Iran will be judged harshly if woman is stoned to death

Now that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has ended, the question the rulers of Iran should have to answer is this: Were you divinely inspired to spare the life of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who is facing execution by stoning?

During Ramadan, Iranian authorities announced that the “verdict regarding the extramarital affairs has stopped and it’s being reviewed,” the wire service Reuters reported. The holy month ended Sept. 9.

Thus, a decision is imminent.

The United Nations should lead the international community in demanding that Ashtiani not be killed. Based on the information that has been made public regarding the case against her, there is no justification for taking her life.

First, the judiciary announced that Ashtiani would be executed for committing adultery, and under Sharia (Islamic) law, that meant stoning. The verdict caused such an international fire storm, that the government then contended she was involved in the murder of her husband.

But her so-called confession on national television failed to silence governments, human rights organizations and even the U.N.

It is a lose-lose for Iran, which is trying to garner global recognition as a legitimate member of the international community.

Indeed, Iran is facing U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program and the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has suggested that talks pertaining to an inspection of his nation’s nuclear facilities could resume.

But, the United States, which has been vocal in its demand that Iran agree to an unconditional inspection, and its European allies will not be inclined to talk to Iranian officials if the death by stoning is carried out.

The practice is barbaric, archaic and chauvinistic. Most of the victims are women, because in the male dominated Islamic societies, men are rarely held responsible for participating in adultery.

Around the world, nations governed by Islamic extremists are using Sharia to enforce modes of conduct and behavior.

Even in Afghanistan, which has a democratically elected government under the auspices of the U.S. and its coalition partners, death by stoning is still being carried out in parts of the country controlled by the Islamic extremists Taliban.

Iron fist

When the Taliban ruled the country, Sharia was the law of the land and the Islamic rulers were not shy about enforcing the code with an iron fist.

About a month ago, a Taliban-ordered public stoning of a couple accused of adultery took place in Kunduz, which is a stronghold for the extremists.

Iran, which has used its oil to buy friends and influence international opinion, must know that on the issue of crime and punishment, barbarism will never be accepted.

If the Islamic clerics, who, in reality, run the country, want to save face, they will accept the offer of asylum for Ashtiani from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Letting the 43-year-old mother of two children leave the country would provide Iran with desperately needed positive press.

At a time when Islam is viewed by many in the West as a religion of extremists, the stoning death, or even the hanging, of Ashtiani will simply serve to confirm that view.