A while ago, I read an article titled “Back to Somalia: Asho’s sad death” in Sunday Star, published on Sunday, Dec-21, 2008. It’s a story of a 13 year old girl named Asho who was living with her family in Dadaab refuge camp in Northern Kenya. Asho had never known life outside of the refugee camp. And then one day Asho disappeared from the refugee camp. There was no single truthful testimony about how she disappeared. However, there were plenty of rumors. Some said she ran away to see her grandma, others commented she went away with some guy, yet others said that she got married and left the camp. Just rumors, nothing concrete. On Oct. 27, Asho called her home. She was crying and said she is about to be killed and is concerned about a debt of 100 Kenyan shillings. She was taken from the phone before she managed to say goodbye to her father. Later on a jail guard started talking to the father but he didn’t tell the father why they were holding her. This sounds really fishy to me. Why would a jail guard hide the reason behind taking Asho in custody? Later, on around the same day, some armed guards dragged Asho before a crowd and stoned her to death. Some onlookers tried to intervene but the guards opened fire and a young boy got killed. A Sheikh named Hayakalah testified later on that Asho confirmed that she was involved in adultery and that she is ok with the punishment under Islamic law.” Three days after this happened, some witnesses told the Amnesty International that Asho was raped by 3 men and when she tried to report the rape to the militia, she was arrested along with the alleged offenders.
After reading this, I felt awed. How badly have people twisted Islamic rulings? As a Muslim woman, I totally sympathize with Asho and her family and I believe that according to Islam, this incident has to be treated as murder. May God have mercy on her family and may God enter this poor sister in Jannah. Amin. By the way, after what she went through, she will most definitely enter in Jannah (paradise). Perhaps, paradise will recompense for this injustice. And Allah knows well.
First of all, the girl was gang raped. Then she was stoned to death for adultery. Alright, this is not adultery. This is forced sex.
So, my question is what does Islam say about this?
Let’s open some books and find out.
Let’s start with the Quran.
“…If anyone kills a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all people. And if anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all people” (Qur’an, 5:32).
So, in Islam, like most other world faiths, we are taught that human life is sacred. So, if life is sacred, what about capital punishment?
The Quran says:
“Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does He command you, so that you may learn wisdom” (Qur’an, 6:151).
O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered-the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for a female. (meaning: no one else should be executed in place of the killer) but whoever overlooks from his brother (i.e. the killer) anything (meaning: “by accepting compensation payment rather than execution), then there should be a suitable follow up and payment to him (i.e. the deceased’s heir or legal representative) with good conduct. This is alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But, whoever transgresses after that (footnote says: after receiving compensation), will have a painful punishment. (Quran, 2: 178)
The above verse is talking about the law of Equality (Qisas). It means that if an innocent’s life is taken unjustly, then the murderer whether it’s a woman, slave or a free person, has to be killed in retaliation. Further readings suggest that this act has to be carried out by a just government only. A citizen does not have the right to carry out this punishment. And also, the above Quranic verse offers a leniency. If the family of the murdered person allow that the murderer lives, then they (victim’s family) have to be compensated with money instead. I think that the murderer has to give this retribution money. And if this person, after being let go, decides to commit murder again, then Allah will punish him Himself.
One may ask what is the wisdom behind the Law of Equality (Qisas)? According to Tafsir ibn Khatir, first wisdom is getting rid of the oppressor, i.e. the murderer. The second wisdom is preventing others from committing the same act. Other people, when they hear about the punishment given to a rapist or a murderer, they would try their best not to be involved in any such inhumane acts. So, this moderate ruling also prevents future murders from taking place, just by scaring potential murderers.
Yet another Islamic reading tells us the following:
According to Islâm, a woman has to be respected and protected under all circumstances, whether she belongs to your own nation or to the nation of an enemy, whether she follows your religion or belongs to some other religion or has no religion at all. A Muslim cannot outrage her under any circumstances. All promiscuous relationships have been forbidden to him, irrespective of the status or position of the woman, whether the woman is a willing or an unwilling partner to the act. The words of the Holy Qur’ân in this respect are: “Do not approach (the bounds of) adultery” (17:32). Heavy punishment has been prescribed for this crime, and the order has not been qualified by any conditions. Since the violation of chastity of a woman is forbidden in Islam, a Muslim who perpetrates this crime cannot escape punishment. (Maudoodi)
Sûrah an Nûr (Chapter 24, verse 33, Quran) says:
‘… And do not, in order to gain some of the fleeting pleasures of this worldly life, coerce your slave women into whoredom if they are desirous of marriage, and if anyone should coerce them, then, verily, after they have been compelled (to submit in their helplessness), God will be much forgiving, a dispenser of grace (to them).
During the time of the Prophet (saw) punishment was inflicted on the rapist on the solitary evidence of the woman who was raped by him. Wa’il ibn Hujr reports of an incident when a woman was raped. Later, when some people came by, she identified and accused the man of raping her. They seized him and brought him to Allah’s messenger, who said to the woman, “Go away, for Allâh has forgiven you,” but of the man who had raped her, he said, “Stone him to death.” (Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud)
During the time when Umar (raa) was the Khalifah, a woman accused his son Abu Shahmah of raping her; she brought the infant borne of this incident with her to the mosque and publicly spoke about what had happened. Umar (raa) asked his son who acknowledged committing the crime and was duly punished right there and then. There was no punishment given to the woman. (Rauf)
Another Islamic reading mentions that the punishment of the rapist is stoning to death if he is married and it is 100 lashes and banishment for one full year if he is not married.
So, after doing all the readings, there is a consensus among the scholars that only the rapist(s) should have been subjected to severe punishment (death) and the girl should have been taken care of, to ensure that she heals from the trauma of this insane act. From the story of Khalifah Umar (raa), we learn that no noble is to escape punishment. Umar (raa) punished his own son after he found out that he raped a woman. We also learn that a slave woman is to be treated with respect just as a free woman. She is not be forced into any sexual acts.
Here is quote from this article.
After Asho died, someone identifying himself as Sheikh Hayakalah gave an interview to the Somali Radio Shabelle. “The evidence came from her side and she officially confirmed her guilt while sh e told us that she was happy with the punishment under Islamic law”, he said.
Asho had been sentenced to death for “adultery”.
Stoning as capital punishment is sanctioned under Sharia law, although the killing of a 13 y ear old girl is believed to be a first inSomalia.
I totally find it utterly unbelievable and disgusting that a (so-called) Muslim Sheikh gave a testimony of how she is O.K. with being stoned after being raped. I don’t think this Sheikh was educated at all. I wonder if any of these militia men and this Sheikh have even read and fully understood a bit of the Quran.
What is even worse, is that the Western media is doing further damage to Islam by saying that this law is Islamic in nature. IT ISN’T.
I would personally like to invite the author of this article, Michelle Shepard, to conduct thorough research before relating any rulings to Islam. I would like to invite this particular sheikh to read the ABCs of Islam because apparently he doesn’t know anything. Lastly, I would like to request Toronto Star to stop publishing any articles that may promote Islamophobia and racial profiling of the Muslims in the West. It is the duty of the Editor to request proper research before publishing any articles that have an anti-Islamic tone to it.
