Editing Stoning

[[File:Michael Damaskinos Stoning of Saint Stephen.png|thumb|400px|The stoning of St. Stephen.]] '''Stoning''' is an ancient form of execution and [[torture]] where the victim was either tied up, buried or simply forced to stand in place as crowds hurled rocks at them until they died, often the rocks were large enough to do damage without instant death and as such the execution was long, painful and exceptionally cruel.
==Background==
The Torah and Talmud prescribe stoning as punishment for a number of offenses. Over the centuries, Rabbinic Judaism developed a number of procedural constraints which made these laws practically unenforceable. Although stoning is not mentioned in the Quran, classical Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) imposed stoning as a hadd (sharia-prescribed) punishment for certain forms of zina (illicit sexual intercourse) on the basis of hadith (sayings and actions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad). It also developed a number of procedural requirements which made zina difficult to prove in practice.

Stoning appears to have been the standard method of capital punishment in ancient Israel. Its use is attested in the early Christian era, but Jewish courts generally avoided stoning sentences in later times. Only a few isolated instances of legal stoning are recorded in pre-modern history of the Islamic world. Criminal laws of most modern Muslim-majority countries have been derived from Western models. 

In recent decades several states have inserted stoning and other hudud (pl. of hadd) punishments into their penal codes under the influence of Islamist movements. These laws hold particular importance for religious conservatives due to their scriptural origin, though in practice they have played a largely symbolic role and tended to fall into disuse.

In recent times, stoning has been a legal or customary punishment in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, northern Nigeria, Afghanistan, Brunei, and tribal parts of Pakistan, including northwest Kurram Valley and the northwest Khwezai-Baezai region, though it is rarely carried out.  

In some of these countries, including Afghanistan, where stoning is not legal, it has been carried out extrajudicially by militants, tribal leaders, and others, such as the [[Taliban]] during their rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. In some other countries, including Nigeria and Pakistan, although stoning is a legal form of punishment, it has never been legally carried out. 

Stoning is condemned by human rights organizations and stoning sentences have sparked international controversies. Punishing adultery with stoning has varying levels of public support in the Muslim world, ranging from 86% of Muslims in Pakistan to 6% of Muslims in Albania and Bosnia.
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Execution]]
[[Category:Villainous Event]]
[[Category:Animal Cruelty]]
[[Category:Torturer]]
[[Category:Abusers]]
[[Category:Sadists]]
[[Category:Brutes]]