Doha: An article in a Qatari magazine that the stoning of adulterous married husbands or wives was not supported by Islamic law is set to ignite a heated debate in the country.
Shaikh Isam Talimah, in an interview published by magazine Al Dana in the Qatari capital Doha, said that stoning was a Jewish tradition that was initially taken up by Muslims, but insisted that it was later replaced with lashing, reports Gulf News.
The scholar said that the Quran never prescribed stoning as punishment for adultery and that the punishment prescribed by the law is 100 lashes to the adulterer and the adulteress in public.
Talimah wrote that the verse on ` sex outside marriage` in the Quran stipulates lashing the man and the woman equally. The resort by some people to stoning was to reinforce the punishment, especially when there are high immoral risks, such as the proliferation of the cases of rape, pedophile or incest, he added.
The magazine anticipating a storm of reactions to the interview, said that it welcomed the views of those who opposed Talimah`s argument and that it would publish them.
Stoning as a form of capital punishment whereby a group of people throw stones at a person until death ensues was known in ancient times and is mentioned in historical reports.
(ANI)
