http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=88865&d=16&m=11&y=2006
Thursday, 16, November, 2006 (25, Shawwal, 1427)
Rape: Who Gets Punished and Who Does Not?
Abeer Mishkhas, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Last week the Arabic daily Okaz carried a story on two more rape cases in
Qatif. One of them involved a 17-year-old boy who was dragged into a field by
two men and raped. The atrocity was also filmed. The two rapists then attempted
to assault another young man who managed to escape and go to the police. The
two men were eventually caught and are now awaiting trial.
These two crimes follow the famous rape case known in Saudi Arabia as the
"Qatif Girl" incident which was a top news story a few months ago. For those
who don't know, it was the gang rape of a girl in Qatif who called for help and
when a man attempted to help her, he was beaten up and raped as well. The
sentences, as reported by Arab News, were "Four of the seven men have been sent
to jail for periods ranging from one to five years and will be given 80 to
1,000 lashes." In addition, "The court also sentenced the woman and the man she
was meeting to 90 lashes for having met in private. The security source from
the Eastern Province said, 'The judge sentenced the girl and the man to 90
lashes because they were alone with the intention of doing something bad.
Because of that, they will be punished.'" Relatives of the woman said that they
would appeal the 90-lash-sentence.
The subsequent outcry and debate after the sentence is worth considering
- especially in light of a sentence in another famous rape case in Riyadh a few
years ago. A girl was set up by a former boyfriend and raped by the boyfriend's
Nigerian driver. The rape was filmed by another friend of the boyfriend. The
man who filmed the attack was sentenced to 12 years and 1,200 lashes. The
Nigerian rapist was given 6 years and 600 lashes and the former boyfriend who
arranged everything got only 2 years and 200 lashes. Now, there is a big
discrepancy here. The men in Qatif were sentenced to from 1 to 5 years. What is
the difference in the two cases? The girl in the Riyadh case was not punished
though she had been involved earlier with one of the men. The Qatif girl was
sentenced to 90 lashes because the court suspected the "intention of doing
something bad."
I certainly am not suggesting that the Riyadh girl be punished; what I am
doing is wondering about the different sentences. In following this up, we can
ask another question: Are people punished for nothing more than "intentions"
and suspicions? And how did the court in Qatif know that the girl intended to
do "something bad"? The girl denied this accusation and said he was a total
stranger who came to help her. What possible foundation for punishment is there
here? If the two of them had been walking down a street and there was no proven
case of adultery, then there is no law which can punish them. Even under
Islamic law, people are not punished for intentions and suspicions.
In a well-known episode from Islamic history, Omar ibn Al-Khattab, the
second caliph, was patrolling the streets of Madinah and saw a couple
committing adultery in a deserted place. He did not stop them; he went back to
his council and proposed bringing them in for punishment. Ali ibn Abu Taleb
opposed the idea immediately and asked the caliph where the evidence and
witnesses were. There could be no prosecution with neither. He told Omar,
"Either you provide witnesses or we must punish you for slandering the couple."
The case was dropped even though the caliph knew the couple had committed a sin.
In a comment on the Al-Arabiyah website, a writer enumerated a variety of
punishments in rape cases. He asked the Ministry of Justice to have a clear set
of laws and punishments for such crimes so that people would not be puzzled at
the light sentences in some cases and heavy ones in others. This is a very
reasonable request and one which the ministry should agree to and all
responsible Muslims should join the writer in requesting.
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