76 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Practice of Stoning, January 17, 2009
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This book perfectly illustrates how easily such barbaric, outdated systems of 'justice' destroy innocent lives.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.
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63 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Soraya, Fact & Fiction, February 13, 2008
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.
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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
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: [...]
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