Sometimes in our time you can hear about such punishment as stoning. This ritual is reflected in many works - both films and books. Most modern people cannot even imagine such savagery, considering it either the inheritance of a long bygone past, or fiction. But this is not so.
What is this punishment?
The stoning itself is quite simple. The victim is taken out to a large platform, people gather around who have previously collected stones of suitable size. Then they just start throwing them at the convicted person. The procedure continues until the unfortunate (or more often unfortunate) shows signs of life. In some cases, the victim is buried on the shoulders or tied so that she cannot dodge stones, cover her face and head.
Jewel killing
Perhaps the oldest documented tradition of killing people by throwing stones at him in a crowd was recorded among the Jewish people.
The first person to be executed is a person accused of religious crimes. In total, there were 18 crimes that were punishable by such a terrible and brutal death. These are blasphemy, witchcraft, idolatry, and some other transgressions. It also includes adultery, that is, adultery.
However, in the Talmud it was proposed to replace the stoning with another, faster death. A person accused of the sins listed above was seared with an infusion of narcotic herbs so that he did not feel pain, nor did he feel such fear. After that, he was raised to a high rock and dumped on sharp stones below. If after that he did not die, a huge boulder was thrown off him from the cliff to surely finish him off. Perhaps, compared with the original execution, this 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 penalty in Islam
Equally popular is stoning in Islam. Moreover, such punishment was contained (and is contained!) Even in criminal codes, that is, it is applied in countries that consider themselves to be completely enlightened and modern. Legislation even regulates the size of stones!
On the one hand, the stones should not be too small, not causing pain and sufficient damage to the person sentenced to death. On the other hand, one should not use stones that are too large, which will kill the convict too quickly - with just one or two blows. It is recommended to choose only those cobblestones, when beaten by which a person dies, but dies not too fast, having experienced all the pain, despair and humiliation that is due to him.
Where is it 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 in vain - this rite is still actively used in many countries whose official religion is Islam.
In total, such execution is officially permitted in six countries. First of all, it is Iraq, Somalia and some countries included in the Levant. In other states, this execution has been officially banned for many years. But, for example, in Iran, where stoning has been deleted 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 this - violators often get off with verbal warning and censure.
The main reason that people are stoned is adultery. Moreover, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is the woman who was cheated on her husband or with whom the faithful married Muslim cheated on her wife.
However, in some cases, rape becomes the reason for the beating. Moreover, paradoxically, it is not the rapists who are killed at all, but their victim, who, after being reproached, is considered unclean.
So, in 2008, media reported that a similar incident took place in Somalia. Going from the town of Kismayu to relatives in the capital city of Mogadishu, a thirteen-year-old girl was raped by three unfamiliar men. It was not possible to find the rapists, and the Islamist court imposed a strict punishment on the victim - stoning to death.
Much later, in 2015, a woman accused of adultery was also killed in a similar manner in the city of Mosul, located on the territory of Iraq.
Moreover, these are just some of the cases that have become known to the general public due to the fact that journalists from Western media were present at the place of execution. The total number of such punishments in countries where Islam is preached cannot be estimated - many of them are simply not recorded anywhere.
Display in art
Of course, such a punishment, which is quite common for residents of a number of eastern countries, can shock most modern people. Not surprisingly, it is mentioned in art.
For example, in 1994 in France, a novel called "Stoning Soraya M." was born. Its author was Freidon Saebjan, a French-Iranian journalist who decided to show the whole world the savagery of morals that has survived 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 to the system of values of Islam."
In 2008, the book was filmed. The film, directed by Cyrus Nauraste, got the same name as the book. But neither the particular popularity nor the world-wide recognition of the film "Stoning Soraya M." not acquired.
Tells a film about a journalist who works in Iran. He was asked for help by a local resident Zahra, whose niece was recently executed by stoning. The woman wanted the whole world to know about the cruel mores of her people and help him improve, so she chose a man who could tell about what had happened.
Conclusion
Our article is drawing to a close. Now you know what constitutes cruel stoning. At the same time, they were convinced that it did not recede into the past at all and continues to actively practice in some countries.