Religion of Peace?
I find it difficult to reconcile claims made regularly that Islam is a 'religion of peace' when a mainstream Muslim country like Saudia Arabia can jail a man, and potentially put him to death, for the crime of apostasy - a charge which includes the heinous crime of pressing the "Like" button on a Facebook page for Arab Christians.
The Independent reports on the barbaric treatment being meted out to Raif Badawi who is still locked up in a Saudi jail, the authorities having paused the public flogging part of his punishment after an international outcry.
But the real question is for Islamic scholars and Muslims around the world to explain how this kind of behaviour can possibly be justified by a religion that regularly claims to be all about peace.
Because Raif Badawi's is being decided by a country that is at the very heart of Islam and its capital, Mecca, is the focal point for the prayers of devout Muslims five times every day.
Raif Badawi, the Saudi Arabian blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes, may now get the death penalty
Raif Badawi could face trial for apostasy
By CHRIS GREEN - The Independent
Raif Badawi, the Saudi Arabian blogger whose punishment of 1,000 lashes has prompted international condemnation, may now face the death penalty.
Mr Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, told The Independent in a series of messages that judges in Saudi Arabia’s criminal court want him to undergo a re-trial for apostasy. If found guilty, he would face a death sentence.
She said the “dangerous information” had come from “official sources” inside the conservative kingdom, where Mr Badawi has already been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes – administered at a rate of 50 per week – for criticising the country’s clerics through his liberal blog.
In 2013, a judge threw out the charge of apostasy against the 31-year-old blogger after he assured the court that he was a Muslim. The evidence against him had included the fact that he pressed the “Like” button on a Facebook page for Arab Christians.
The news that the charge may now be re-examined will come as a bitter blow to Mr Badawi’s family and supporters, who had hoped that the international pressure over his case would prompt Saudi Arabia to reduce his sentence.
Although he remains in prison, he has only been flogged once since his sentence was passed, with subsequent punishments being repeatedly postponed.
More follows...
Raif Badawi, the Saudi Arabian blogger whose punishment of 1,000 lashes has prompted international condemnation, may now face the death penalty.
Mr Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, told The Independent in a series of messages that judges in Saudi Arabia’s criminal court want him to undergo a re-trial for apostasy. If found guilty, he would face a death sentence.
She said the “dangerous information” had come from “official sources” inside the conservative kingdom, where Mr Badawi has already been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes – administered at a rate of 50 per week – for criticising the country’s clerics through his liberal blog.
In 2013, a judge threw out the charge of apostasy against the 31-year-old blogger after he assured the court that he was a Muslim. The evidence against him had included the fact that he pressed the “Like” button on a Facebook page for Arab Christians.
The news that the charge may now be re-examined will come as a bitter blow to Mr Badawi’s family and supporters, who had hoped that the international pressure over his case would prompt Saudi Arabia to reduce his sentence.
Although he remains in prison, he has only been flogged once since his sentence was passed, with subsequent punishments being repeatedly postponed.
More follows...
