It's Not That They're Fanatics, It's Just That They Don't Have a Sense of Humor
What the hell is wrong with these people?
Hadi Saeed al-Mutif grew up in the countryside in southern Saudi Arabia and at the age of 18 started training to become a policeman. Two months into his training, Hadi had gathered with other recruits for afternoon prayers, as required by the rules. "Let us pray upon the Prophet .." the Imam said - at which point Hadi allegedly quipped: "... and upon his penis"... A couple of his fellow recruits reported Hadi to the authorities at the training centre and he was ordered to stand under the Saudi flag for two hours as a punishment... this silly incident set in motion a train of events which is still continuing after almost 13 years...
[I]t seems to be something that laddish types say to make their mates snigger at an inappropriate moment - a bit like the occasionally irreverent antics of choirboys in Christian churches. At least two other cases... have been documented in Saudi Arabia. In one case a high school student (also Ismaili) was reported by his teacher and received a 14-year jail sentence with 4,000 lashes...
During his 25 days in the custody of the Mabahith, according to Hadi's account, he was tortured with beatings and sleep deprivation. Finally, a judge arrived and ordered him to sign a confession - which he refused to do.He then spent a year in military detention awaiting trial. After hearing two or three witnesses and holding six court sessions, the judge decided Hadi was guilty and sentenced him to death... For the purposes of the forensic committee, Hadi spent six months in a psychiatric facility in Ta'if, where he says they took pity on him. They concluded that he was suffering from depression and psychosis...
The judicial committee, however, over-ruled the forensic committee and decided that Hadi should be punished in a way that would set an example for others... The king expressed a desire to find a solution; some say he commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment - though no one seems entirely sure. Hadi is now 31.
These people are totally insane. Just way beyond the reach of sanity or rational argument. There's a game among American high school students which is kind of related to this - it's a game of chicken, and the winner is the one who is willing to say "penis" the loudest in inappropriate situations, and of course the purpose is to make everyone snigger. Games like this have been undoubtedly been played by schoolboys everywhere since well before the invention of writing - and these petty, pathological tyrants are handing out decade-plus prison sentences and 4,000 lashes? Umm, hey everyone, we've been playing around with this idea, and we're just going to throw it out there: we're not so sure that the West has much in common with these people.
Hadi Saeed al-Mutif grew up in the countryside in southern Saudi Arabia and at the age of 18 started training to become a policeman. Two months into his training, Hadi had gathered with other recruits for afternoon prayers, as required by the rules. "Let us pray upon the Prophet .." the Imam said - at which point Hadi allegedly quipped: "... and upon his penis"... A couple of his fellow recruits reported Hadi to the authorities at the training centre and he was ordered to stand under the Saudi flag for two hours as a punishment... this silly incident set in motion a train of events which is still continuing after almost 13 years...
[I]t seems to be something that laddish types say to make their mates snigger at an inappropriate moment - a bit like the occasionally irreverent antics of choirboys in Christian churches. At least two other cases... have been documented in Saudi Arabia. In one case a high school student (also Ismaili) was reported by his teacher and received a 14-year jail sentence with 4,000 lashes...
During his 25 days in the custody of the Mabahith, according to Hadi's account, he was tortured with beatings and sleep deprivation. Finally, a judge arrived and ordered him to sign a confession - which he refused to do.He then spent a year in military detention awaiting trial. After hearing two or three witnesses and holding six court sessions, the judge decided Hadi was guilty and sentenced him to death... For the purposes of the forensic committee, Hadi spent six months in a psychiatric facility in Ta'if, where he says they took pity on him. They concluded that he was suffering from depression and psychosis...
The judicial committee, however, over-ruled the forensic committee and decided that Hadi should be punished in a way that would set an example for others... The king expressed a desire to find a solution; some say he commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment - though no one seems entirely sure. Hadi is now 31.
These people are totally insane. Just way beyond the reach of sanity or rational argument. There's a game among American high school students which is kind of related to this - it's a game of chicken, and the winner is the one who is willing to say "penis" the loudest in inappropriate situations, and of course the purpose is to make everyone snigger. Games like this have been undoubtedly been played by schoolboys everywhere since well before the invention of writing - and these petty, pathological tyrants are handing out decade-plus prison sentences and 4,000 lashes? Umm, hey everyone, we've been playing around with this idea, and we're just going to throw it out there: we're not so sure that the West has much in common with these people.
