The Daily Clue - Showing you the Arab World day by day

Syria, 1982.

Hafez Assad, the dictator of Syria had outlawed all political parties except his own (the Baath Party) and opposition began to surface from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood had the goal of overthrowing the Syrian government. This of course didn’t sit well with Assad, who went on to do what many an Arab dictator has done when facing similar problems.

The city of Hama had been more persistent with it’s criticisms of Assad and the Muslim Brotherhood had a relatively strong foothold there, according to Syrian government sources at the time, 200 armed men.

Assad wanted to set an example.

Starting February 2nd the town was put under siege and suffered severe military attacks (according to some sources including chemical weapons) resulting in anywhere from 20,000 - 40,000 civilian deaths, depending on the source. This of course included women, children and the elderly. Assad wanted to set an example and so he did. Today, his son still reigns Syria.

Read more about the Hama Massacre here and here.

‘The Daily Clue’ will, day by day, shed some light on the Arab World. So without further ado, here is #1:

Article 116, penal law, Islamic Republic of Iran: “Stones used in stonings should neither be too big to kill the adulterous at first or second blow nor as small as a pebble”

From Apostates of Islam: In stoning to death, the victims’s hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack. Then, this human “package” is buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. After the hapless individual has been secured in the hole, people start chanting “Allah hu Akbar” (meaning, God is great), and throw palm sized stones at the head of the victim from a certain distance (a circle is drawn). The stones are thrown until the person dies or until he/she escapes out of the hole and crosses the circle. Escaping is impossible, given that the individual’s hands are tied behind their backs and they are buried in a hole upto their necks or shoulders. Naturally, the procedure is extremely barbaric and bloody.

Woman being prepared for stoning to death in Iran