Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re trying to be so good.
Stoning might be the world's oldest form of execution. It is as old as written literature, and the most common death penalty described in the Bible (prompting Jesus' famous statement in John 8.7: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"). Although it has never been a legal form of execution in the United States, it is practiced elsewhere in the world, primarily in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
They’ll stone ya just a-like they said they would.
In early Biblical history stoning was the God-commanded Israelite method of executing those found guilty of the most serious offenses against His Law.
The Bible does not describe in specifics which form of restraint was used while the process of stoning was done, however some manner of keeping the condemned individual from escaping was used ranging from being thrown before the stoning from an elevation of some sort that caused incapacitating injury, to being tied to a post (or simply tied hand and foot), to being buried with just the head and shoulders left above ground, to just being surrounded by a large crowd of stone throwers in an enclosed area.
Then they’ll stone ya when you’re there all alone.
But I would not feel so all alone.
Unlike most other forms of capital punishment, stoning had no specific executioner, "all the congregation shall stone". Everyone is the murderer and therefore, no one is the murderer. The group both absorbs and atones for any possible guilt or hesitation that even one individual might have felt. Entire families and villagers become conspirators in killing. The leaders cannot be held accountable for their actions either — everyone did it.
God commanded stoning for violations of the TEN COMMANDMENTS.... any of them:
Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ ’long the street.
By the time of the New Testament, stoning for blasphemy was still a part of Israelite thought. Many of those man-made laws and traditions were viewed nearly on the same level as God's actual Law. It was for this that Jesus rebuked them for worshiping God according to their own traditions.
They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to keep your seat.
Today stoning is practiced in contemporary Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates. Over time it has become a uniquely FEMALE form of execution carried out by MALES.
They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ on the floor.
Stoning is typically a punishment for adultery, although it can also be use for cases of incest and other sexual or “moral” crimes. It is a particular punishment meted out to women. Adultery might include: a married woman who is raped by a stranger, or a woman promised in marriage to one man but who chooses another. This is precisely what happened in the recent case in Afghanistan.
They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ to the door.
A man and a woman who allegedly had an adulterous affair have been stoned and killed in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz.
The punishment happened in a crowded bazaar on Sunday in the Taliban-controlled village of Mullah Quli.
Well don’t ya feel so all alone,
"We were also asked to throw stones, the woman was dead but the man was still alive. Some Taliban shot him three times ”
Mohammad Ayub, the governor of Imam Sahib district in Kunduz, told the BBC on Monday: "The Taliban brought them to the local bazaar.
"They stoned them because they were accused of adultery. There was a big crowd of people who watched.''
Do not feel so all alone.
Two witnesses from Mullah Quli told the BBC that the Taliban asked the villagers to attend the stoning through an announcement on loudspeakers in the mosque.
"There was a big crowd of people," one witness said. "The Taliban made the women wear black clothes and the men were made to stand. The Taliban started throwing stones.
"Some Taliban then came and shot him three times. The Taliban warned villagers if anyone does anything un-Islamic, this will be their fate.''
This month the Taliban also reportedly flogged and killed a pregnant widow in western Baghdis province.
In 2006, a poll conducted in “moderate” Indonesia found that at least 50% of Muslims supported stoning in cases of adultery, however it is defined.
Typically, a stoning victim is first wrapped in cloth and buried up to the waist for men, or up to the chest for females. Then the crowd is to throw stones at the victim. However, it is very important that, “… no stone should be thrown that should kill with the first or second blow, or so small as a pebble to do no injury to the condemned.” The average execution by stoning is extremely painful, lasting at least 10 to 20 minutes.
Khomeini brought stoning back to Iran. Uneducated mullahs in the provinces rather liked it. They also liked drugs, drug trafficking, forcing girls into prostitution and then jailing or hanging them for it.
Temporary “marriages”, and forced veiling, etc. also invited chances for extreme punishment. Although stoning is now under legal review in Iran, to date, eight men and three women await stoning execution.
They’ll stone ya when you’re at the breakfast table.
Stoning is primarily enforced by Islamic fundamentalist sharia law, often for bizarre reasons. In 2004, 13-year-old Zhila Izadyar was sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for the "crime" of being raped by her older brother. Although the sentence was later overturned due to international outcry, equally horrific stoning sentences are quietly carried out throughout the developing world on a regular basis.
They’ll stone ya for tryin’ to make a buck
They’ll stone ya and then they’ll say, “good luck”
Everybody must get stoned.
In Kismayu, Somalia, on Monday, October 27th of 2008 a 13-year-old child was stoned to death in a stadium. She had been raped by three men. She had attempted to report the rape to the al-Shabab militia who control Kismayu. It was this act that resulted in her being accused of adultery and detained. None of the men she accused of rape were arrested.
Everybody must get stoned.
Well they’ll stone ya and say that it’s the end.
That was her sole “crime” and the reason for her torture-execution. She was forced into a hole and buried nearly up to her neck. She took a long time to die and kept crying out for her life. In addition to the 50 active stoners, 1000 more men cheered them on. Her name was Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow.
Then they’ll stone you and then come back again.
• A truckload of stones was brought into the stadium to be used in the stoning.
They’ll stone you when you are walking home.
• At one point during the stoning, Amnesty International has been told by numerous eyewitnesses that nurses were instructed to check whether Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was still alive when buried in the ground. They removed her from the ground, declared that she was, and she was replaced in the hole where she had been buried for the stoning to continue.
But do not feel so all alone,
• An individual calling himself Sheik Hayakalah, was quoted on Radio Shabelle saying:``The evidence came from her side and she officially confirmed her guilt, while she told us that she is happy with the punishment under Islamic law.'' In contradiction to this claim, a number of eye witnesses have told Amnesty International she struggled with her captors and had to be forcibly carried into the stadium.
They’ll stone you and then say you are brave.
• Inside the stadium, militia members opened fire when some of the witnesses to the killing attempted to save her life, and shot dead a boy who was a bystander. An al-Shabab spokeperson was later reported to have apologized for the death of the child, and said the milita member would be punished.
They’ll stone you when you ‘re set down in your grave.
Today, stoning is only practiced in Islamic culture in order to maintain the submission of its women and those in the lower cast. Only those impoverished or socially unimportant are stoned.
Other Islamic countries denounce the practice as inhumane and indicate that the Qur’an provides no grounds for such a vicious practice. Those who practice stoning claim that it is demanded by Islam and have gone so far as incorporating it into their countries penal codes.
Everybody must get stoned…..
From these deep rooted laws regarding stoning, there have been a few recent cases of global interest where stoning has been received as a punishment.
In December 2004 a woman in Iran was scheduled to be stoned to death after spending five years in prison for committing adultery. She was one of over 100 waiting to be stoned to death in Iran last year alone.
Well, they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good.
They'll stone you just like they said they would.
In Nigeria, a woman was sentenced to stoning after giving birth to a baby more than nine months after divorcing. To her good fortune, this sentence was overturned.
Iran: Azar Bagheri, 19, was arrested when she was 15 after her husband accused her of seeing another man. She has been subjected to mock stonings along with partial burial in the ground.
They'll stone you when you're there all alone.
They'll when you are walking home.
Iran: Shammameh Ghorbani, who is awaiting stoning, begged not to be freed from prison because she feared being killed by her family.
But I would not feel so all alone.
Iran: She was only 14 when she was forced into marriage with an older man.
Yet within a year of her wedding, Azar Bagheri was charged with adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death.
Well, they'll stone you when you're walking on the street.
They'll stone you when you're trying to keep your seat.
The sentence could not be carried out until she was 18. So for the past four years, Ms Bagheri has been languishing on death row while the courts waited for her to reach maturity so she could be put to death.
According to Iranian human rights activist Mina Ahadi, Ms Bagheri was denounced by her husband, who accused her of committing adultery with two men.
They'll stone you when you're walking through the door.
Iran: In one especially gruesome case, Maryam Ayubi, another alleged adulteress, fainted while being ritually washed before her execution in 2001 and was stoned to death while strapped to a stretcher. Outrage over that led to the marking of 11 July as the Annual International Day Against Stoning – which saw demonstrations at the Iran embassy in London.
But I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned....
With international efforts to stop stoning, the rulings are being overturned with more frequency, hopefully giving less credibility to Sharia law.
They'll stone you when you're at the breakfast table
They'll stone you when you're trying to make a buck.
They'll stone you and then they'll say good luck.
Hey, but I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again.
They'll stone you when you're riding in your car.
They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar.
Everybody must get stoned.......
The Guillotine, whipping, pouring acid on someone or gouging their eyes out with iron have all been gleefully practiced over the ages by governments and religious zealots. Regardless of how brutal, none of these punishments have stood the test of time. Even those founded in the name of religion have died out because they are cruel and inhumane.
Well, they'll stone you when you are all alone.
They'll stone you when you are walking home.
They'll stone you and then say they are brave.
They'll stone you when you're set down in your grave.
Everybody must get stoned......
Publicity helps. "The only reason the Iranian government has not carried out stoning sentences on all these people is that it is afraid of Iranian public reaction and international attention," said lawyer, Shadi Sadr.
July 11 was International Day Against Stoning – It is the time and the season to cast away stones….
( With thanks to Bob Dylan for RAINY DAY WOMEN )….I bet you always thought this song was about POT……
wow. best post yet. really.
ReplyDeletelet him without sin cast the first stone
ReplyDeleteNow I know why there have been so many protest marches against this practice by NOW, Code Pink, Amnesty Intl., and any member of the socialist democratic left who expounds tolerance and love for all.I mean, they have marched haven't they? They continually write about it don't they? Haven't they? Haven't they?
ReplyDeleteYep, murder comes in many forms...it's all badness. That's why I like Oprah! How do you increase the GDP and get women out of harmful situations? Education!
ReplyDelete