Saudi court sentences 75-year-old woman to lashes
Tuesday 10th March, 05:49 AM JST

CAIRO —
The sentencing of a 75-year-old widow to 40 lashes and four months in prison for mingling with two young men who were reportedly bringing her bread has sparked new criticism of Saudi Arabia’s ultraconservative religious police and judiciary.

Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi, was convicted and sentenced last week for meeting with men who were not her immediate relatives. The two men, including one who was Sawadi’s late husband’s nephew, were also found guilty and sentenced to prison terms and lashes.

The woman’s lawyer, Abdel Rahman al-Lahem, told The Associated Press on Monday that he plans to appeal the verdict, which also demands that Sawadi be deported after serving her prison term. He declined to provide more details and said his client, who is not serving her sentence yet, was not speaking with the media.

Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Islam prohibits men and women who are not immediate relatives from mingling and women from driving. The playing of music, dancing and many movies also are a concern for hard-liners who believe they violate religious and moral values.

A special police unit called the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice enforces these laws, patrolling public places to make sure women are covered and not wearing make up, sexes don’t mix, shops close five times a day for Muslim prayers and men go to the mosque to worship.

But criticism of the religious police and judiciary has been growing in Saudi, where many say they exploit their broad mandate to interfere in people’s lives.

Last month, the Saudi king dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing of TV network owners that broadcast “immoral content“—as part of a shake-up signaling an effort to weaken the kingdom’s hard-line Sunni Muslim establishment.

In Sawadi’s case, the elderly woman met the two 24-year-old men last April after she asked them to bring her five loaves of bread, the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported.

The men—identified by Al-Watan as the nephew, Fahd al-Anzi, and his friend and business partner Hadiyan bin Zein—went to Sawadi’s home in the city of al-Chamil, located north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. After delivering the bread, the two men were arrested by a one of the religious police, Al-Watan reported.

The court said it based its March 3 ruling on “citizen information” and testimony from al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption.

“Because she said she doesn’t have a husband and because she is not a Saudi, conviction of the defendants of illegal mingling has been confirmed,” the court verdict read.

Sawadi had told the court that she considered al-Anzi is her son, because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court denied her claim, saying she didn’t provide evidence. In Islamic tradition, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation, even if a woman nurses a child who is not biologically hers.

Sawadi commonly asked her neighbors for help after her husband died, said Saudi journalist Bandar al-Ammar, who reported the story for Al-Watan. In a recent article, he wrote that he felt the need to report the case “so everybody knows to what degree we have reached.”

Others have also spoken out against the case against Sawadi, accusing the religious police of going too far.

“How can a verdict be issued based on suspicion?” Saudi doctor and columnist Laila Ahmed al-Ahdab wrote in Al-Watan on Monday. “A group of people are misusing religion to serve their own interests.”

allah know best

I bet those Muslims won't come here. They'll rather be on CAN asking Nigerians to arm themselves.

The implication of this sentence seems to be that the men in question were harboring lustful thoughts about that 75 year old woman, so they ought to consider themselves lucky that they did not earn dickoctomies, as opposed to the lenient life-jail terms they were handed down to punish them for those impure thoughts.

Regarding the sentence of a million strokes of the cane that was awarded to the woman, how can we be sure that the men detailed to beat the crap out of her might not in fact become sexually excited by the agonized wailing and gyrations of their aged victim, given the dire shortage of excuses for peaceful interraction with women in that culture ?

Might I suggest decapitation for the cane meisters as soon as their job is done, so as to preempt dirty thoughts from invading their craniums ?

If the story is true as it is then the verdict is definatley wrong.

Firstly this old woman is past the youthful age and the quran clearly states that at such advanced ages even her male servants could see her without her full hijab. She is past the age where the ruling on full covering applies to her.

Secondly here is a widow whose husbads brother delivers her food and is being arrested. Who else would help her ( as no kids were mentioned) . This woman is still been treated as a foreigner in Saudi even after marriying a saudi man and probably lived there since her young age. It is just a shame Damn the "house of saud" or probably "house of salut" !!!

The prophet (PBUH) used to visit some old women in his time and even used to visit the best friend of Khadijah his wife long after Khadijah had passed away. He visited her and probably took gifts for her.

**osisi:

Allah knows best

Saudi Arabia is not a reflection of what islam is and what islam is not. Saudi arabi just happens to have the two holy sites of islam Makkah and Medina thats all. The corrupt evil regime of Saudi ought to be kicked out and let the people have the leaders they yearn for.

Damn the corrupt royal house of saudi !!!

Lagosboy:

Saudi Arabia is not a reflection of what islam is and what islam is not. Saudi arabi just happens to have the two holy sites of islam Makkah and Medina thats all. The corrupt evil regime of Saudi ought to be kicked out and let the people have the leaders they yearn for.
Damn the corrupt royal house of saudi !!!

Ok. The Saudi regime is corrupt, ehn? I am curious, what country/state/province, in your opinion, properly implements this Islamic sharia you claim, and why do you believe their implementation is the proper implementation?

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-245335.0.html

i no talk am? osisi no dey see forest wey dey her eye. . .

lets see how far she can nurture this thread -

Lagosboy:

If the story is true as it is then the verdict is definatley wrong.

Firstly this old woman is past the youthful age and the quran clearly states that at such advanced ages even her male servants could see her without her full hijab. She is past the age where the ruling on full covering applies to her.

Secondly here is a widow whose husbads brother delivers her food and is being arrested. Who else would help her ( as no kids were mentioned) . This woman is still been treated as a foreigner in Saudi even after marriying a saudi man and probably lived there since her young age. It is just a shame Damn the "house of saud" or probably "house of salut" !!!

The prophet (PBUH) used to visit some old women in his time and even used to visit the best friend of Khadijah his wife long after Khadijah had passed away. He visited her and probably took gifts for her.

Saudi Arabia is not a reflection of what islam is and what islam is not. Saudi arabi just happens to have the two holy sites of islam Makkah and Medina thats all. The corrupt evil regime of Saudi ought to be kicked out and let the people have the leaders they yearn for.

Damn the corrupt royal house of saudi !!!

Lagosboy has done the clarifications. It is wrong and absurd and an extremist application of Islamic law on segregation of opposite sexes, if the news is not twisted.

Lagosboy:

If the story is true as it is then the verdict is definatley wrong.

Firstly this old woman is past the youthful age and the quran clearly states that at such advanced ages even her male servants could see her without her full hijab. She is past the age where the ruling on full covering applies to her.

Secondly here is a widow whose husbads brother delivers her food and is being arrested. Who else would help her ( as no kids were mentioned) . This woman is still been treated as a foreigner in Saudi even after marriying a saudi man and probably lived there since her young age. It is just a shame Damn the "house of saud" or probably "house of salut" !!!

The prophet (PBUH) used to visit some old women in his time and even used to visit the best friend of Khadijah his wife long after Khadijah had passed away. He visited her and probably took gifts for her.

Saudi Arabia is not a reflection of what islam is and what islam is not. Saudi arabi just happens to have the two holy sites of islam Makkah and Medina thats all. The corrupt evil regime of Saudi ought to be kicked out and let the people have the leaders they yearn for.

Damn the corrupt royal house of saudi !!!

Lagosboy by your explanation, you mean if the woman was young, it'll be okay to beat her? A widow? in a country where women are given less opportunity to work? How about those getting stoned? Truth remains truth Islamic laws are barbaric.

Stop trying to be blind to issues that confronts you. You are quick to quote the Quran verses that favours your view. What about the Al Surat? That talks about beating your wife? Use a long stick, don't beat her too hard, she can cry but don't cause bruises. Isn't that in you Surat chapter 4 verse 34? You developed Amnesia on that one? Stop talking as if your mohamed is a saint, murdafucka married a 9 years old kid and here you are praising him. You are just blinded by this religion of a thing. Open your eyes African man, open your eyes!! You be African, and nothing can change that. Open your eyes!! Read the Quran or bible with a critical mind and you'll see that they are both false and fictions. Go and study Ifa.

They'll stone you when you're boning in your car
They'll stone you when you're sttting at the bar
Well they'll stone you when your trying to get some ass
And they'll stone you if you go to score some grass

[size=14pt]Well I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get Stoned[/size]


Apologies to Bob Dylan

The segregation of sexes as applied in saudi in not strictly how the segregation was in the time of the prophet (SAW). Women saw men and men saw women in those times, women would treat the injured, and some even struggled together side by side men. Women prayed in the mosques behind men and there was no physical barrier involved.

The extreme segregation in Saudi stemms from the of the saudi culture as i wouldnt even say arab culture as other non gulf arabs dont have the same understanding.

Which non gulf are you talking about? Talibans . Lagos boy abeg stop defending Islam or any religion for that matter. It's got to go and go it must!!!

Lagos boy I can show you how Islam was directly a product of plagiarism from the Egyptian's spiritual teachings. There was no fucking allah during the time of king TUT right or Nefertiti right? So you must agree this people existed before allah and they don't believe in one God. Every fucking bowing down shit was all done by a pharaoh and it was duplicated by the turks whom the stupid Noble Drew Ali said were the keepers of the Islamic creed. Christianity was plagiarized too but now I want to debate Islam with you and I'm not starting a thread on it. I read your Quran too so I'm basing my arguments on verses from your book.

Kobojunkie:

Ok. The Saudi regime is corrupt, ehn? I am curious, what country/state/province, in your opinion, properly implements this Islamic sharia you claim, and why do you believe their implementation is the proper implementation?

The truth is there is none existing today. There is no single islamic state in the world today no to talk of practising the proper implementation of the shariah. I stand to be corrected though.

Lagosboy:

The truth is there is none existing today. There is no single islamic state in the world today no to talk of practising the proper implementation of the shariah. I stand to be corrected though.

Iran comes to mind. Ayatollah Khomeini must be regretting his own revolution where ever he is now. Lagosboy de run shebi? you de run? Make we debate your own religion you de scamp. You no want defend Allah?

Unless I am mistaken, Lagosboy is a voice of MODERATE Islam, in that he consistently expresses a preference for democratic and civil rights, which emphasize respect for both genders, ABOVE the imposition of religious dogma by extremists who misinterpret sacred texts in order to be mean and brutal to the weak.

If US President Obama does extend a bridge of partnership between the Muslim world and the West,  he would be wise to initiate that diplomatic dialog by engaging with Islamic leaders who display the tolerance and sense of justice  shown by our Lagosboy.

Now then, Lagosboy, have you had time to reconsider my loan request ?

9jaganja:

Iran comes to mind. Ayatollah Khomeini must be regretting his own revolution where ever he is now. Lagosboy de run shebi? you de run? Make we debate your own religion you de scamp. You no want defend Allah?

See my guy I have delibaretly ignored your posts and you would see i reply kobojunkie. I debate with people that can debate without throwing insults and derogatory words, who are not opinionated. If you really want to debate islam with me and not throw insults at the Prophet of islam (PBUH) or Jesus (PBUH) then move to the religious section - islam for muslims and start a thread,

Your posts on this thread is just full of garbage, insults on islam and foul language thats all.

Lagosboy:

The truth is there is none existing today. There is no single islamic state in the world today no to talk of practising the proper implementation of the shariah. I stand to be corrected though.

But there is just one thing. As someone who is not Islamic, I see Sharia law as being no different from communistic or dictatorial government types. I mean at the end of the day, it is government where you have a bunch of people IMPOSING their will ( In 99% of the cases, delusions) on everyone else, only that in this case, religion provides them power. So, forgive me when I say I have a problem with people claiming SHARIA and believing it ought to be implemented CORRECTLY when at the end of the day, it still implies that the will of the few be imposed on the majority, only now in the name of God.

This is what we see happening in Africa. First we had to deal with dictators of the military kind. Looking back to the days of Abacha, I am sure you will agree that there was everything wrong in the way he ruled that country. The man imposed his delusions on every facet of society; people lived in fear. Many lost trust in family and friends as a result. We basically lived in fear and didn’t have much hope that it would end. But Thank God for intervening, or you and I would not likely be having this conversation today.
Now, fast-forward to about 11 years after abacha, and we have Sharia law implemented in some states in the north. Problem is it is a lot like life during Abacha’s time. People getting executed,maimed left and right, in the name of military power, but religion. People live panicked not knowing what actions will earn them trashing from those ruling over them and worse, there is not much hope that this will end anytime soon for them.

I'm sorry but there is no tolerance in the Quran. It is kill the infidels. The moderate Muslims are just playing fake and choosing to ignore the fact that Quran promises virgins in heaven. There is absolutely nothing sacred about anything written by men. How did you guys bring yourselves to believe in all these fantasies? I was raised in an atheist home; atheist cause I won't call Ifa a religion, it's a science. Unless the so called moderate Muslims change those verses and take out those evil words and barbaric laws in the Quran, I'll keep laughing at Islam. I had to read the book to understand it was a political indoctrination and nothing spiritual in it. Women are creators and you can't be a man unless a woman gives birth to you so why all this laws that oppresses women soo much? Even in science, women are all that is needed to identify and match DNAs when dealing with ancestry issues.

Lagosboy:

See my guy I have delibaretly ignored your posts and you would see i reply kobojunkie. I debate with people that can debate without throwing insults and derogatory words, who are not opinionated. If you really want to debate islam with me and not throw insults at the Prophet of islam (PBUH) or Jesus (PBUH) then move to the religious section - islam for muslims and start a thread,

Your posts on this thread is just full of garbage, insults on islam and foul language thats all.

Saying that Mohamed married a 9 years old is a fact not an insult. Quran promising virgins in heaven is right there in your Quran it's not an insult. I'll start the thread when I'm not hyper. Sorry if you feel insulted but I'm not bothered. I didn't insult YOU did I?

9jaganja:

Lagosboy by your explanation, you mean if the woman was young, it'll be okay to beat her? A widow? in a country where women are given less opportunity to work?  How about those getting stoned? Truth remains truth Islamic laws are barbaric.

Stop trying to be blind to issues that confronts you. You are quick to quote the Quran verses that favours your view. What about the Al Surat? That talks about beating your wife? Use a long stick, don't beat her too hard, she can cry but don't cause bruises. Isn't that in you  Surat chapter 4 verse 34? You developed Amnesia on that one? Stop talking as if your mohamed is a saint, murdafucka married a 9 years old kid and here you are praising him. You are just blinded by this religion  of a thing. Open your eyes African man, open your eyes!! You be African, and nothing can change that. Open your eyes!! Read the Quran or bible with a critical mind and you'll see that they are both false and fictions. Go and study Ifa.

Islam is not considerate nor mindful of individual's fundamental rights. it is a pity.

Jakumo:

Unless I am mistaken, Lagosboy is a voice of MODERATE Islam, in that he consistently expresses a preference for democratic and civil rights, which emphasize respect for both genders, ABOVE the imposition of religious dogma by extremists who misinterpret sacred texts in order to be mean and brutal to the weak.

If US President Obama does extend a bridge of partnership between the Muslim world and the West,  he would be wise to initiate that diplomatic dialog by engaging with Islamic leaders who display the tolerance and sense of justice  shown by our Lagosboy.

Jakunmo thanks for your comments and  i honestly appreciate that there are extremist in islam and like any other belief , judaism, chritianity , hinduism and so on and even extreme atheist. Having said this i honestly do no tlike that term Moderate Islam as islam is islam. It is some people that mix cultures and stuff with theirs which could take them to the extreme. You are simply muslim !!! but you could be an extremist but not a moderate muslim. Islam is Islam and A muslim is a muslim.

Jakumo:

Now then, Lagosboy, have you had time to reconsider my loan request ?

Which loan my guy tell me nah  

The thing about other religions and extremisms is that right now there power is controlled by society as a whole. Apart from the Vatican, you rarely find Christianity as law anywhere else. Same with Buddhism, Hinduism etc. And the moderates seem to rise up to condemn any brutal acts by the extremists. We just spent the last 8 years in America is a sort of religious war between the extremists, the moderate and the liberal Christians. At the end of the day, society, collectively, had to decide which way to go for change.

how does denial spell in islam?

Did any of the Muslims on here read the seven circle Quran?

Na wa o, 40 lashes, haba

these people sef!

jakumo you no go kill porson with ya comments

no talk am? osisi no dey see forest wey dey her eye. . .

lets see how far she can nurture this thread -

oyb is that your only comment here?
Imagine your own beloved grandma Hajiya Risikat being flogged in a village square for asking a nephew by marriage to buy her a loaf of agege bread.

oyb:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-245335.0.html

i no talk am? osisi no dey see forest wey dey her eye. . .

lets see how far she can nurture this thread -

Dem don come again. Agents of ready recourse to locking threads. No be for Saudi, dem wan flog person wey equate to your grandma for ya religion? Would you have supported it, if it was your grandmother that was going to be flogged on her bum bum at her age based on the tenet of your religion?

@Grandmama osisi
You must live a very sad life trolling the net looking for anti Muslim articles.  As a Christian  I believe we have extreme Christians and extreme Muslims. I think you belong to "fringe" African Christianity of worshiping and mixing native gods with the real God. Constantly looking for enemies and blaming your own failures on percieved enemies. What a sad existence.

P.S
If Iya osisi was a Muslim, I bet she would have ended up a female suicide bomber.

am I expected to respond?