Sometimes in our time you can hear about such a punishment as stoning. This ritual is reflected in many works - both films and books. Most modern people cannot even imagine such wildness, considering it either the lot of a bygone past, or fiction. But that's not the case at all.
What is this punishment
The stoning execution itself is quite simple. The victim is taken to a large area, people gather around, having previously collected stones of suitable size. Then they just start throwing them at the condemned person. The procedure continues until the unfortunate (or more often unfortunate) shows signs of life. In some cases, the victim is buried up to the shoulders or tied up so that she cannot dodge stones, cover her face and head.
Stoning Jews
Perhaps the oldest documented tradition of killing people by throwing stones at him in a crowd is recorded in the Jewishpeople.
First of all, a person accused of crimes on religious grounds is subjected to such an execution. In total, there were 18 crimes that were punishable by such a terrible and cruel death. This is blasphemy, sorcery, idolatry and some other sins. It also includes adultery, that is, adultery.
However, in the Talmud it is proposed to replace stoning with another, faster death. A person accused of the sins listed above was drugged with an infusion of narcotic herbs so that he would not feel pain, and also would not feel such fear. After that, he was lifted to a high rock and dropped onto sharp stones below. If after that he did not die, a huge boulder was thrown from the cliff on him in order to finish him off for sure. Perhaps, compared to the original execution, this one was much more humane - a person died in a matter of seconds, and did not suffer for several minutes or even tens of minutes.
The death pen alty in Islam
No less popular is stoning in Islam. Moreover, such a punishment was contained (and is contained!) Even in the criminal codes, that is, it is applied in countries that consider themselves quite enlightened and modern. Legislation regulates even the size of stones!
On the one hand, the stones should not be too small, not bringing pain and sufficient damage to the person sentenced to death. On the other hand, too large stones should not be used, which will kill the convict tooquickly - with just one or two hits. It is recommended to choose only those stones, when beaten by which a person will die, but will not die too quickly, having experienced all the pain, despair and humiliation that he is supposed to.
Where it is used today
Probably, some readers will not be able to imagine such punishments in our enlightened time - the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century. And completely in vain - this rite is still actively used in many countries whose official religion is Islam.
In total, such an execution is officially allowed in six countries. First of all, these are Iraq, Somalia and some countries that are part of the Levant. In other states, this execution has been officially banned for many years. But, for example, in Iran, where stoning has been removed from the criminal code since 2002, the punishment continues to be actively used, especially in small towns. Government officials do not approve of this, but do not take active steps to prevent or stop it - violators most often get off with a verbal warning and censure.
The main reason people get stoned is adultery. Moreover, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is the woman who has cheated on her husband or with whom a devout married Muslim has cheated on his wife.
However, in some cases, the reason for beating is rape. Moreover, paradoxically, it is not the rapists who are killed, but their victim,which after reproach is considered unclean.
Thus, in 2008, the media reported that a similar incident had taken place in Somalia. After leaving the town of Kismayo to visit relatives in the capital city of Mogadishu, a thirteen-year-old girl was raped by three strangers. It was not possible to find the rapists, and the Islamist court imposed a severe punishment on the victim - stoning to death.
Already much later, in 2015, a woman accused of adultery was also killed in a similar way in the city of Mosul, located in Iraq.
And these are just some of the cases that became public knowledge due to the fact that journalists from Western media were present at the place of execution. It is impossible to estimate the total number of such punishments in countries where Islam is preached - many of them are simply not recorded anywhere.
Display in art
Of course, such a punishment, quite familiar to residents of a number of Eastern countries, can shock most modern people. No wonder it is mentioned in art.
For example, in 1994, a novel en titled "The Stoning of Soraya M." was published in France. Its author was Freidon Saebjan, a French-Iranian journalist who decided to show the whole world the savagery of morals that has been preserved in many regions of the world. In some countries, the book became a bestseller, while in others it was banned from printing, selling and reading as "sowing a critical attitude towards the value system. Islam".
In 2008 the book was filmed. The film, directed by Cyrus Nauraste, has the same title as the book. But neither the special popularity nor the world recognition of the film "The Stoning of Soraya M." did not purchase.
Tells a film about a journalist who works in Iran. He was asked for help by a local resident, Zahra, whose niece had recently been executed by stoning. The woman wanted the whole world to know about the cruel customs of her people and help them improve, so she chose a person who could tell about what happened.
Conclusion
Our article is coming to an end. Now you know what a cruel execution by stoning is. At the same time, we were convinced that it has not become a thing of the past at all and continues to be actively practiced in some countries.
