Khamisa Sawadi, 75, is a Syrian widow of a Saudi man still living in the Kingdom. She has been sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for simply being seen speaking with two young men who are not her relatives. After being flogged and jailed, she will then be deported for the crime under Sharia law. She was convicted of “illegal mingling.”
69 comments
Every time I read something here, it's always worse than the last one. It's like the Christian and Muslim fundies are trying to constantly one-up each other.
I usually save the "Fail" messages for someone who does something stupid but somewhat harmless, but this is just such disproportionately god-awful fuckwittery, it should be in the dictionary next to "Failure".
Congratulations, sirs. You have ruined my hopes for humanity. .-.
She isn't allowed to talk to her own nephew and his business partner while they are delivering her bread? WTF?
You know they are only doing this to her because she is Syrian. Now when they send her jail, flog, and then deport her they will also most likely seize her property. Seems the Saudi's don't like foreigners...unless married to a Saudi.
One of the two men are actually her husbands nephew who grew up in her house from a very young age. (from soon after birth) Under Saudi law he does not count as related due to a need for direct blood relationship that does not exist.
There has been several comments on other boards that the whole incident may of been triggered as a means of gaining control of assets by other relatives. Apparently it has happened more than a few times in SA. The Anti mingling and other religious laws are abused for non religious reasons as they are very discretional and are very difficult to fight. In Saudi it is normal to deport convicted morals offenders and then assets etc become available to others.
A bit like anti crime laws in the US being used to felonise (invented word?) misdemeanors etc for 'undesireables' at the perogative of law enforcement.
May I suggest deporting her, and everyone else who thinks this is bullcrap, to Europe?
At least we have sane laws over here.
The Islamic world's answer to the Keystone Kops.
Christian fundies, THIS is why we have separation of Church and State.
I call shenanigans. She's a septuagenarian, and one of the men is her nephew, for fuck's sake (not that it makes this right if they weren't). It's probably got something to do with the fact she has assets they want, and they trump up some B.S. charges to have an excuse to arrest her and seize it.
Well, the problem more exactly is religious fundamentalism.
The (usual small) percentage of believers who put religion aboce everything and want to force everyone else to adhere to their own strict view of religion (and religious rules).
What's next, killing a woman for even existing in the first place? I'm saving this quote anyone who wants to tell me that, "A religiously run society is the best society," is going to have to answer to this.
She deserved it. She knows the laws and habits of her people.
In the UK, you wouldn't buy a ton of fertilizer or glycerine without expecting to be questioned or maybe even abducted even though there's nothing wrong about buying that stuff.
You got to know where you live and what it means.
Brenz said:
"How was she supposed to get the damned bread? And how else was the baker supposed to deliver it since women can't go around on their own?"
It's fucking fundie religious crap. There IS no logic.
This is why we must push for independence from oil, people... so that monarchies like the Saudis will suddenly be without western support for their regimes, and the people of these nations can do to them what the French did in 1787.
My wife worked in a place that not only had men, but some of them were.....Gosh...Gay!
Tell me should they be killed, or she be killed, or should we all die. Tell me O' Lord, Sweet Jesus what should I do!!
Maybe the answer is nowt.
If they think that she will cause harm, at her age, for talking to two people not related to her, they have a serious mental problem.
Saudi Sharia Law is actually quite clear on this: a woman is not allowed to mingle with any men outside of her biological family (men she would not be allowed to marry.)
Now, that's the reality of the situation. As for this law being justified or not, well...
...it's fucking Saudi Arabia, possibly the most corrupt regime on the planet. As we speak, the Saudi government is spreading a radical variant of islam (wahabism) in exchange for the support of the religious order. After all, it is the only thing granting the Royal family any legitimacy at all: they realise they don't have a leg to stand on otherwise.
Every time I think these things are exaggerated and religion isnt that bad, one of these nuggets comes back to haunt me.
Religion isn't the opiate of the masses. Religion is a REALLY BAD acid trip.
Khamisa, once you're deported, go to a place like Denmark or even Norway. They won't eat you, and they certainly don't believe in whipping women for just socializing with unrelated men.
Well, at least, she'll be sent to her own sane country, where this nonsense is not a crime. Let's see what they'll do when the petrol is controlled by people of the opposite sex who are not relatives.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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