Stoning of Soraya M actress spreads comforting falsehoods

The American Thinker ^ | June 28, 2009 | Robert Spencer

[Scanian]

Does stoning really have "nothing to do with Islam"?

The Stoning of Soraya M. is a great film; I attended an advance screening of it last year in Los Angeles, and strongly recommend that you see it. It is a powerfully moving indictment of the Islamic practice of stoning adulterers, and indirectly of the Sharia in general -- however, those connected with the film are doing their level best to avoid giving the impression that the film has anything to do with Islam at all. The latest to do this, but by no means the only one, is actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, who portrays the victim's close friend. This is understandable in today's politically correct Obamoid climate, but it is unfortunate for the Muslim women who are victimized by this barbaric practice: they will never get justice as long as the world is busy making excuses for what victimizes them, instead of calling to account those who are responsible.

Anyway, Aghdashloo makes a number of factually false statements in an interview she gave Thursday to Todd Hill of the Staten Island Advance -- not just false, but misleading, and ultimately enabling those who perpetuate the practice of stoning. In it, she said that stoning has "been happening since the Stone Age, in Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Other nations and religions have gotten rid of it, and all of a sudden, after 2,000 years of monarchy we're facing it in Iran. What makes me feel devastated is the fact that it's happening there, the cradle of civilization."

"It's been happening since the Stone Age, in Judaism, Christianity, Islam." In fact, no. The Hebrew Scriptures mandate stoning but it has not been carried out in Judaism since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., or before that.

[JeepInMazar]

Types of Muslims is an article which addresses the issue of how various kinds of Muslims talk about Islam.

[SolidWood]

"It's been happening since the Stone Age, in Judaism, Christianity, Islam." In fact, no. The Hebrew Scriptures mandate stoning but it has not been carried out in Judaism since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., or before that.

Gibberish. Give me a break. What on earth is the last sentence supposed to mean? It's mandated in the old testament but "wasn't carried out after 79 A.D. or before"? Nonsense. The Bible mentions the folks who pick up stones to stone the prostitute... until Jesus intervenes to save her. Everyone forgotten the "who is without sin cast the first stone" thing?

On what does the author base his assertion that no stoning was done in ancient Judaism? Wishful thinking? His contradictions doesn't exactly help him make his point.

Ironically enough the author himself then mentions:

Jesus famously raised the bar for stoning beyond human reach when he said to a crowd that was poised to stone an adulteress, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).

So in other words he admits that it was part of Jewish legal practice in biblical times.

I couldn't care less about the arabian bedouin religion... but the urge to stick it to islam isn't a substitute for honest arguments.

[garbanzo]

"wasn't carried out after 79 A.D. or before"?

Are you aware that the timeline of the gospels is about 30AD or so? The author is implying that stoning ended in Judea sometime between the AD 30s and 79AD when the (Second) Jewish Temple was destroyed. As a historical note, the Romans didn't typically let capital punishment be carried out by local authoritie. Capital crimes under Roman law which were carried out by Roman authorities.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Does stoning really have “nothing to do with Islam”?

Not hard to answer.
Take the last 1000 cases of reported/confirmed stoning and determine by the inofmration provided if the stoners were Christian,Jewish or Muslims.
Not often a bettor but in tis case I would go with a sure bet that 99.9 percentof the case would be laid at the feet of Muslims.
The answer to the question posed is OF COURSE STONING HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ISLAM

[SolidWood]

BTW meant 70 AD... not 79.

Regarding your comment:

All nice and well. But this doesn't solve the contradiction in the author's article.

The "before that" is open to interpretation, either meaning what you suggest, or what I read into it. He doesn't specifiy at all what you are saying. Regardless of that, the fact that during Jesus lifetime, Jews were trying to stone a woman for adultering, was certainly no exception and refutes the author's assertion that the practice of stoning has no relation to Judaism.

The only thing wrong with the quote from the makers of the film, is tying stoning to Christianity.

[garbanzo]

The author's point was that even though the practice of stoning is authorized by the Hebrew Bible, no one has been stoned under Jewish law since at least AD70 and is not a part of modern Judaism like stoning in the Islamic world is. There is no contradiction, only pointing out that the last person stoned under Jewish law may have been before AD70 but certainly no one was stoned after AD70. The author doesn't specify exactly how long before the destruction of the Temple the last stoning may have been but it was obviously after AD33 or so. So the point is that stonings ended between AD33 and AD70. In any event, the stonings under Jewish law have long since passed which was the central point.

[EmilyGeiger]

They also stoned Stephen. It is told about in the book of Acts.