thought of the day.184

The Stoning of Soraya M.

There are times I get so beaten down by reading the bible I could almost cry. Sometimes its wickedness literally makes me sick to my stomach. Try reading the following verse and imagining the “damsel” to be your mother, daughter, sister or friend, or perhaps yourself.

“But if... the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die...” Dt 22:20-21

My guess is your natural sense of decency won’t allow yourself to fully picture the horror of such a scene. The bloodthirstiness of the men, the self righteousness of the community, the fear and suffering of the young woman. Let me help you. Fereydoune Sahebjam, who recently died at the age of 75, was a respected journalist and war correspondent. He had been condemned to death by the Khomeini regime for his writings, which included the book, “The Stoning of Soraya M.”, a true story of a modern Iranian woman wrongly accused of a crime and stoned to death. It offers a glimpse into the barbaric life of the ancient Israelites by bringing to life all too vividly the “holy” scripture above. And shows how the belief in the Abrahamic God continues to cause incredible suffering throughout the world today.

“The mayor took a stone and handed it to Soraya’s father: “It is to you,” he said, “that befalls the honor of throwing the first stone....” The old man set his cane down on the ground and took the large stone in his hand. He gave thanks to God, drew his arm back and, as he threw the stone with all his might in the direction of his daughter, he shouted: “Allah be praised!.... There, whore, take that!” ....Then it was Ghorban-Ali's turn. He had rolled up his sleeves and had four rocks neatly piled next to his feet. He waited for the mayor's signal. “Your turn, my boy,” the mayor said to him affectionately, “and may God guide your arm.” ....The crowd was screaming hysterically now, and there were ripples of applause from the men. The shadow of a smile flitted across Ghorban-Ali's face; he picked up another stone, aimed more carefully, and threw it as hard as he could. This time the stone struck the woman on the forehead, just at the hairline. The skin burst open, blood began to trickle down her face, as Soraya's head jerked violently backward.... Now the stones were flying thick and fast, piling up on the ground around them. And there, only a few feet in front of them, was a head whose face they never saw, a head that kept bobbing to and fro in time to the stones that were striking it....Finally it was Sheik Hassan's turn. He put his Qur'an in his left hand and, with his right, picked up a large stone. But before he threw he turned back to the crowd and said with great bombast: “I am not the one who is throwing this stone....It is God who is guiding my arm....It is he who commands me…“I shall throw as many stones as it takes to kill this bitch” ....In the center of the circle, Soraya was slowly expiring. Her head and chest were little more than a shapeless mass of bloody flesh. The noisy crowd, completely out of control, broke ranks and moved in even closer, ready for the kill. Her scalp was nothing more than a gaping wound; her jaw had exploded; her eyes and nose burst open. Her head drooped at a grotesque angle, like some bizarre carnival mask, over what remained of her right shoulder. In the front row, Hassan, his robe spattered with blood, raised his arm and called for silence. “My dear friends....I believe that God has done his work. I believe that his will has been done. Would someone like to check and make certain the harlot is dead?” Several men raised their hands. Hassan picked Said the well digger. The man lay down on the ground right next to the victim and put his ear close to Soraya's open mouth. “She's still alive....The bitch still hasn't croaked,”…

The book is currently being made into a movie. www.thestoning.com/trailer.html