Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to death for renouncing his Muslim faith and posting a video on the social networking site Keek, which shows him ripping up the Qur’an before hitting it with his shoe.

The man who posted the video of himself ripping up and beating the shredded holy book is to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia for renouncing his Muslim faith.

The Saudi Gazette reported that the unnamed prisoner, in his 20s, was given the death sentence by the country’s Sharia courts for the offence of apostasy, in other words for abandoning Islam

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This man not only broke his country's laws, but took a video of himself doing so, and published it. He must surely have expected the reaction.

Obviously as "civilised" Westerners, we deplore such barbarous punishments, but that's not really the point.

It is an Islamic law that apostates are put to death, not unlike a cult. Islam holds the most severe punishment for their own who renounce the faith. In this manner islam ensured its survival against impossible odds. With brutality to subjugate others and injunctions to kill those who flee, it has remained intact over the ages. In fact, one even born of muslim parents is bound to this very rule. If a child renounces or leaves, there is a point where islam will not kill but a certain age of majority, young teens I think, they then kill as apostate. Any man who does this in SA has a mental health issue because the outcome is as predictable as Isanbirder notes.

It is an Islamic law that apostates are put to death, not unlike a cult. Islam holds the most severe punishment for their own who renounce the faith. In this manner islam ensured its survival against impossible odds. With brutality to subjugate others and injunctions to kill those who flee, it has remained intact over the ages. In fact, one even born of muslim parents is bound to this very rule. If a child renounces or leaves, there is a point where islam will not kill but a certain age of majority, young teens I think, they then kill as apostate. Any man who does this in SA has a mental health issue because the outcome is as predictable as Isanbirder notes.

Thus, with Barak Obama, whose father is a muslim, should there be a fatwa on his apostasy?

(I know, I've raised this many times before)

It is an Islamic law that apostates are put to death, not unlike a cult. Islam holds the most severe punishment for their own who renounce the faith. In this manner islam ensured its survival against impossible odds. With brutality to subjugate others and injunctions to kill those who flee, it has remained intact over the ages. In fact, one even born of muslim parents is bound to this very rule. If a child renounces or leaves, there is a point where islam will not kill but a certain age of majority, young teens I think, they then kill as apostate. Any man who does this in SA has a mental health issue because the outcome is as predictable as Isanbirder notes.

Thus, with Barak Obama, whose father is a muslim, should there be a fatwa on his apostasy?

(I know, I've raised this many times before)

Their business, not mine, HB.

If a fatwa is issued on someone, and that person is killed in pursuance of the fatwa in a non-Muslim country, should the killer not be indicted for murder? And then what would the fatwa-issuer do?

Dunno. Gets too complicated, doesn't it?

My classic Arabic is not good enough to read the Quran in the original, so I rely on comparing two or three translations - but that doesn't help in this instance.

http://theantimedia.org/48-people-beheaded/

http://theantimedia.org/48-people-beheaded/

So, 48 people beheaded in Saudi so far this year, as against an average of about 80 per annum recently.

How many people are on death-row in the US? Maybe not executed yet, but living under the very real threat of death for many years, while appeal after appeal is refused. So, torture as well as execution.

In either country - I do not understand why so many people commit offences when they know the penalties.

In either country - I do not understand why so many people commit offences when they know the penalties.

How about many of those killed are actually innocent, and "confess" after torture?

You might remember the case of four British men who were caned on their feet, beaten with a pick axe handle, raped, deprived of sleep and forced to take mind-altering drugs by the Saudi authorities.

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jan/14/saudi-arabia-torture-human-rights-britons

In either country - I do not understand why so many people commit offences when they know the penalties.

How about many of those killed are actually innocent, and "confess" after torture?

You might remember the case of four British men who were caned on their feet, beaten with a pick axe handle, raped, deprived of sleep and forced to take mind-altering drugs by the Saudi authorities.

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jan/14/saudi-arabia-torture-human-rights-Britons

Having lived in Saudi for around 15 years, Libya for 10 and other Arab/Gulf states for another 6 or more, I have had to witness several punishments implemented.

Few have been applied to possible innocents, in my opinion. As an example, one of my Libyan managers was robbed of several kilos of gold bars, plus gold jewellery and other items. Several potential suspects were questioned privately, but none confessed. Slowly the investigation centred on a nephew of the victim, but without enough evidence to charge the guy. Eventually, after a couple of weeks of questioning, the police asked the parents of the suspect if they could use harder questioning. It took only three or four slaps on the soles of his feet for him to confess, name his co-thieves and tell where the gold was stored.

My manager got all his goods back, and his nephew and his pals got months in the Benghazi jail - which was partially in pits in the ground that the prisoners dug themselves.

I cannot believe that Western men, not used to the culture, would stand up to the treatment quoted in your clipping, and I also doubt that the Saudi authorities would sanction such treatment unless the crimes were very serious.

I was working for Holtzmann when the 6 million riyal robbery took place, still working for them when the four Germans/Turks were sentenced to hand-chopping and had the hands immediately sewn back on (but I doubt they worked afterwards). And that was a very serious crime in those (1979) days.

In either country - I do not understand why so many people commit offences when they know the penalties.

How about many of those killed are actually innocent, and "confess" after torture?

You might remember the case of four British men who were caned on their feet, beaten with a pick axe handle, raped, deprived of sleep and forced to take mind-altering drugs by the Saudi authorities.

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jan/14/saudi-arabia-torture-human-rights-britons

four men who say they were beaten and tortured

In either country - I do not understand why so many people commit offences when they know the penalties.

How about many of those killed are actually innocent, and "confess" after torture?

You might remember the case of four British men who were caned on their feet, beaten with a pick axe handle, raped, deprived of sleep and forced to take mind-altering drugs by the Saudi authorities.

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/jan/14/saudi-arabia-torture-human-rights-britons

four men who say they were beaten and tortured

when i read "rape" i knew most of the story was bull...