Once upon a time almost every society used to behead ‘sinners’ and criminals. But they stopped beheading as they evolved. Like the countries stop having death penalty as they become civilized. What is the difference between hanging, beheading and lethal injection? Probably lethal injection is the least painless method for execution. Beheading looks scary. It is Muslims who still continue beheading like their ancestors. Will Islamic countries ever abolish death penalty? Islamic countries should abolish death penalty as they claim Allah is most merciful and forgiving. Whenever I read the Quranic verses about killing infidels, I feel my assassins are holding a sharp sword to my throat.
2:191- And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And fight not with them at Al-Masjid-al-Haram, unless they (first) fight you there. But if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.
2:193- Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah.
5:33- Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed (beheading) or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land.
5: 45- And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution.
8:12- [Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, “I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.
8:17— And you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them. And you threw not, [O Muhammad], when you threw, but it was Allah who threw that He might test the believers with a good test.
9:29- Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.
9:123: O you who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you
47:4- So, when you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah’s Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives). Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until the war lays down its burden. Thus [you are ordered by Allah to continue in carrying out Jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam (i.e. are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire) or at least come under your protection], but if it had been Allah’s Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost..
The Prophet himself killed people. It is in the Quran.
33.26-27- And those of the people of the Scripture who backed them (the disbelievers) Allah brought them down from their forts and cast terror into their hearts, (so that) a group (of them) you killed, and a group (of them) you made captives. And He caused you to inherit their land and their homes and their properties and a land which you have not trodden. And ever is Allah , over all things, competent.
The verse was about Muhammad’s attacks against Banu Quraiza tribe. The Jewish tribe in Medina was suddenly attacked by Muhammad and his soldiers. The tribe was defeated. 500 to 900 adult males were beheaded. Women and children were enslaved. Muhammad took one of the prisoners for himself. The Quran says:
8:67- It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter.
Muhammad beheaded Safiya’s husband before taking Safiya as his personal property. The story is in Shahi al-Bukhari hadith, No. 2099.
Saudi Arabia believes in beheading because Saudi Arabia truly believes in Islam.
when I was reading those lines I have been shivering ,I find nothing other than Cruelty & Barbarism on those lines, utter nonsense & foul speech of devil..how horrible it could be..omg..I can’t find any more suitable words to express my feelings…Even brutality must be ashamed of these..
I was going through the comments section to find out if anyone commented – stating the ‘actual meaning’ of those – behead but with kindness and respect!
I know there are less aggressive Muslim sects that tend to read the 2:191 bit quite narrowly (i.e. along the lines of “war only if the other side is the aggressor”), but sheesh — as with Christianity, the sects that are even remotely humane have to do an awful lot of convoluted reinterpretation of their own scriptures. The similar religious justifications for war make sense…a lot of what you quote sounds like it could have been cribbed from the more aggressive parts of the Tanakh.
If people are going to be killed as a judicial penalty, beheading is a comparatively humane way to kill them. Dr Guillotine invented his infamous device for humanitarian reasons.. However, with the Abrahamic religions, it is not only the method of killing- roasting people alive or stoning them to death are recommended in other cases- but the ‘crimes’ for which these penalties are imposed which renders them particularly horrible.
I think the lethal dose of morphine injection is the most humane way to execute people. By the way, I am very much against death penalty.
I am against death penalty. I think how India executes, i.e. hanging, is even worse than beheading. Hanging is at par with, if not worse than stoning to death. There can be no justification for killing.
beheading may seem more inhumane than other methods of execution, but is it really any worse than, say, lethal injection? at least beheading is honest in the brutal nature of execution, while lethal injection is used primarily to make the execution more comforting for those performing and witnessing the execution, not for the comfort of the person being executed.
With due respect to your freedom of speech and the liberty to judge and think as an individual, would like to correct certain facts here!. Reading between the lines has already been proved as fatal and yet another fatal erroneous statement projected here by just reading in between the lines!. I have always urged people to know the context for which they quote verses from scriptures or a story. Anyways, with in the limitation of the knowledge i have, would like to point out here that these clauses have been picked up in context to the tortures the early muslims faced. If one has the right to speak, one definitely has the right to follow a religion. But when majority of people had started accepting this religion, they were killed and tortured. Women were publicly abused and many other acts of insult were inflicted upon these newly converts. Taslima, today when there have been many cases of rape and other inhuman tortures reported, i have seen you actively participating and wishing for severe punishment for the culprits. Then why is it that you shall have issues with what is mentioned in the scriptures against the inhuman treatment inflicted to people in the early ages? Just because you werent there to witness it, doesnt mean that their pain can be ignored? right? Anyways, always be clear of the context in which a verse has been stated. Probably you can understand things better!. Any article, book, paper etc read with an intention to seek the errors, will land u up in finding mistakes, for your mind works to find them alone!. And not the truth.
All the best for your next reading!. 🙂
Would you please show me my any kind of statement in which I recommended ‘sever punishment for the culprits’? You are not telling the truth. I have been saying that punishment would not work, rather educate children about women’s equality, it may change people’s patriarchal mindset.
I completely agree with the idea of preaching women equality in children right frmo tender age and trust me I am in for this, begining right from my home! But my point here is, till this education system comes into existence, shall we keep forgiving the culprits who have commited such heinous crimes? And let them go? Do you actually feel that while the next generation is educted about women equality, the present generation women can suffer? And they ought to wait? for justice to be done to them? I somehow dont see this as a fair option. Though the future plan that u present is definitly worth implementing. But what about the PRESENT??? Should more girls be made victims and the culprits let free? Are u trying to say lets have sympathy for the culprits who have made a girl suffer to the core??
Oh BTW, I approve of beheading or even more severe punishment for the culprits of Delhi-Rape case. Without slightest hesitation..
Do you approve of your Prophet beheading Qurayza Jews?
I think that behaviour was pretty standard for that time and place. The Qurayza Jews would have beheaded any enemy tribesmen they captured just as readily. The behaviour of the early Muslims was unremarkable for seventh century Arabia. Centuries later, enemies of the Crown in England were still being hung, drawn and quartered, and their body parts displayed all over the realm. They only seem especially barbaric when judged from a modern, more enlightened perspective.
The danger here is that religion enshrines ancient morality, so we have some modern Muslims like Uzma claiming that beheading is still moral in modern times because Islam prescribes it. We must leave the seventh century standards of morality behind, but religion is a major obstacle to that endeavour.
Honestly speaking, as a human, if some one tortures me, attempts several attacks on me just because i was a muslim, and every possible against action against me, because of something i follow, I would definitely not sit back and watch people do things to me. In short, like everyone else, i have the freedom to follow what i believe in? Right? So I would take a stand against such acts. And fight back!!!.
I’m afraid that this subject reminds me of the guillotine, a beheading machine named after its inventor. The French Revolution is often associated with it, and Maximilien Robespierre was very big on using it. But one day, his colleagues decided that they did not want to risk suffering that fate, so they arrested him. Guess what they did to him.
I am atheist hindu,
One lady who converted from hinduism to islam gave her interesting perspective on this topic,
http://www.pakistanaffairs.pk/faith-spirituality/11392-why-indians-gets-outraged-beheadings-call-medieval-mongolic-islamic-acts-new-post.html
My respose was,
As I have stated before,Hinduismis more of culture than organised religion.
In culture’s interpretation of morality can vary from person to person.
I will you two examples here,
1. Polygamy of Lord Krishna
As you know lord Krishna was having multiple wives but there is no hard and fast rule or single authentic source in hinduism which states that polygamy is allowed,We consider it as an exceptional situation. As a result pologamy have became illegal in India for hindus, You can argue that Hinduism being culture,it is evolved in such a way that from last 65 years pologamy is not allowed.
2.Polyandry of Draupadi
Again exceptional case, no single authentic source, being culture it is evolved such that now it is illegal.
So for hindus, there is no hard and fast rule that life of Lord Rama or krishna or Parashuramawere ideal way of life, So people are free to ask questions.
Example of Kalimata comes undercase of subjective morality, Let’s say in today’s world, if any girl kills potential rapist by beheading then there will be division in opinion,some will call it as a immoral act and some people will equate her to reincarnation of Kalimata. But majority of people will consider beheading of enemy soldier as immoral.
So morality in Hinduism is subjective which will depend on individual interpretation,as a result people are now openly questioning morality of Lord Rama,I think it is only possible due to Hinduism being culture than organised religion.
Taslima you are talking about educating people,but educated people like bill clinton are like wild vultures
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“Islamic countries should abolish death penalty as they claim Allah is most merciful and forgiving.”
no. islamic countries should abolish death penalty because death penalty is barbaric, immoral, and unjust. that’s it; that’s all.
you do not fight fire with fire, you do not fight murder with murder, and above all you do not fight evil religiously-justified doctrine with appeals to theology.
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