The Stoning of Soraya M. [Hardcover]

Freidoune Sahebjam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 1994

Recreates the painful ordeal of a woman stoned to death in modern Iran based on her husband's accusation of adultery, laying bare a painful miscarriage of justice and the disparity of rights between the genders in Muslim society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This resonant book portrays the ugliness of fundamentalist Islamic mob justice in Khomeini-era Iran. Sahebjam, an Iranian journalist based in France who has written critically of the regime, returned to his homeland under cover in 1986. While visiting a small town he calls Kupayeh, he learned how an innocent 35-year-old woman had been stoned to death for supposed infidelity. His thorough reporting, based on a further visit to the village, reconstructs Soraya's life and killing with much dialogue and interior monologue. Soraya gave birth to nine children in 14 years and her husband Ghorban-Ali also turned to prostitutes. He became involved in shady business deals and began to associate with Sheik Hassan, a criminal who was appointed Ayatollah Khomeini's local representative. When Ghorban-Ali, having fallen in love with another woman, accused his wife of infidelity, villagers lied to aid him and Soraya was left with no support in the town. Her two eldest sons sat on the male tribunal that declared her guilty, and she was stoned by a mob that included her father. This book refuses to let such horror go unremembered.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-While Sahebjam, an expatriated Iranian journalist, was in his native land on assignment for a French publication in 1986, he recorded this account. Zahra Khanum is an old woman whose niece Soraya was but one of over 1,000 people who were stoned to death in Iran in the last 15 years. Set solidly in a fundamentalist village, the story of Soraya's less-than-honorable husband; the false mullah, Sheik Hassan; and the events leading up to her stoning are relayed. The manipulation of government, church, and society by dishonorable persons; the lack of proof and villagers' support to save Soraya; and the mob mentality of the townspeople on the fateful day are all made clear. Students, parents, and teachers might want to discuss this work with Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," or with historical events such as the Holocaust or the Salem witch trails. A powerful work that should generate thought in all of its readers.
Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1st English-language ed edition (January 14, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559702338
• ISBN-13: 978-1559702331
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Women in Islam

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Practice of Stoning, January 17, 2009

By 

JBJ (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story (Paperback)

There are many Western countries today under the impression that Sharia Law, or Islamic Law, is a system of justice and impartiality. In truth, the whole concept of Sharia Law entirely benefits men; even falsely accused, women have little recourse but to submit. Under the Sharia, raped women are forced to provide witnesses to prove their innocence.

This book perfectly illustrates how easily such barbaric, outdated systems of 'justice' destroy innocent lives. The accused are guilty until proven innocent. Witnesses can be purchased. A man's testimony is worth more than a woman's, so even when he lies, the burden of proof is on the victim. True justice is non-existent.

The story of Soraya M. is heartbreaking. But the real tragedy is that it is repeated over and over in Islamic societies. Hopefully, this book will help expose the truth behind the oppression of women in the Middle East.

63 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Soraya, Fact & Fiction, February 13, 2008

By 

S.B. Anthony "Sura 4.34" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stoning of Soraya M. (Hardcover)

This is a well written, compelling account of the ugliness of fundamentalist Islamic mob justice in Khomeini-era Iran. With no way of verifying its complete veracity - e.g., the author writes about Soraya's thoughts from her pit of impending slaughter - there is nothing in this book that conflicts with Islam's teachings through its Koran, Hadiths, and most importantly, the Sunnah of Mohammad. I'm pretty well numbed to the horror stories coming out of Islam, because of the conditioning of reading al kortoby, al tobary, ibn katheer, Jalalayn, and Ibn Abass (all available online), but this book still ripped at my heart with the mystery and tragedy of it all.

Of benefit to me, and maybe others, is it is a very fast read. Good backround on this village provides a foundational understanding (as much as anyone not living under Sharia can understand) of the herd-mentality, the dangers of its gender apartheid, and the absolute suffocating environment such ignorance breeds.

Fact or fiction, or a little of both, this story opens up a painful glimpse into a society so steeped in the misogynist teachings of Islam, it should drive us all into more than just a casual peek into the Koran. Dig deep into Ishaq, read Bukhari and Muslim as needed, then scratch your head that any religion so ensconced in 7th century superstition, is now a world threat.

83 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very descriptive account of stoning, but not an excellent book, June 24, 2009

By 

Kendra - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story (Paperback)

I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't "enjoy" it, but who enjoys reading about stonings and murder and misogyny and injustice? It wasn't perfectly written. And, much of it is the victim's aunt's and the writer's interpretation of thoughts rather than Soraya's actual thoughts.

Still, it's a decent book and the stoning description is very graphic. That in itself, is good. For too long westerners have continued to close their eyes to the horrors of sharia law.

What I found to be the biggest fault with the book was the description on the back of the book. It reads, "She was punished to death by stoning-- a punishment officially prohibited by Islam but widely practiced." Nope. This isn't true. At all. It isn't true at all.

Stoning is part of sharia law. Sharia law is Islamic law and stoning is specifically permitted. From Muslim Hadith no. 4206: And when he had given command over her and she was put in a hole up to her breast, he ordered the people to stone her. Khalid b. al--Walid came forward with a stone which he threw at her head, and when the blood spurted on his face he cursed her . . .

And, from the Koran itself: Sura 24:2: The fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment. [This punishment is for unmarried persons guilty of the above crime (illegal sex), but if married persons commit it (illegal sex), the punishment is to stone them to death, according to Allah's law.

So, if Muhammad did it, it's the perfect thing to do, according to Islam. Muhammad was the perfect example for humanity and must be emulated. That's the crux of this issue. No Muslim can criticize Muhammad nor Islam.

And, Muhammad did participate in stoning:

Volume 8, Book 82, Number 806:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

A man came to Allah's Apostle while he was in the mosque, and he called him, saying, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse.'" The Prophet turned his face to the other side, but that man repeated his statement four times, and after he bore witness against himself four times, the Prophet called him, saying, "Are you mad?" The man said, "No." The Prophet said, "Are you married?" The man said, "Yes." Then the Prophet said, 'Take him away and stone him to death." Jabir bin 'Abdullah said: I was among the ones who participated in stoning him and we stoned him at the Musalla. When the stones troubled him, he fled, but we over took him at Al-Harra and stoned him to death.
[...]

Volume 8, book8, number 817 is particularly long but, as narrated by Ibn 'Abbas, it says: "Allah's Apostle (Muhammad) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him."

So, as we can see, there is some misinformation on the back of the book. I find this troublesome, too, and I wonder why this book, in particular, is accepted and okayed by the multi-culturalists. . . is it because they can then believe that Islam condemns this practice and then state what they believe as if it's fact so they can argue all religions are equal? They can accept it as an anomaly rather than law. But, it IS law-- don't be fooled.

One more thing: men are supposed to be subjected to stoning punishments as well. But, it is also true that they are not as often subjected to it. And, when they are, the technique is very different. Men are not tied up and stand free. They are also permitted to run away. If the man escapes and runs away, he is free-- he is not stoned to death. The woman, however, is stoned just as Soraya M. was stoned. She is buried up to her shoulders and is a still target for those participating in the stoning. It is illegal to kill her with the first blow, too.

Here is the way some believe it should be carried out:

"The stones should not be so large that the offender dies after a few strikes, nor so small as to fail to cause serious injury."

UPDATED JULY 1: I was wrong to assume that the "multiculturalists" appreciated "The Stoning of Soraya M". I read some very critical reviews of the movie that just came out (I haven't seen it yet) and they were specifically critical because the stoning was too graphic and the bad guys too bad, the villains too villainous. . . the critics wanted more "nuance". Here's a criticism of the critics, which I really appreciated.

In closing, I stand by this review. . . it wasn't a "great" book, but maybe I should have given it 4 stars because it IS an important book. The lack of nuances when it comes to the stoning is exactly why it IS important. There are NO nuances here nor should there be. Stoning is bad. Stoning because Muhammad said is still bad if you value Western freedom and liberty. Stoning for cardinal sins is NOT "okay" under any circumstances. It's unfortunate that leftist critics of the movie desire nuances where no nuance is deserved.
Criticism of the critics of the movie: [...]