On Wed, 12 Sep 2001 07:01:56 -0400
Joel Hammer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
| On Wed, Sep 12, 2001 at 08:43:18AM +0200, Roger Oberholtzer wrote:
| > On Tue, 11 Sep 2001 19:10:55 -0400
| > Joel Hammer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
| >
| > | Saudi is a strict Islamic nation. You can be put to death for a minor
| > | infraction of Islamic law. (Man and woman unmarried sleeping in a tent
| > | together.) So, what's to fight about?
| >
| > This is a gross over simplification. The Moslem-based courts in Saudi
| > Arabia are, in fact, very fair. There are very well defined punishments
| > for each crime. In fact, your example of a sexual relation is interesting.
| > One part of Ismalic law that differs from the West the most is that
| > the offended family gets to choose the punishment - within a well
| > defined set of alternatives. If a family is disgraced by a scandal
| > as in the above example, they can do nothing, ask for money, ask
| > for death. It is all based on the Koran, which is as good a source
| > of information on moral conduct as there is.
| >
| The story I was told, when I was in Iran years ago, was that three Western
| tourists, two men and one woman, were found in a tent together on the beach
| and sentenced to death.
| Is that possible?
Highly unlikely. If one was a Saudi female, then the family could have
demanded death after a trial. This would have made the news. But without
a proper trial this would not be the case.
The 'only' people who have a real problem in SA are women. The family can
decide on their own to kill a female that brings disgrace on the family.
It does happen. In a court of law - this is a fact - it takes the
testimony of three women to weigh equal to that of a man. This is
based on ideas in the Koran on the nature of women.
Of course, it is now possible for women in SA to have wealth. Banks
now have 'women' sections where they can do their business. This means
that economically women can exist without a husband. If the family
allow it.
Remember the British nurses accused of killing a patient? The victim's
family could have demanded death. They demanded money instead, which is
how it turned out.
So, foreigners have a large deal of 'freedom' compared to women in
SA. Foreign women can show their face and even hot have their hair covered.
Saudi women (not children) are not so lucky.
This freedom that foreigners have in SA and how it effects the native
population is one fact that has upset Osama bin Laden.
--
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Roger Oberholtzer E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
OPQ Systems AB WWW: http://www.opq.se
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