Stop Stoning Now (again)

I hope that we have witnessed the last stoning in Iran. It's time for a reinterpretation of Sharia law. I'm no expert, but I know that Iranians are quite capable of reinterpreting the law and banning stoning altogether with a bit of will. Until then I believe that any little problems that the government may have such as the release of the movie 300 or Persepolis or the knighting of Salman Rushdie look unbelievably petty.

Here's what Kamin Mohammadi writes:

(From: Iranian Stoning Case - the Act of a Civilized Nation?)

In May, the Iranian regime summoned the French ambassador in Tehran. The reason? Marjane Satrapi’s animated movie of her best-selling books Persepolis was set to premier at the Cannes Film Festival...

If the Iranian regime is concerned with these ‘unfair’ depictions of Iran and its people, it should perhaps look a little closer to home. What ‘civilized’ country in the 21st century stones its people to death? Iran, unfortunately, despite its 2,500-year old history, despite being the longest continuously inhabited land by a single people in the world, despite the pre and post-Islamic splendours of its architecture and arts, still puts people – mostly women – to death by stoning, for ‘crimes’ such as adultery. Under Iran’s Sharia law, being raped can count as adultery for a woman.