It's The "Crime", Not The Punishment, That Makes Sharia Evil

People usually focus on the barbarity of the punishment. And it is horrific.

But it is the "crime" the punishment is for that is the real problem.

Women get stoned to death for being the victim of rape.

Women and men get stoned to death for "apostasy", which means leaving Islam.

The Sudanese woman, currently in the news, is being stoned to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith.

Such punishment for the "Crime" of Apostasy means there is no freedom of Speech/Conscience in Islam.

Why this woman's story is in the news. It is not at all unusual for this to happen.

So why this story now?

That so much attention is being focused on the story of this one Sudanese woman, while a real tragedy, serves to belittle the hundreds and thousands of Christians and Jews, and people of other religions, who are murdered by Muslims for such "apostasy".

Islam is evil. Sharia, the law code of Islam, is evil. And, let's be clear, the punishments are often barbaric. Some crimes are punished by dismemberment. Some crimes are punished by stoning the criminal to death.

And yes, this is barbarity.

But barbarity, while disgusting and horrific is a form of spectacle.

We must not allow our attention to be diverted by the spectacle of Sharia, while something much more fundamental is being stolen from us.

The "Crime" of "Apostasy", as defined by Sharia Law is not a crime. It is the Free Expression of Human Thought.

Islam defines Freedom of Thought, Speech, and Expression as the worst "Crime", and it is therefore punishable by death.

THAT'S THE REAL PROBLEM.

Islam Vs. Chess

For quite a while now, I haven't posted much about Islam. After all, it's pretty much SSDD. Then, along comes something like this....

From QWIRE:

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: 'He who played chess is like one who dyed his hand with the flesh and blood of swine.' (Sahih Muslim Hadith 5612, Narrated by Buraydah ibn al-Hasib)

[...]

OK, I concede that this particular aspect of Islam may not appear to be the biggest issue facing western democracies. But it does provide an interesting and unusually amusing illustration of some of the different priorities inherent in Islamic thinking....

[...]

So why on earth is Islam opposed to chess? What is it about chess which so offends Islam?

You can find many Islamic authorities espousing the evils of chess:

"Some people claim that the game of chess increases ones wit and intelligence, and it assists one in learning the ways of battles. This claim is unreasonable. Chess has nothing to do with wit or intelligence; on the contrary intelligence suffers a derangement by this game. The player of chess becomes so absorbed in this game that he has no care or concern for anything else. Yes there is no surprise in the fact that by constant playing, one's ability to manoeuvre the various ways and moves of the game improves. But then what is the benefit of this gain? Similarly this game has no relationship with the strategies of battle or war. The act of the game is limited to its technical or ordinary manoeuvres e.g. the knight moves so and the elephant moves so. In true and real battles these are not the moves to be found. The manoeuvres of war are totally distinct and separate. In short both these claims are absurd". (Inter Islam, prohibitions)

So we have here two justifications:

- that chess causes a mental derangement; it seems Islamic values can contradict western scholastic and medical research

- Chess lacks the proper training for a Muslim to apply directly in acts of war or jihad. The connection between the chess board and being able to carry out violence cannot be established....

Read the rest HERE. Several Islamic sources condemn "the evils of chess."

Viagra Is Haram!

So says the Taliban:

Pakistani Taliban members are threatening store owners to quit selling Viagra-type potency pills or “face the consequences,” according to a media report.

The shopkeepers are also being warned against selling “obscene films,” Agence France-Presse reports. The warnings are being distributed via handwritten pamphlets, the outlet reports.

“Selling sex, drugs, vulgar films and obscene movies are against Sharia,” the pamphlets read, in the name of a Taliban official, AFP reported. “All those involved in this business are warned to quit this occupation and start a lawful business or face the consequences.”

The market of this latest Taliban target is located in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar. Threats against shopkeepers for selling products offensive to the Taliban are not uncommon; hundreds of music shops have been targeted and bombed in the past, AFP reports.

Just in time for Valentine's Day!

Oh, wait.

Valentine's Day is haram, too.