html
Quran 005.033
YUSUFALI: “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;”
it’s the beheading aspect which differentiates this event. Reading about this crucifixion I can’t help but think of the numerous images of Buddha, Hindu deities, and Orthodox icons which have been beheaded & defaced from the Balkans to the Indus. However, for a history of ‘beheading’ in the Islamic context try Timothy Furnish’s article in Middle East Journal, Spring 2005. http://www.meforum.org/713/beheading-in-the-name-of-islam
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