There is a verdict in the horrific case that we discussed earlier involving the mob beating and burning of a woman named Farkhunda, 27. A judge has sentenced four of those responsible to death in Kabul. Eight other suspects received 16-year sentences. Eighteen others were found not guilty.
Farkhunda, 27, was actually a religious, veiled woman who had just finished a degree in religious studies and was preparing to take a teaching post. Moreover, she was set upon men who she accused of degrading Islam by selling amulets at Shah-Do Shamshera shrine. She reportedly told other women not to waste their money on such items and the sellers then started to shout that she was a non-Muslim and had burned a Koran.
She was beaten with a brick as a mob formed demanding her immediate death. Her body was set on fire and thrown on the bank of the Kabul river. Notably, two of the men arrested sold amulets. The videotapes show men struggling to get at the victim to participate in her beating. Others are shown yelling at her or laughing or simply videotaping the horrific scene.
Islamic clerics have denounced the arrest of the men and warned against any punishment and denounced those who have protested the murder.
Farkhunda’s parents said the killing was instigated by a local mullah of the Shah-e-Do Shamshera Mosque in the city’s center, who she had accused of distributing false tawiz (pieces of paper containing verses of the Quran which are sometimes worn as pendants to ward off evil and bring the wearer good luck). The local mullah is viewed by many as having accused her to protect himself from accusation.
While the government has stressed that there is no evidence that Farkhunda tore up a Koran, that should not be the focus of the government. It should not be an excuse for murder in either case. Indeed, destroying a religious book should not be a crime, though Afghanistan like other Islamic countries continue to arrest people for blasphemy and apostasy.
Notably, the remaining defendants are 19 policemen, and simply watched as the mob beat the woman, dragged her body behind a car before setting her on fire.
The positive element of the story is the swift arrest and prosecution of these men by the government, even with local mullahs denouncing the prosecution.
PAUL C. SCHULTE ….I’m not making a case for charging LBJ, McNamara, Nixon, Kissinger, etc. with war crimes. What I was questioning was Isaac’s selectively mentioning Nixon and Kissinger as war criminals for their part in the Vietnam War, then “forgetting” about the massive escalation of that war before Nixon took office.
Our Resident Expert on Everything could probably tell you specifically what “his” war criminals should be charged with.
My question to him is why exclude LBJ and McNamara, when they had at least equal responsibility for what he considers the Vietnam War (crime).
Misspelling: Dont let em stand up in the UN and act civilized.
I would credit LBJ with passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By the time LBJ left office I was so against him on the Vietnam War that I was overlooking, or putting to one side, his incredible use of influence and power to pass those two statutes. Good came with some bad. Nixon said he would get us out of Nam yet kept us in it. I was there in 1974 when Nixon resigned and thousands partied in DC. We have been in wars ever since. Ike warned us about the Military Industrial Complex on the day he left office. Few listened. I will say to Obama what we said to Nixon in his term: Pull out now, like your father should have.
There is a half blind guy here with a line that he uses every day. “You can’t cure an idjit.” That is what I say about Muslims throughout the world. Corral em. Keep em unarmed if you can. Bomb em when you have to. Don’t let em stand up I the UN and act civilized.
Isaac….When LBJ became President in Nov. 1963, the U.S. had 16,000 military advisers in Vietnam. When he left office 5 years later, America had over 500,000 troops in Vietnam.
You glossed over this “minor detail” twice in your list of unpunished U.S. “war criminals”.
Let’s try this one more time. In your view, should LBJ and Robert McNamara also be included in your list of war criminals? Was it just a mere oversight on your part that you failed to mention them previously, or did they fail to make your list for some other reason?
Tom Nash – specifically what would you charge LBJ and Robert McNamara of?
These murderers deserved what they got. Good!
Then this happened…
… Inspiration.
Christian Terrorism
If Muslims are responsible for Islamic terrorism, are Muslim-bashers responsible for the massacre in Norway?
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2011/07/christian_terrorism.html
In a manifesto posted online, the admitted killer, Anders Behring Breivik, praised Geller. He cited her blog, Atlas Shrugs, and the writings of her friends, allies, and collaborators—Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, Islam Watch, and Front Page magazine—more than 250 times. And he echoed their tactics, tarring peaceful Muslims with the crimes of violent Muslims. He wrote that all Muslims sought to impose “sharia laws” and that “there are no important theological differences between jihadists and so-called ‘peaceful’ or ‘moderate’ Muslims.” He reprinted, as part of the manifesto, a 2006 essay by “Fjordman”—a blogger whose work appears frequently on Geller’s site—which argued that “radical Muslims and moderate Muslims are allies” and that because Islam teaches deception, no Muslim who claims to be moderate can be trusted.
(continued)
The sound of one hack arguing: There is no argument, there is no argument, there is no argument.
Rick
There is no argument. These are the facts. Only a hack would dispute them.
surimike
Calley slaughtered hundreds of innocents: old men, women, children, and babies. This was not a case of collateral damage as was and continues to be the case with drone strikes and the rest. He marched them into a ditch, looked at them, and opened fire, no differently than the Nazis of WW2. He ordered his men to kill babies point blank. Those that excused him were chronicled saying, “They’re just a bunch of monkeys anyway.” He served nothing compared to what he did. He is now a businessman and probably a member of some chamber of commerce in Florida surrounded by bigots and racists. The fact of the matter is that those with ‘god on their side’ be it a fairy tale god or a god of nationalism excuse or even explain away the same actions that done by the ‘enemy’ are seen as abhorrent. The Afghanistan court sentenced four men to death and many more to lengthy terms. Compare that with Calley and the rest of the criminals in the countries that have the upper hand of civilization. Dick Cheney making money hand over fist along with all his pals and a mullah selling trinkets, now explain the difference.