The heavy hand of justice
It is somewhat shocking to learn that courts in Ras Al Khaimah can still order punishment amputations for theft crimes:
"Ras Al Khaimah: The Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court yesterday ordered in absentia the amputation of the right hand of Hussain Rashid Abbas upon his being convicted of theft."
Fortunately such sentences are now extremely rare. According to a Google search, the last such sentencing was in 2003, when a Pakistani man was sentenced to have his right hand cut off for stealing $70 dollars. It is not known whether the amputation was ever carried out. He may of course had the sentence commuted in an appeal or been given clemency. According to that article, written by AFP:
"The last amputation ordered by a court in the UAE, where Islamic Sharia law is practised, was in June 1998 when three Omanis were convicted for breaking into shops and other businesses in Fujairah. It is not known whether the sentence was carried out."
"Ras Al Khaimah: The Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court yesterday ordered in absentia the amputation of the right hand of Hussain Rashid Abbas upon his being convicted of theft."
Fortunately such sentences are now extremely rare. According to a Google search, the last such sentencing was in 2003, when a Pakistani man was sentenced to have his right hand cut off for stealing $70 dollars. It is not known whether the amputation was ever carried out. He may of course had the sentence commuted in an appeal or been given clemency. According to that article, written by AFP:
"The last amputation ordered by a court in the UAE, where Islamic Sharia law is practised, was in June 1998 when three Omanis were convicted for breaking into shops and other businesses in Fujairah. It is not known whether the sentence was carried out."
45 Comments:
Amputation for theft in the UAE? I didnt think it was practiced here.
Balushi add one more up for me .
amputation for 70 US?!?!?
wtf. that is worse than the term those guys got for kidnapping and gang raping that air hostess, they should amputate their arms.
Sounds like this is a place where it behooves one to not piss-off the authorities once accused of a crime. Perhaps if you are humble, you get punished less often?
G:
Not even remotely funny.
The most stringent punishment - death - has not deterred criminals, so it stands to reason that this hasn't worked either.
And as means of reducing prison populations? Culling? Like cattle?
70 dollars/minus a hand
vs
three years for gang rape.
The severity of the punishment is proof to:
(1) Very low crime rate in this part of the World.
(2) How sparingly it is used.
Those given such sentences are not only just "70 dollars" theives. These convicts have a proven record of thefts in the past and have been released on bail or otherwise and have still not learned their lessons.
Abu Hamza deserves the death penalty.
I just love how in the name of freedom of speech people like Abu Hamza incite violence and hatred.
These very same people who escape the tyranny and oppressiveness of their homeland come to the west and try to instill the very same tyrannical and barbarous laws and practices of their home country. So why come to the west to begin with?? Why not just stay back in their own home country.
Oh by the Way Balushi.
I dont think you and your people should ever make a comment about freedom of speech.
We dont have freedom of speech in the Middle East. So you'll are the least qualified people to talk about the freedom of speech
balushi is now banned from this blog, regardless if he posts anything sensible or not.
All comments made by him in recent entries will be deleted.
g...
Not funny at all; and not even remotely close.
I was falsely accused of stealing business contracts worth 100,000 Dhs and dragged to court in RAK, along with three other teenaged friends of mine.
They weren't joking (or using scare tactics) when I was told by local lawyers and Canadian Embassy officials alike that I should leave the country, in any way possible, less risk losing a limb.
I was maybe 17 or 18 years old when the cases started, and very naïve, stubborn & stupid, to believe ‘it couldn’t happen to me, it couldn’t happen here’.
Until this day I know that the fact that I STILL have two hands, is thanks solely to the slip-ups and contradictions of my accuser’s accusations being pointed out by a translator, of all people the day my judgment was to be read, and no sooner. Had this guy, with no affiliation to either myself, my lawyers or my accusers, not spoken up, I don’t think I’d be typing this right now.
Ironic, I mentioned RAK courts in my Blog just yesterday, today decided not to share such a story because really there are no words to describe the charade that takes place during a trial there, the blatant sexism & discrimination and clearly selective hearing of the judges, but here I find a comment such as yours, and feel I must.
And before Balushi, or any other attempts to tell me that this is also a fable I’ve created, this case was published in the crime section of both the Arabic Al Bayan newspaper, and Gulfnews, where I was described (short of being named) as a Canadian Muslim thief with the initials A.L. Hard to figure out who that person is, huh? How many Canadian Muslims do you think were here back in 1998/1999?
Urgh- amputation of limbs is just SICK! I don't believe thats Sharia Law.
I was thinking on the lines of cyton
got some pictures in regards to this
Saudi still practices this..sigh..and it may seem barbaric when i type this, but castrating a man for raping someone is something i probably could accept.
The rest...GOD NO! But then who am i to pass judgement.
Hahaha Harsha, you are on a roll today! you have me laughing again!
The pictures you put up is actually of a "boy wonder". This kid has been going around showing off his strength and how he can bear huge amounts of load on his arms! The man with this child is his "manager" and you can clearly see him holding a microphone attracting a crowd for his road-show. You have such road shows in India, too, I believe :)
That's 2 cheers to you now!
The severity of the punishment is proof to:
(1) Very low crime rate in this part of the World.
I disagree. When we had this kind of punishment in the West (a few hundred years ago, I'll add) it did little to deter thieves. If it did, chances are it would have been kept.
Personally, I think the reason the crime rate is so low, especially for incidents of theft, is because of the culture. I'm really not a fan of the local culture, but the way in which it keeps people from nicking stuff is impressive. I guess it is a combination of the stigma attached to theft and upbringing.
I have seen such acts elsewhere. do you have any article as to where u have seen this boy b4? I'd remove my post in that case
I have seen several videos with men/women being beheaded with an audience watching. What kind of tricks r those?
and like i mentioned on my blog, i cannot validate this pics, they could be misinterpretted n sent to me, if really so, i shall remove it.
Harsha-
There is something known as GOOGLE. It makes everyones' lives a whole lot easier. Please try it some day. (Hint: look at the pictures closely and you might find some words to google the information out).
It's OK, though, we Muslims are used to such propoganda.
Cheers!
My dear Republican, I tried google, doesnt help me, I am in Dubai - they have a proxy here, apparently any other discussion or page where they have these pictures, etc is blocked. I just wanted to share the pictures and do not stand by them to be true. They could be exactly what you are saying or not.
Since I do not have google privileges to the fullest, I guess best would be for me to remove them, no issues there.
P.S - I never attack any religion, whether you are muslim/christian/jew/hindu/budhist and many many more.
In the top corner of the photos there is the email address mazen-the-great@hotmail.com. In the bottom, it says, photos for Peykeiram.
Searching Google (And I’m in UAE also Harsha) for Peykeiram displays numerous pages, few of which are in English. But from the looks of things it’s an Iranian Newspaper.
I don’t have the patience to do this research myself(Send an email, dig into those pages, maybe?); but it can be done…
And probably should be before making such potentially flammable statement.
That email address is not of the person who has taken those pictures.
I HAVE searched google, did find articles and debates on whether those pictures are of some 'wonder boy' or an actual punishment and they did appear in some newspapers who themselves werent sure of the pictures. but I could not do much research as most of the pages i found were blocked.
and like i said before, I donnot stand by those pictures.
Like al republican said..this punishement is not unless there has been previous thefts that has been brought to court.
I am glad that al republican is there to clarify things.
@(Earthbound Misfit)...very good point...and I always felt the same way about people who come to our countries trying to implement their ways in it..and constantly complaining about it...and please...freedom of speech in some countries is over rated...they claim it..allow it from people who they know are not a threat to act upon it in what the concieve a harmful way..yet I always remember the case of that man who questioned the holocust...and ask wasn't that freedom of speech?
Anyways...us muslims have our beliefs and wether non muslims see it as right or wrong does not concern us and shouldn't.
Its just the way things are.
Now going to Sam's point..I agree..the sentence of the rape incident is disgusting..and unacceptable..and that part I don't understand, cause I know thats not how Sharia would handle such a case..
Matis-
I'd agree with you 100% there. The rule of law should apply first to the leaders of a nation before anybody else.
Holds true for democratic countries, too, by the way.
Hot Lemon & Honey-
I know most Westerners will be saying, "Oh, there goes another mozlem talking about that Irving guy and his outburst against the holocaust." Let me give you another glaring example of bias in the West's much touted "freedom of speech":
Abu Hamza shuold be killed and prosecuted for saying "Death to Israel" and calling on the Muslims to fight for Jerusalem and Palestine. Yet, a person like Pat Robertson, who not only calls Islam an evil religion openly, but praises those who kill Muslims and collects funds to destroy and maim Muslims is given a free hand in the name of "freedom of speech".
I can mention at least 10 other examples of this over-rated "freedom of speech" (as you put it), but I hope this is enough for people to reflect on the prejudice of these "freedoms".
It's funny, but from just a mere 1-week period of observing a slice of UAE culture (I'd not known much about the UAE before that), I can already tell that a resident of either country (USA or yours), is just as likely to committ pretty much the same slate of crimes that we find in our respective societies.
If we assigned a "points" system to the top 200 most commonly committed crimes in either society, I honestly think we'd both score quite the same in the end. Example: Where we might have far more people willing to steal a car right out from under someone (in broad daylight), your countrymen seem to be far more willing to committ rape. My friend, who just arrived in Dubai 1 week ago, already found himself the subject of an attempted robbery while out walking. And knowing him, he probably didn't even bother to report it to anyone.
Abu Hamza shuold be killed and prosecuted for saying "Death to Israel" and calling on the Muslims to fight for Jerusalem and Palestine. Yet, a person like Pat Robertson, who not only calls Islam an evil religion openly, but praises those who kill Muslims and collects funds to destroy and maim Muslims is given a free hand in the name of "freedom of speech".
Abu Hamza was prosecuted in the UK, and Pat Robertson's outbursts fall under the remit of US law. This may come as a surprise to you, but the laws in the US and UK differ from one another, and there is not one all-encompassing set of laws which cover free speech in the West.
You really need to change your reference material, as you are wholly ignorant of those subjects which you appear to hold dear.
Hot Lemon and Honey & Al Republican.
Please re-read my comments. In no way did I ask you to change the way your country runs. It is your country and you guys run it. I frankly dont care.
My point was about Abu Hamza.
Here we have a man, who openly calls for the killings of "non-believers", supports terrorism, funds terrorists, and wants to install Muslim governance and laws in the UK.
Do you two believe that "non-believers" should be killed?? If so, then you can go ahead and support him. If not, then why do you support him??
The very fact that he was allowed to propogate his hate filled rhetoric for so long before being imprisoned is in itself a testament to the tolerance in western societies.
Now, here is a test: Why dont you publically say something against muslims, islam and/or the ruling families while staying in the Middle East. And see what happen to you.....
Oh and Pat Robertson (whom I hate with an equal passion)does not break the law like Abu Hamza does and so is not in imprison. Pat robertson does not fund or support terrorists. He doesn't call for open killings of all non-christians.
All I keep hearing, is about how the west has to be more understanding. But when all we see is people like Abu Hamza.... how can you expect the west to be open and welcoming to the middle east.
Oh and one more point:
I see that no one is giving any coverage to the guy in afghanistan who converted to christianity and is now facing a death sentence...
Is this right?? Does the government have a right to force people not to convert or convert??
Three guesses what laws the Afghanistan government follows....
And you accuse the western countries of hypocrisy, lies and oppression??
Atleast they dont kill people based on their choice of lifestyle.
I rest my case
ssosw:
That still does not answer whether it is right to execute Mr.Abdul Rahman for converting.
earthbound misfit:
What are you crying about for Mr. Abdul Rahman? Afghanistan is being run by YOUR puppet, Karzai! Seems the "liberation" was not worth it at all , was it? The women continue to wear "oppressive" burqas and the intolerance still breeds as Mr. Abdul Rahman will vouch.
Will you NOW pack up and leave Afghanistan and Iraq? My guess is no, because the Americans are not there to spread "freedom and democracy".
I wonder what that "Talaban"-obsessed freak must be thinking now that a "democractically elected government" (as the US State dept's human rights report calls the Afghan govt) is exhibiting the same intolerance?
I guess you all think you can beat and bomb people to change their ways? If so, keep bombing and maiming and see if it changes anything.
As for Pat Robertson's comments the less said the better. I simply asked you that if you can punish Abu Hamza (and Mr. Timmy please understand that your country is prosecuting and imprisoning American and non-American Muslims who are not even CLOSE to Pat Robertson's extremists and hateful behavior) why not apply these same vectors on your co-religionists? Your double standards are pretty evident!
Earthbound misfit:
You said, "Oh and Pat Robertson (whom I hate with an equal passion)does not break the law like Abu Hamza does and so is not in imprison. Pat robertson does not fund or support terrorists. He doesn't call for open killings of all non-christians."
Allahu Akbar! Pat Robertson does not support terrorists? You would only say that if you believed that all terrorists are Muslims; yes he doesn't support Muslim terrorists, but he actively funds and supports Christian missionaries inside Afghanistan and Iraq! You then continue to say that he doesn't support the killing of non-Christians. He does something worse than that - he supports the killing of MUSLIMS EXCLUSIVELY. He doesn't need to talk about Hindus or the Chinese as that is not the way he is fighting at the moment!
Please get your facts right on this man before you go around defending him. Or do you subscribe to his views, too?
Lastly, I am NOT a local of the UAE, neither am I an Arab! I have another strong bond with the people of this country; just like them, I am a Muslim and that is all that matters to me :)
Cheers.
Errata for my earlier post:
"...but he actively funds and supports Christian missionaries.."
He supports and funds Christian missionaries AND mercenaries.
and Mr. Timmy please understand that your country is prosecuting and imprisoning American and non-American Muslims who are not even CLOSE to Pat Robertson's extremists and hateful behavior
I can assure you that my country is doing no such thing.
As an American, I would like to officially distance myself from Pat Robertson (as would 99% of all other Americans).
Robertson does and says stupid things and gets his financial support from a relatively small set of the American populace.
We're a very diverse nation, but our government workings are very complicated. Our foreign policy is even more complicated.
noooo balushi is banished!!! please bring back the arch-nemesis..he was not serious, he was showing us an ignorant, dumb perspective on these issues..a perspective that must be a reality in a small level...im sure he is not a wacko in real life!
The Glengarry Leads:
Your objectivity is much appreciated. People like yourself make dialogue a whole lot easier and fruitful.
Tim Newman:
Your ignorance (arrogance even) is NOT appreciated. Talking to you about this is starting to become an exercize of dog trying to chase it's own tail. Your pathetic responses of checking my sources and aligning my opinion to yours is proof enough of your lameness. Enough said!
Cheers!
Your ignorance (arrogance even) is NOT appreciated.
I think you mean to say that me pointing out your ignorance is not appreciated. Well, tough luck. If you keep making false, bigotted, and ignorant statements then I will point them out at every opportunity.
Al Repblican,
I guess you are one of those who believes the whole world is out to oppress the muslims.
Oh well, believe what your want.
As they say, Ignorance is bliss.
Al Republican,
I guess missionaries who try to convert muslims are terrorsists in your opinion.
Earthbound misfit, it doesn't matter how blissful my ignorance is. The facts speak for themselves: The 20th and 21st centuries major geopolitical disputes are Muslim-related. Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir et al is a clear proof of this fact. Unfortunately, America and the UN were unable to "police" just like they did in East Timor when it came to the contentious issues I alluded to above.
All the present problems you see today in the Muslim world are a fall out of colonialism. The West has a big role to play in all of this. Why don't you see Muslims complaining about China, Japan or Korea? Because they never contributed to any of our problems to begin with! On the other hand, the UK and the Western World left us with a new headache of a Jewish homeland on OUR territiry out of thin air! And you refuse to settle this matter. In fact, your countries have laws to stop people from even questioning this fact. And you expect us to accept Israel as a legitimate state!
Tim Newman: Unfortunately, you were unable to point out a single argument from my postings. All you have been able to do is to ask me to "check my facts". That doesn't count for much now, does it?
As regards the statement "Ignorance is bliss", I guess the same applies to you. In a time where the World is witnessing where the pre-emption stems from and on what absurd pretexts, you are unable to call foul. So where lies the ignorance in this instance, gentlemen? But like I said in an earlier thread, this bubble will burst one day. Far too late for any of you to realize what hit you. And ignorance really is a bliss because even when all the dust settles, you will still be unable to comprehend what just transpired under your noses.
Cheers.
Tim Newman: Unfortunately, you were unable to point out a single argument from my postings. All you have been able to do is to ask me to "check my facts". That doesn't count for much now, does it?
No? How about you re-read the thread. In it you'll see a post of mine which reads as follows:
Abu Hamza was prosecuted in the UK, and Pat Robertson's outbursts fall under the remit of US law. This may come as a surprise to you, but the laws in the US and UK differ from one another, and there is not one all-encompassing set of laws which cover free speech in the West.
This was in response to a particularly ill-informed comment of your own. Most of your postings contain factual errors, yet when these are pointed out you simpyl change the subject (usually to one in which the US is evil incarnate). Until you learn to stop posting garbage masquerading as fact on the internet, I will ridicule you at every point and turn. Get used to it.
On the other hand, the UK and the Western World left us with a new headache of a Jewish homeland on OUR territiry out of thin air!
Erm, it is not your territory. The territory on which Israel sits belongs to Israel, and rightly so. We recognise that you and your ilk flatly refuse to live alongside Jews, but that is your problem, and not one of the West. Israel is here to stay, and will remain so because its citizens are prepared to defend themselves against the racist bigotry that you and your ilk like to peddle.
Timmy says:
"Erm, it is not your territory. The territory on which Israel sits belongs to Israel, and rightly so. We recognise that you and your ilk flatly refuse to live alongside Jews, but that is your problem, and not one of the West. Israel is here to stay, and will remain so because its citizens are prepared to defend themselves against the racist bigotry that you and your ilk like to peddle."
How is that for IGNORANCE?? :)
As for Israel is here to stay, that was said during the Crusades, too :) Dream on, the bubble will burst, in sha Allah!
As for Israel is here to stay, that was said during the Crusades, too :) Dream on, the bubble will burst, in sha Allah!
Oh yes, in sha Allah. I think somehow Allah is not as keen on Israel's destruction as you are, or the score would not currently sit at 4-0 to Israel against various Arab armies.
cut off their hands if they gaze in wrong manner at women and rape them. punish them if they steal but dont cut off their hands.
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