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Faith

Saudi Arabia Reportedly Executes 7 Men Convicted of Robbery by Firing Squad, Skipping Originally Planned Crucifixion

Mar. 13, 2013 8:00pm Tiffany Gabbay

It is a country whose abysmal human rights record has consistently come under fire from activists around the world, and now Saudi Arabia has reportedly executed by firing squad seven men convicted of robbery. Typically, the country executes by beheading, but this particular case was unusual, as initially, Saudi officials planned to execute one of the men by crucifixion and forgo beheading for the firing squad all together.

The executions took place in Abha, a city in the southern region of Asir, the Saudi Press Agency said. A resident who witnessed the execution said the seven were shot dead by a firing squad, a first in the kingdom, the AP reports. Another AP report earlier in the day, however, provided a conflicting account, saying the men had in fact been beheaded. The most recent reports maintain that the men met the firing squad.

The man who was slated for the three-day-long crucifixion Sarhan al Mashayeh, was sentenced to death for his role in a 23-member-strong crime ring that robbed jewelry stores in 2004 and 2005. The other six, meanwhile, were to be executed by the newly-shariah-approved method of firing squad.

Firing squads were recently approved by a leading Saudi cleric supposedly on the grounds that it is quicker and more efficient than the traditional method of beheading. Reports indicate that the real reason, however, is that there seems to be a lack of skilled swordsmen in the kingdom. That did not seem to stop Saudi officials from executing the seven men by their typical method.

While one man may have escaped crucifixion this time, it is still a common practice in Saudi Arabia. Several people were reported crucified in the country last year, the AP reports, drawing scorn from human rights groups. In 2009, Amnesty International condemned crucifixion as “the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.”

The Kingdom’s penchant for the age-old and barbaric practice of crucifixion seems to fly in the face of what Sheikh Ali Al-Hakami, member of the Senior Board of Ulema, told the Saudi Gazette recently – that death by firing squad is shariah-compliant because it is painless.

“That’s why beheading by sword is the best way to achieve the purpose of punishment in Islam because it does not cause any torture,” Al-Hakami said.

One might find the cleric’s reasoning about a quick and painless death to be incongruent with the equally shariah-compliant mode of crucifixion, but, as Islamic scholar Dr. Andrew Bostom, author of the book, “Sharia versus Freedom,” points out, crucifixion is completely congruent with the Quran.

Quran verse 5:33 states:

This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth, to do corruption there: they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off; or they shall be banished from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement

One of the men executed, Nasser Al Qahtani, once told the AP that he was a juvenile at the time of the arrest and that he and the other men were forced to confess following torture.

Robbery is considered capital offense in Saudi Arabia and, clearly, punishable by death by various modes that now include the firing squad. And the methods indeed range from the “quick and painless,” to the long and painful.

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Comments (36)

Conservative Humanist
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 4:52pm
Barbarians are barbarians reguadless of their methods of execution. As long as you hold a 7th century concept of ethics you are less than anyone else.

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joel g
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 5:38am
Islam a whole different religion, guess I will never understand its cruel ways.

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 10:34pm
Islam is a bloody, cultish gang. However……I’ll bet you don’t have to worry much about things getting stolen from your yard at night….LOL>

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- Nahash
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:13am
  extremely low crime rate
  
  Report this comment
The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:08pm
I guess they just wanted to get it over with…rather than have them hang around.

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skippy6
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:32pm
Look on the bright side of life….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJUhlRoBL8M

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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:45pm
  Skippy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  LOL. I’m dancing around my room.
  
  Maybe I shouln’t have told you that.
  
  Report this comment
- brother_ed
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:58pm
  That’s an all time classic!
  
  Thanks!
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:30pm
Wonder how long until the Justice system is ordered by Obama to do the same to ‘enemies of the state.”

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- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:06pm
  It would save money.
  
  Report this comment
Eastinfection
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:30pm
“That’s why beheading by sword is the best way to achieve the purpose of punishment in Islam because it does not cause any torture,” Al-Hakami said.

lol.. what the __?

Knowing Akmed is going to kick down the door of the hut, and chop your head off any day now sounds like torture to me.

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FIREANDBRIMSTONE
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:18pm
Weren’t the Saudi’s and Bush best buds?!?!?! Its all about the oil money. But then again Bush’s fanatical evangelical belief system wasn’t that far off from the Saudi’s. They were like two peas in a pod.

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- Fubared
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:31pm
  Peas and carrots huh? Bush wanted to do this to illegals huh? Wahhabi with wasabi rocks.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:37pm
  lol.. Unbelievable.
  Do you just have a list of irrelevant subjects in front of you, TROLLMONGER, that you randomly challenge yourself to incorporate into your replies, regardless of the topic?
  
  Or do you honestly hear “Shariah Compliant Firing Squad”- and immediately think of Bush?
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:48pm
  lol East
  
  I still think about bush.
  
  Just dont have the same drive I use to, but think about it.
  
  Report this comment
- brother_ed
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:58pm
  I knew it had to be Bush’s fault.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:00pm
  LMAO SURF….
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWshbNTYVqg
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:07pm
  OMG East
  
  Looked like “The Blaze” movie night.
  
  Report this comment
- squirefld
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:10pm
  Let’s see. Bush announced he was going open more areas of U.S. land to drill and gas was $1.82 a gallon when he left office. Obama becomes President and we have pictures and videos of him BOWING to the Saudi king. No President has ever bowed to another countries leader. Obama closed U.S. areas for drilling and gas is approching $4.00 a gallon.
  
  What kind of utter fool are you to talk about Bush and his oil buddies?
  
  Report this comment
- KidCharlemagne
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:29pm
  squirefld
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:10pm
  Obama becomes President and we have pictures and videos of him BOWING to the Saudi king. No President has ever bowed to another countries leader.
  =====================
  
  You might wanna’ sit down then…..’cause you’re in for a shock:
  
  ———————————-
  “Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited Bush in Crawford in April 2005.”
  YouTube (Oct. 17, 2006): “George W. Bush smooching & holding hands with Prince Abdullah”
  
  Report this comment
- squirefld
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 1:01am
  Oh kidcharlemange, what a low information liberal you are. Your post shows your total ignorance. Obama bowing to a Saudi King shows he is inferior to the king. The Bush administration knew In Arab culture, the physical contact such as holding hands between people of the same sex is a sign of affection without any sexual connotation. It’s considered a sign of warmest affection and respect – a sign of solid friendship. Bush know protocol. Obama bent down so far it looked like he was aiming for some thing below the belt.
  
  Go suck an egg.
  
  Report this comment
- Dirtdigger67
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 8:34am
  Fartsandbrim yuo are a idiot !!!
  
  Report this comment
- POET
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 9:04am
  Its never been about Oil, its been about the Price of Oil, when you have something as common as Sea Water how do you make it Valueable ? Regulate it Tax it Restrict it .
  
  Report this comment
Stelex
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:15pm
They have so grown as a nation……….sniff. Maybe Obama should look to them and the middle east for direction. Oh, ….Yeah.

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OldSurfRat
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:08pm
Shot
Beheaded
Crucifixion
Problem solved

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:22pm
  I guess they have yet to discover the guillotine yet.
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:35pm
  RJj
  
  In my home town J-ville. During the summer weekends they would pick a water melon float across the river and have a family pick nick on the lawn of the gallows.
  
  Report this comment
- MK2
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:45pm
  Oldsurf
  I’m for public hangings much more efficient same rope hanging fifty years from now
  Just think of the money we could save in this country less perps to support in prison no more repeat affenders and crim would go way down.
  ( tell your daughter thanks for signing up and serving our country read your post a few weeks back brought back memories of sending my boy off to boot camp a little over a year ago that was one tough day to handle)
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:51pm
  Thank you MK2
  
  Yeah bitter sweet for sure. Did they go to P-Island SC?
  I just keep telling myself that I will be saving a lot of money on food and clothes.
  Just kidding.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:58pm
  Public Executions are also valuable for government accountability.
  
  It clearly illustrates to it’s constituents the awesome amount of power the State can have over them.
  When folks thought there were too many hangings, they elected new representation.
  Too few hangings? Same thing.
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:03pm
  East
  
  Nice point
  
  Report this comment
- MK2
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:10pm
  Oldsurf
  No,Texas he wants to be a fly boy he got his privet pilots license at 16 that’s his passion
  When you go to P-island check out the Guadal-Canal memorial my grandfather help raise money for it he fought there.He was one of only four out of thirty some men that made it when Mitchell Page earned the Medal of Honor he took a bayonet to the chest in that fight he was my biggest hero still is
  He was a Marine till the day he died three years ago never seen him without wearing to do with the Marines.I sure do miss him
  Did you hear they just cut all military education funding?
  
  Report this comment
- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:18pm
  MK2
  
  Yeah sure did hear about the cuts. Told my daughter and she already knew before me due to chatting with current enlisted.
  
  Will check out the Guadal-Canal memorial when I go for graduation. I dont see her not making it due to the fact that she’s not just smart but a tuff young lady.
  I’ll need to bring some sunglasses to keep my eyes covered (:
  
  Report this comment
- MK2
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:56pm
  Oldsurf
  Glasses won’t hide it trust me it will be the proudest moment in your life
  I have three boys I tell then all the time 18 and out lol, they found out what a bunch of BS that was the day I took him to the airport first time they saw me cry second time at graduation.
  I thought I was doing good till the morning we had to take him to the airport.No one could sleep that night so I took him for a ride we took a little trip down memory lane took him by our old house,went down to the river and threw rocks in he water like when he was little, drove by our hunting spots talked about that,was a tough day for sure.Of course it was tough on the wife also
  May God bless and be with you and your family during this time
  
  May God bless you and your family during this tough time,
  
  Report this comment
Fubared
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:05pm
Where is the OWS Saudi branch located? A User, any idea?

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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:03pm
Well,That was humane of them.

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