Islamists or just freaks???

Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
May 31, 2007 10:46am CST
I was listening to the news on the radio and i heard the following news: in a muslim country which i cannot remember right now (if i find out i will let you know all) a girl was raped by an adult man. As a result, there was a big scandal and instead of the official criminal courts being in charge of the case and punishing the felony according to the law, they submitted the case to the local tribal council, something like a council formed by elder (males of course) people who would decide what to do. The decision i expected was the girl to take the blame for what happened, as it has often happened. But no, not this time However, the veredict was equally shameful: they decided that the girls father should rape the offender's wife. I was like WHAT??????? why don't you punish the man, geeezzz Then they ask us to respect their customs and stuff. I know that not all islam is about that at all, but it's the muslims all around the world that should CONDEMN and despise these actions in public, on TV, so that the rest of the world didn't get wrong ideas. The use that many people, normally men, do of religion, islam and others too sometimes, is a shame, they use religion as a power tool, and that should be over. What are your thoughts about this?
14 people like this
18 responses
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
1 Jun 07
I my self have heard the news and know the whole story. It took place in Pakistan trible area. you are right about what the decision was but what you didn't menton is that it had nothing to do with Islam. Trible area of pakistan doesn't come under federal law just as some trible areas doesn't come under federal laws in australia, malaysia and many other countries. They were not following Islamic code but the trible custom that too is not strictly defined as the decision depends on a deciding body, not on laws. You also didn't mention that the whole religious clergy of Pakistan condemned this act and demanded for justice and inteference from government. Reading one of your response to one of the comments, I can see that you also don't know about the status of women in Islam. In Islam, a woman is equal to a man. All punishments that apply to woman are equal in quality and quantity to what is prescribed to men. In fact in the history of same country that this incidence has happened, much more men have been punished on adultry than women. According to an American scholar who studied the judicial system of Pakistan concluded that more men are punished in pakistan than women who get exonerated based on rule of doubt (Charles Cannedy, the status of women in pakistan in islamization of laws, p74). But misconception is not really your fault, Media makes us believe what we tend to believe. It seems that whoever or whatever opposes America comes in a negative Media spot light. Muslim jihadists were heros and freedom fighters (including Ussama bin laden)for America when they were fighting for America against Russia. Saddam hussain was a hero even after mercilessly killing over a million people with the help of America and easily got away with that when he was a close American friend in 80s. Crimes of Raza shah of Iran are not mentioned in pre-revolution Iran because he was a friend. Will it be justified for me if I call American crimes as christian crimes just because American President is a christian or because dominant population of America is christian? We always need to take things in right perspective:-)
3 people like this
@Riptide (2758)
• United States
1 Jun 07
Isn't it just like Islam, to make a woman pay for a mans crime. Even though I am thoroughly disgusted by this, I can't say I'm surprised. Of course muslims will come charging in here praising allah and claiming this had absolutely nothing to do with islam, even though these people who made that judgement are muslim.
3 people like this
@Naseem00 (1996)
• Pakistan
2 Jun 07
My question to you and everybody else is, DID THEY MAKE THIS JUDGEMENT ACCORDING TO ISLAM? No they didnt. There is no such thing mentioned in any of Islamic scripture anywhere. Its horrible and those who did it must be punished. No, women do not have to pay for cimes committed by men. Those who made such judgements and those who condone such things are not following Islam. Try to understand the difference. Why are you guys mixing things up.
1 person likes this
@stella1989 (2274)
• India
1 Jun 07
YES..some people are really freak and specialy .."Islamic" one..I should not say the name as it will be offending to them!!And they are very stirct! Now What kind of punishment is that. Mostly women are the only one who suffers and mostly because of others not beacuse of themselves!! and that "others" are mostly men!! Raping the criminals wife..huh! I read an article on a girl from pakistan!! Now you will never belive it!! A boy was caught walking with a girl from a higher class -this is a crime there!! A tribal court decided that as punishment his sister would be gang-raped and paraded naked through town. "honor crimes" like this are common in pakistan!!! Now how miserable is that!! We do not do that even with the guy who raped!! Isn't it disgusting !!
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
1 Jun 07
It is a total shame stella. Honor crimes should be called shameful crimes instead. Women are treated like possessions, so that if a man does something, they pay with their goods, some of which include sisters, wives, daughters, etc. I am a man and i consider that a shame, and no culture can justify that.
3 people like this
• India
3 Jun 07
this is really islamically disgusting ..!! shame on this people..! I mean what are they trying to proof?? Somebody have to do something over it!!
1 person likes this
@vega83 (6342)
• Bahrain
4 Jul 07
It's a shame that the only representatives for a religion are now extremists and such people. I am Muslim too. Now I'm not an expert on my religion or any religion for that matter, but I know that Islam is not as radical or as extreme as it's meant out to be. In fact if we do some research, you will find that it was the first religion that gave any kind of freedom and status to women. It was the first religion that gave women the right to divorce their husbands if they choose to do so. It gave women inheritance rights. The right to marry who she wished to be married to. In fact, Khadija (PBUH) who was Prophet Mohammad's(PBUH) wife was I think 25 years his senior, which is still a faux pas today and she was a very successful businesswoman. Islam encouraged that. Even the veiling and covering of the face, however its not optional but still it only works if a woman does it of her own will and not from force. I think the image of Islam has been so distorted because of incidents like these, which are just culminations of illiterate, and backward people and their culture and customs, its not part of a religion. Religion is a way of life, and any way of life is not meant to be that difficult. Of course, I cant' blame you for having the wrong idea of it, because I gotta admit advocates and representatives of the religion have not done a very good job in bringing forward the true essence of "Islam" the literal meaning of which is "peace". But take my word for it, these extremists and terrorists are not real Muslims, so don't use them as an example. And you're right, they twist and distort religions to make this ugly thing which is not true. I do condemn that decision, and even if mine is just one voice, it's still a voice speaking out. i know that you speak with no malice, it's just that you're outraged by the stupid and unfair decision in that rural court, but that's not religion, that's ignorance. And the main problem is that these ignorant people then connect their actions with Islam and just give it a bad name, whereas real Muslims are not like that at all. But just like everyone else.
@vega83 (6342)
• Bahrain
5 Jul 07
Thanks for understanding my point of view, and taking the time to read that huge paragraph. And trust me, this best response means a lot to me than many others. Actually it does make me sick that in some tribal areas like these they make stupid decisions then to cover them up they blame it on religion, which just gives all other Muslims a bad name. I don't blame people who think that it's a violent religion, because that's what people have represented to the rest of the world. I'm glad at least you now know, that it is not so. It is a peaceful religion, just like all other religions are meant to be too. But when religion becomes a group activity for illiterate people then the worse comes to worst. I believe religion is a very individual experience, not brainwashing little kids to attack people of other religions, that's just wrong. We're not all that different. What people forget in all of this is the most important thing, that we're all human, and God made every one of us, so one is not better than the other. Thanks again for understanding.
1 person likes this
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
5 Jul 07
thank you for this post, vega, really. I needed a muslim to put in words what i think of this. I know those freaks are not the real muslims, i know that what happens in some areas of pakistan and afghanistan is not the whole islam...but i needed someone like you to explain it. thank you. best response, no doubt.
2 people like this
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
5 Jul 07
I'm glad I was able to understand your message, vega. It's true that you the muslims have the worst possible publicity nowadays with all those idiots who set bombs etc. But i know better, and from the 1000,000,000 muslims of the world only a irrelevant minority of them belongs to that idiotic category. Now let's hope that we can all force them to disappear so that the rest of you don't have to respond to posts like this anymore.
2 people like this
@cdparazo (5765)
• Philippines
1 Jun 07
Is there really a right and wrong? Judging the rightness or the wrongness of certain actions or decisions is greatly influenced by our upbringing, personal prejudices, environment, creed, religion, tradition and customs. As Christians, we feel the wrongness of such decision and we are greatly horrified by such things, but can we really say that they are wrong? What is the basis of us saying that they are wrong? Our religion? law? Muslim law may say that it is wrong to let wrong done to you become unavenged and we say that it is just right? An eye for an eye.
@cdparazo (5765)
• Philippines
6 Jun 07
Indeed, so what is justice?
• United States
4 Jun 07
It isn't an eye for an eye to have your wife raped because you raped a child. An eye for an eye would be if the man was ordered to rape the man that raped his child. But no.. can't have that.. it would be imoral. As the raped wife if this was justice? Ask the raped child if she felt vindicated.
1 person likes this
@jolly223 (73)
• United States
31 May 07
I would hope Muslims would be disgusted by this, but then the facts speak for themselves I guess. Their culture and religion is very supressive to women. This is just really sad though.
3 people like this
• United States
1 Jun 07
All religions, be it Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu are cults. I do not believe in them. I cannot stand religion.
1 person likes this
• Sri Lanka
1 Jun 07
I worked in Saudi Arabia 10 years ago. It is a country where only the Islam religion is practised and other religions are banned. The law or practice relating to rape is quite different here. For a rape case what is needed is medical proof that it happened and the girls word that she was raped. The punishment is to the male only and its severe. I would prefer if this was the rule in my country Sri Lanka too. Then a can even tempt a man and blackmail him threatening to report of rape. This will make the men more cautious and will have a relationship only with someone they love and can trust.
1 person likes this
@qouniq (1966)
• Malaysia
6 Jul 07
Joseph, actually what you have in saudi arabia is the way how Islam treat the rape cases, so you yourself know that the one which in the starter story wasn't the right thing to do.
@aseem8 (86)
• India
1 Jun 07
I agree with ur views on this issue .....
1 person likes this
• India
1 Jun 07
Being DIPLOMATIC...." NO comments".....thats it
1 person likes this
@lebgirl90 (181)
• Lebanon
3 Jun 07
well that incidence is more cultural than religious, yea islams states that women are inferior to men but i dont think that their religion tells them to do such acts. in egypt a girl was raped by a man so to preserve the family honor the girl's father forced her to marry her this man. again i do believe that the father was acting according to customs instead of religion
1 person likes this
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
3 Jun 07
I know what you are saying. But is it only a coincidence that 95 or more percent of that kind of horrible "honor" crimes happen in muslim countries? because islam is not only in one country, it's all around the world, including western countries, and honor crimes happen in all of them (in some more than others but in all of them). Only recently a muslim german girl was murdered by her brothers because she was in love with a german christian guy.
1 person likes this
• United States
1 Jun 07
those folks are muslims what else would you expect of them????
@eyewitness (1575)
• Netherlands
31 May 07
It is unbelievable but it's not the religion it's the culture.It doesn't have anything to do with their religion.They make their own rules.Ands they are sick.They should be punished for their ridiculous rules.I won't ever respect a country like that i would spit on it.
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
31 May 07
I know that it's more the culture. The problem is that those cultures' leaders USE islam to back up their abuses, so that those stupid customs become a common fact. Nowadays the world is way smaller with globalisation etc, and as a result all those radical creeds find it easier to get spread. That's what scares me, because so called tolerant societies see how elements of the intolerance brought by those freaks slowly become bigger in our own countries....i don't know where it will all lead.
2 people like this
• United States
4 Jun 07
LightninStrike, thAt's what people should be focusing on.. but no, they will hem and haw and listen to all sorts of propagandas against dealing with it, until it's too late..
• India
2 Jun 07
First, why don't people stop criticising the other. As you rightly said, we use religion as a power tool, of course the Christian and Jewish religions are the most powerful ones. They control the most powerful or brute nations on this earth. And because of them the whole world has gone wicked. What they do in the Islamic world is blown-up into a mountain and blitzed all over the world media, and what sleazy, murky, dirty, slimy, things that go on in the christian world is dressed up in the name of civilised, modern, and developed culture. The Christian world, especially in the west, are equally fanatic compared to the Islamic world. Both try to project their religions based on the stories of Jesus and Mohammed and make people believe that they are supreme or their ideas are supreme, forgetting that they believe in the same god , the god of adam, noah, abraham .... . Its really a shame.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
3 Jun 07
It is a terrible thing for a girl to be raped but to punish the mans wife is just as bad for she is the one being punished and not the man. Too many opinions about the Arab and Muslim countries are based on what the media put out for our information. We only get to learn of the atrocities that happen. We are given this information by a biased reporter. We have our opinions made for us because of the selected information that we are given.
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
3 Jun 07
biased or not, atrocities happen. And besides, this doesn't only come from american or european media. Listen to certain women or liberals in places like iran or saudi arabia, and they will agree with what i am saying.
1 person likes this
@gloria777 (1674)
• India
5 Jul 07
I fail to understand why people drag religion in such criminal acts. They just want to cover their acts thru religion. Every religion is good for people.
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
5 Jul 07
Religion is good for those who choose to believe in it. But both believers and atheists can be intolerant, ignorant, bigots, etc. It's them who are dangerous, not believers or atheists on themselves, and those are the ones we must be careful with.
@abrarr (1246)
• Pakistan
5 Jun 07
yeah u r rite. its not teh religion which shud b blamed and condemned and punished but infact its the humans who utilize their religion to impose their thoughts over others. Like now-a-days its a common propaganda that muslim and muslim countries r a central point of evilness. i ask all those story-tellers that y America is the top of teh list in women, child raping, stealing, killing and other evils. its not the religion whjich forces tehm to do that, but infact its our human weaknesses which do evil things and then use our religion to escape from punishmennts!!
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
5 Jun 07
thank you for your reply ab
• United States
4 Jun 07
This is truly a disturbing thing. Some people seem to want to defend the actions of this men based on the whole 'it's their culture we have no right to judge' crap. Being human gives you the right and moral duty to stand up against injustice born not from laws of the land but simple understanding of right and wrong. Raping a man's wife because he raped your child is not an eye for an eye. The child is neither vindicated, nor is the wife any happier about it. She'd most likely kill herself. True eye for an eye would be to have the man castrated (not punishment so much as a safety measure, once a rapist always a rapist, keep him from spreading his lack of human decency to another generation by impregnating his victims.) and then have the man raped. I only agree for eye with an eye in some instances, not certain if I do with this one, but one thing is certain. If the tribal elders had ordered the perpetrator raped then he would think twice before molesting another little girl.
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
4 Jun 07
thank you silver nut bar