The Stoning of Soraya M - Essay Example

? THE STONING OF SORAYA M. The Stoning of Soraya M. The Stoning of Soraya M. is a 2008 political drama film. The film is based on a true story and finds its inspiration from the book La Femme Lapidee, by Freidoune Sahebjam. The film starts on the backdrop of a highly religious and political atmosphere in revolutionary Iran. The movie revolves around the life of Zahra, Soraya Manutchehri, and a foreign journalist (Freidoune Sahebjam). Other characters in the film include Soraya’s husband Ali, Leila, Hashem, Morteza Soraya’s father, Massoud, Ebrahim, Kataneh, Malaka, Bita, and the village Mullah. As of 2010, the film had averaged over one million dollars in Box Office and received several awards and nomination to awards. The movie depicts a woman’s life in Sharia governed Iran. The film is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and distributed by Roadside Attraction; the book La Femme Lapidee has since been banned in Iran. According to the book, La Femme Lapidee, Ghorban Ali Soraya’s husband wanted to marry a fourteen-year-old girl though he does not want to return Soraya’s dowry nor take the burden of living with two wives. Ali a treacherous prison guard comes up with a scheme to get rid of his wife Soraya M. As the story unfolds, Ali coheres with corrupt village authorities and a widower who Soraya is working for at the time. Soon Ali starts spreading rumors about his wife’s unfaithfulness claiming that she has participated in zinah (adultery). Shortly, Ali drags Soraya out of the house and starts beating her up claiming that she has participated in zinah. The village authorities soon convene a kangaroo court and Soraya is quickly convicted after the widower corroborates Ali’s story. Eventually Soraya is stoned to death pursuant to Sharia Law that does not condone adultery. Though Ali is now free to marry the fourteen year old girl, he is unable due to his failure to secure the release of the girl’s father from prison. In the movie, Freidoune Sahebjam, is having car trouble and has to stop in an Iranian village Kuhpayeh. Soon Soraya’s aunt Zahra approaches him. Zahra narrates to the French journalist of the horror that her niece has undergone. Soraya, a 35 year old woman had been convicted of adultery and killed by stoning the previous day (Iran on death penalty, 2013). Freidoune Sahebjam tapes the story with the hope that he can tell it to the whole world. According to Zahra’s tale, Soraya was innocent and was a victim of treachery and inflexible religious ideals. Ali, a prison guard is a man full of perfidy and is abusive to his wife Soraya. He tries to convince the village Mullah to talk to his wife so that Soraya can grant him divorce. All along, Ali’s aim is to have Soraya divorce him so that he can marry a younger wife. Ali has gone ahead and made a deal with the girl’s father who has assured him that if he is able to save him from execution, he will have his young daughter’s hand in marriage (Iran on death penalty, 2013). The village Mullah equally as treacherous and corrupt as Ali tries to seek sexual favors from Soraya under the pretence that he will take care of her and her children. Soon Ali, the village Mullah and the mayor convince Zahra to talk to Soraya so that she can work for a particular widower. Soraya agrees to work but for a fee. Using threats and duplicity, Ali and the village Mullah eventually, manage to manipulate the widower into backing their story that Soraya has committed zinah. According to Sharia, the burden of proof that a person has committed zinah is usually hard and only the widower could have secured it in the case of Soraya (The Koran and adultery, 2006). Soon a rumor is rife that Soraya is unfaithful to Ali and has committed zinah. As the story unfolds, Ali beats up Soraya drugging her through the streets claiming that she is an adulterous woman. Zahra intervenes and asks Ali, the village Mullah, and the town’s mayor to convene at her house to discuss this issue in length. The town’s mayor and the Mullah eventually convene at court where Soraya is found guilty of adultery; she is sentenced to death by stoning. Her aunt Zahra tries to flee with her but she cannot. Eventually she tries to convince the authorities to have her take the place of Soraya; they vehemently refuse. Her father Morteza is the first man to cast a stone though he misses severally. The missing by Morteza is seen as a sign that Soraya is innocent though the men at the execution party will have none of this. Ali and Soraya’s sons also participate in the stoning. Soon the Mullah gets wind that Zahra has narrated the story to Freidoune Sahebjam a French journalist. He orders the revolutionary guard to pursue Freidoune Sahebjam and confiscate the tape. The guards eventually catch up with Freidoune and destroy all the tapes. With the tapes destroyed, the Mullah believes that the whole world cannot know this story. As the film winds up, Zahra hands over the real tape to Freidoune as he drives away. Zahra believes that God has been faithful to her and soon the whole world will hear about the story of her innocent niece. This film has huge sociopolitical and religious implication. Most countries that rely on Islamic Law for governance look up to the Koran for guidance. At the height of Ruhollah Khomeini rule in Iran, death by stoning for adultery was included in The Islamic Penal Code. Overall, the act of zinah and its punishment is discussed explicitly in the Koran and Hadith. First, the Koran condemns adultery and asks anyone of Muslim faith not to be involved in it. “Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful deed and an evil, opening the road to other evils.” Qur'an, Sura 17 (Al-Isra), ayat 32 Secondly, it prescribes punishment to anyone found involved in the offence and how the evidence is to apply. "The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment." — Qur'an, Sura 24 (An-Nur), ayat 2 “And those who accuse free women then do not bring four witnesses, flog them, giving eighty stripes, and do not admit any evidence from them ever; and these it is that are the transgressors. Except those who repent after this and act aright, for surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” — Qur'an, Sura 24 (An-Nur), ayat 4-5 Though there is no mention of death by stoning in the Koran for adultery, we see it in the Hadith at least three times. The first instance is about Jews who participate in zinah. The prophet enforces it through Torah. The second instance involves a young man and a young married woman. The woman is stoned while the young man flogged and banished for a year. In the third instance, Umar al-Khattab declares its validity. Like in Islam, Christianity and other Abrahamic religions condemn adultery and sexual impurity. In several instances in the Bible, adultery is condemned and is punishable by death. "If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil. Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man's wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you." (NIV) Deuteronomy 22:22–24. On the other hand, the bible has a soft spot for those who repent their sins. Further, it forbids anyone from judging another and that all have sinned before God. In one instance, a harlot who has committed sexual immorality accosts Jesus. A crowd soon gathers and wants to stone the woman according to the doctrines of Moses. Jesus condemns this and dares them to proceed if they themselves are clean. "Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 (NIV) The film The Stoning of Soraya M. illustrates clearly the horrors women face in Islamic States like Iran. After the publishing of the book La Femme Lapidee, there was a worldwide outcry; many wanted Muslim States to commute their execution on women based on unverifiable information. As of 2012, Iran had since scraped off this piece of legislation in their Islamic Penal Code. References Iran on death penalty (2013). Retrieved from Iran denies death penalty (2011). Retrieved from Holy Bible : T.N.I.V: Today's New International Version (2005). London: Hodder & Stoughton The Koran The bible on Adultery and Fornication (2009). Retrieved from. The Koran and adultery (2006). Retrieved from Read More