Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Sharia shame

by Peter Worthington from The Toronto Sun (Canada)

What is there to say about a woman in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison after being abducted and gang-raped by seven men? ... The trouble for the likes of America, Britain and Canada, all of whom are equally appalled at this case, is that Saudi Arabia is supposedly a friend, an ally, and therefore immune from harsh criticism or retaliation. Canada's previous government chose to believe the Saudis when Bill Sampson was framed for murder, tortured and sentenced to death in 2000, before being released 31 months later. The shame of that still lingers ... Saudi Arabia, of course, survives via the double-standard. It produces terrorists (the 9/11 sky-jackers), and has spread jihadists and Islamic extremists around the world. It is a financier of international terrorism, yet we are afraid if we criticize, they'll jack up the price of oil. Looking beyond the 200 lashes to a gang-raped Saudi woman, if there were less tolerance by the civilized world for barbaric behaviour, and if more discretion were exercised on which countries we called friends, perhaps the money supply would dry up and terrorism would revert to being a local or domestic phenomenon, not an international plague. One can't be sure, but what is certain is that our present attitude encourages rather than curtails outrages and barbarism.

No comments: