Saudi court gives death penalty to man who renounced his Muslim faith

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

RIYADH (Reuters) - An Islamic court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to death for renouncing his Muslim faith, the English-language daily Saudi Gazette reported on Tuesday.

The man, in his 20s, posted an online video ripping up a copy of Islam's holy book, the Koran, and hitting it with a shoe, the newspaper reported.

Saudi Arabia, the United States' top Arab ally and birthplace of Islam, follows the strict Wahhabi Sunni Muslim school and gives the clergy control over its justice system.

Under the Wahhabi interpretation of Sharia Islamic law, apostasy demands the death penalty, as do some other religious offences like sorcery, while blasphemy and criticism of senior Muslim clerics have incurred jail terms and corporal punishment.

Executions in Saudi Arabia are usually carried out by public beheading.

http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-court-gives-death-penalty-man-renounced-muslim-094037909.html

Not exactly the image of "Good Muslims" the world was expecting.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Unfortunately we don't have much upon which to stand when it comes to criticizing others for imposing the death penalty...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/23/us/georgia-execution-kelly-renee-gissendaner/

Georgia to execute its first female prisoner in 70 years

(CNN)Not since Lena Baker, an African-American convicted of murder in Randolph County, has Georgia executed a woman. The state is scheduled to snap that 70-year streak on Wednesday.

Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 47, was convicted in a February 1997 murder plot that targeted her husband in suburban Atlanta.

Edited February 25, 2015 by JohnR!

[Póg mo 1,749]

Not exactly the image of "Good Muslims" the world was expecting.

Here you go. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabism

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Death penalty for murder is very different from death penalty for renouncing your faith.

[JohnR! 5,495]

It's not. The end result it the same.

I consider it egregious that someone should be put to death for renouncing one's faith. For a Saudi it must also be egregious that women should be allowed to go out and put themselves in a situation where they can engage with men other than their husbands.

Death penalty for murder is very different from death penalty for renouncing your faith.

Edited February 25, 2015 by JohnR!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Death penalty for murder is very different from death penalty for renouncing your faith.

Put it this way - it's heinous when ISIS do it, but the Saudis have been doing this stuff for years and the US doesn't seem to want to stop supporting them.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Put it this way - it's heinous when ISIS do it, but the Saudis have been doing this stuff for years and the US doesn't seem to want to stop supporting them.

US wants Saudis as allies in Middle East and also their oil supply.

And the Saudis has the nerve to complain about other countries human rights record.

http://journal-neo.org/2014/06/09/rus-saudovskaya-araviya-v-avangarde-bor-by-za-prava-cheloveka/

The moderate muslims like to preach "There is no compulsion in religion" .

I think the words are only for show. Death awaits those who dare to renounce their religion.

[Póg mo 1,749]

US wants Saudis as allies in Middle East and also their oil supply.

And the Saudis has the nerve to complain about other countries human rights record.

http://journal-neo.org/2014/06/09/rus-saudovskaya-araviya-v-avangarde-bor-by-za-prava-cheloveka/

The moderate muslims like to preach "There is no compulsion in religion" .

I think the words are only for show. Death awaits those who dare to renounce their religion.

The Saudis are not moderate Muslims, hardly even Muslims. More of a cult than anything else. For example in Saudi all other religions are illegal, this very fact goes against the true teachings of Islam.

[luckytxn 2,263]

The Saudi' may be the good Muslims and all the rest are bad. The guy knew the penalty for his crime and did it anyway.

Not exactly the image of "Good Muslims" the world was expecting.

[Póg mo 1,749]

The Saudi' may be the good Muslims and all the rest are bad. The guy knew the penalty for his crime and did it anyway.

Good in what way? I guess I can see the attraction for rightwing nuts. I have met Americans who admire how Saudi treats people who have been found guilty of crime in Saudi. Never mind that foreign workers in Saudi, I'm not speaking about white people from western countries, are often treated as slaves, raped and murdered with virtual impunity, in fact it's not unheard of for victims of sexual assault to be punished when they make the mistake of reporting their abusers to authorities.

[TBoneTX 43,020]

The moderate muslims like to preach "There is no compulsion in religion" .

I think the words are only for show. Death awaits those who dare to renounce their religion.

"I'm gonna save your soul, or I'm gonna kill ya."

[Sousuke 1,214]

Death penalty for murder is very different from death penalty for renouncing your faith.

I agree. In one instance, someone was harmed or killed, in the other no harm came to anyone. I am against capital punishment though.

[aaron2020 11,651]

The Saudis are as bad as ISIL. The only difference is that SA dictators are willing to supply the West with oil.

Remember democracy for Kuwait in 1992. Democracy has never existed in Kuwait. Only oil.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Such a peaceful religion.

[Póg mo 1,749]

Such a peaceful religion.

Yeah, adherents of Christianity aren't all that peaceful. We want peace, but we'll happily kill in the name of civilization I.e. the West's. Saudi, would you like some missiles with those fries?