Lethal
stoning and
beheading in public under sharia is controversial for being a cruel form of capital punishment. These forms of execution remain part of the law enforced in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Iran and Mauritania. However no stoning has been implemented for many years. Quotations regarding stoning can be seen in hadiths including the following:
Decapitation in Islam Decapitation was a standard method of execution in pre-modern
Islamic law. The use of decapitation for punishment continued well into the 20th century in both Islamic and non-Islamic nations. When done properly, it was once considered a humane and honorable method of execution. Today, its use had been abandoned in most countries by the end of the 20th century. Decapitation is a legal method of execution in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, and was reportedly used in 2001 in Iran according to
Amnesty International, where it is no longer in use.
In Islamic scripture There is a debate as to whether the Quran discusses decapitation. One surah could potentially be used to provide a justification for decapitation in the context of
war:
Al-Qurtubi reads the reference to striking at the necks as conveying the gravity and severity of the fighting. For
al-Qurtubi,
al-Tabari, and
Ibn Kathir, the expression indicates the brevity of the act, as it is confined to battle and is not a continuous command. It was also, together with hanging, one of the ordinary methods of execution in the
Ottoman Empire. Currently, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which uses decapitation within its Islamic legal system. which usually cause mass gatherings but are
not allowed to be photographed or filmed. According to Amnesty, decapitation have been carried out by state authorities in
Iran as recently as 2001, but as of 2014 is no longer in use. It is also a legal form of execution in Qatar and Yemen, but the punishment has been suspended in those countries.
Historical occurrences • The Islamic followers of Mohammed executed the men of the Jewish tribe of
Banu Qurayza for a treaty violation, with several hundred killed in 627. • After the
Battle of Hattin (1187),
Saladin personally beheaded
Raynald of Châtillon; a Christian knight who served in the
Second Crusade and organized attacks
against Islam's two holiest cities. • Forces of the
Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city of Otranto and its
citadel in 1480. According to a traditional account, after capture, more than 800 of its inhabitants – who refused to convert to Islam – were beheaded. They are known as the "
Martyrs of Otranto".
Historicity of this account has been questioned by modern scholars. •
Muhammad Ahmad declared himself
Mahdi in 1880 and led Jihad against the Ottoman Empire and their British allies. He and his followers beheaded opponents, Christian and Muslim alike including the British general
Charles Gordon. ==See also==