Her Family Would All Be There

She walked down the side street pausing to look at the items for sale along the merchant’s row. The wind blew her hair from under her headscarf and she absentmindedly tucked it back in place as her eyes flitted from this product to that. She could smell the sweet smell of bread that has been recently taken from the ovens and placed too cool in the open window. The aroma carried by the puffs of wind that brushed coolly across her face reminded her of her birthday just a few weeks away where her family would gather with food and wine to celebrate her special day as they had so many times before. The happy thought chilled her with excitement and goose bumps she could feel rise from her skin. She hurried along now to the market for her shopping errands for her mother had been delayed long enough. She weaved effortlessly between those who walked from every direction on the busy street. She crossed over the street to the market when she heard a vehicle screech to a quick stop behind her kicking up a cloud of dust. She saw the truck with several men with rifles that were jumping down from the carrier portion of the vehicle. Immediately she became frightened from times before when she had witnessed arrests on the street but she pointed her head back in the direction she was walking deciding she had seen enough to alarm her already. She remembered that her mother had told her that she…a hand tightened around her arm at the elbow and she felt her body being pulled behind her causing her to lose her balance when her other arm was grasped as she let out a scream and then shouted “Let me go! What are you doing to me? She lifted her eyes and shook the hair away from them that had fallen again out of her head covering to see that this was a soldier who had laid hands on her. Again, she shouted “Why are you touching me? Set me free! She began to resist the hold of the two men whom had captured her. She was dragged without an answer to the truck and forcefully placed inside it. She felt hot tears rolling down her face and felt many emotions of fear, embarrassment and shame from the treatment she was receiving. She began again to protest but felt a quick sharp pain across her face and the dizziness that accompanied it before she realized she had been slapped hard by the soldier whom sat next to her by the vehicles door. She felt the bumping of the tires on the road and the surge of her body movements as the truck took many turns towards a destination that was unknown to her. She began to feel deep fear in the pit of her stomach as she cried out for her Papa under her breath that was quick and broken with her softly crying sobs. As quickly as her trip began it ended next to the roadway entrance to the Mosque where a crown of people had gathered. Her heart jumped when she saw amongst the throng her uncle, her Mothers brother and several other family members she recognized before again hands were pulling on her and dragging her out of the truck but hope had entered her heart since she had seen Raja in her midst. Loud shouting occurred instantly as she felt the warmth of the sun while being dragged from the street to the common area before the Mosque. Words, she understood a few of the words which were being shouted as she herself screamed “Uncle, Uncle Raja help me Uncle!” She heard the names being shouted at her, Whore, unclean, sinner, defiled. Again, she felt another hard pain with dizziness and the taste of blood in her mouth and upon her lips. She could feel a tooth jutting inward against her tongue. She wept loudly now as she knew her tooth was broken and her lips split open. Blood and saliva dripped freely from her open mouth as she gasped for air to fill her burning lungs. She felt herself being bound by rope around her shoulders then the pain from her behind as she was set forcefully upon the sand. Raja, Papa! She shouted as she lifted her eyes and saw other members of her family and her breath caught as she noticed her mother clutching at the Imam begging him for mercy for her only daughter. She felt her blood run cold with horror as she finally understood what was taking place. Quickly her breath that was being held blew outward with her as she exhaled carrying a stream of blood from her mouth that was caught on the wind and carried behind her. She sat with eyes wide open as men grabbed her yet again and pulled her to a deep hole which had previously been dug in the sand. She continued to watch her mother plead but could no longer hear supplications or the loud jeer of those who walked in her midst as they collected stones from the ground. She turned her head and again saw Raja, her uncle whom reached down himself to collect a rock she would soon feel crash against her body thrown from his hands. She recalled at just that moment the times of laughter, the games she played with him, climbing his back to ride like a Donkey near her home. She felt her feet and legs descend into the narrow hole. Sand and dirt was being tossed from shovels around her body into the hole. She breathed deeply and inhaled sand which caused her to have a fit of coughing. The breathing at once became labored as the sand around her stomach was pressing against her stomach. She tried to see through the tossed sand for another glimpse of her mother but could no longer find her. Was she disoriented? Did they carry her mother away? She had these thoughts as she struggled to suck air into her lungs to scream for her Papa and Mama but not enough air to strengthen her lungs to shout. Her lips moved as she again could hear but only loud noises of screams and shouts. She no longer listened for words. There would be no words to comfort her as she….the pain was blinding as she felt her head thrown backwards from the impact of a heavy stone and her head bounced forward again as her breast was struck, again her head was hit this time from the side with a smaller stone. She felt the hot stream of blood trickle somewhere below her once beautiful hair as pain exploded upon her shoulder. Her eyes pressed tightly as multiples of rocks struck her head, back, shoulder, ribs and neck, each bringing brilliant bursts of pain. She felt more teeth inside her mouth as she tried to spit them out but instead swallowed them. She felt very sleepy and the pain didn’t seem to feel as strongly before. She only felt Just the jolting of her body being moved by the impact of the stones, so many stones. She felt the coolness of the wind again this time caused by the wetness of her bloody face and her thoughts again turned to her Birthday. It will only be a few weeks away…family will…all…be..there….

I heard this story of a young teenaged woman who was accused of a moral crime under the Islamic Sharia Law in which she was not given a trial nor did she have the right to face her accusers or even to beg mercy from the Imam who condemned her. Members of her family participated in this brutal and torturous execution. The above account is only from my own imagination but sadly executions of women in the Muslim world take place in like manner as this story illustrates. 

Domestic Violence; Sharia Law in the United States

Domestic violence is a serious crime that affects so many families in today’s society. It affects an estimated 32 Million Americans or 10% of the countries population. Some of the characteristics of Domestic Abuse consist of physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, and even economic abuse. This abuse not only affects the spouse but also the children of such effected families. It is estimated that only a third of such violence is even reported to authorities in the United States and United Kingdom. The true number of families affected is not known and it should be noted that this also occurs in dating relationships as well as co-habitation and friendships. The violence ranges from verbal abuse to pushing and shoving, beatings, rape and even to the ultimate end of murder. Over my career as a police officer I have been exposed to the pain and suffering that many people endure with a sense that there is no one that the victims can turn to with help without further violence being heaped upon them. I have seen women beaten to a bloody pulp who will deny that their significant other has attacked them and inflicted injuries upon them. I remember one time I was on patrol riding through a residential neighborhood late at night when I happened upon a woman walking down a sidewalk. I could see from the beam of my headlights that she was covered in blood. Her hair was matted in dripping blood as well as her face and clothing. Anyone would be shocked to see such a sight as this woman and I pulled my car up next to her and got out asking her “Where is he?” She shook her head as if she had no injuries or problems and next I shouted at her forcefully again “Where is he?” She told me the address which was about a block away and I called for paramedics to come to the scene and another police unit to go with me to the home to arrest the perpetrator. Once the medics and ambulance arrived, I and several officers went to the home. The door was open and I yelled inside the home for the man to come out but we were met with silence. We entered the home and in the kitchen I found a large man with a barrel shaped chest standing over the kitchen sink. He stated to me “I’m not going to jail!” I noticed he had blood on his clothing and hands. I told him “Oh yes you are!” With me was a new Rookie and I turned to him and stated “Get ready” and motioned with my fist hitting the palm of my hand letting him know it was about to be on. It took a good 5 to 10 minutes to get that big man in hand cuffs. He put up a heck of a fight. I can only imagine the fear of that little woman when this man began to beat on her. Over the last 30 years or so domestic abuse has become a topic of discussion which had been kept a dark secret for many years before. It was just something people hid and did not talk about and others kept the opinion that it was just none of their business when families had problems of physical abuse. I remember my elderly Aunt had once told me that when she was a young girl they did not have a police officer in their community and she told me a story of how a man had beaten his wife very badly. I had asked her what was done about such things then and she told me that she was walking down the road toward her house when she saw several pick up trucks with men sitting in the back with hoods over their heads and sticks and bats in their hands. She said she jumped into a ditch and waited as they passed by. She told me that they were members of the Ku Klux Klan that had gathered to visit the man who had beaten his wife so badly. They were going to beat the man for going too far while punishing his wife. She stated that in those days the community took care of their own problems in such ways. In this day and time the courts have done much better to punish those found guilty of domestic violence by degrees of punishment based on repeat occurrences of violence. But there is still a long way to go before this problem is dealt with effectively. In the United States, with the influx of immigration of those who believe in the religion of Islam, a new frightening problem of violence against the family has been introduced. Those who practice the faith of Islam believe that they should be governed by Sharia Law, which is their “Sacred Law of God” Sharia meaning “Way or Path”. Different Muslim Countries and Cultures have a variety of interpretations of Sharia law, but most insist that it should be applied here in the United States as well as in their home country. They feel it is their right to practice their religion freely which they feel should include Sharia law and it’s punishments for breaking the law. Some of these punishments, beatings being the least of these include torture and even the stoning to death of a woman for the crime of Adultery. There are numerous transgressions which call for physical violence against family members who simply break moral laws of religion. The death sentence could be given simply from a parent’s belief that their daughter has strayed from the faith or dated someone of a religion outside of their Islamic faith. Incredibly, the liberal groups and politicians of this country have been so cornered by their own demands for the practice of political correctness and sensitivities of minority groups that they have actually found themselves backed into a corner and willing to lend an ear to such barbaric ideas of allowing such practice of Neanderthal religion. This insanity must be driven back to where it belongs. Americans need not even pretend to be inclined to accept such ridiculous foolishness. America has drifted so far from our own principles by the far left and their radical and untraditional thinking. It is far past time that they here ordinary God fearing Americans that we will not bend in our traditional beliefs in common sense and that we will carry our common sense with us into the voters booth!