Her only crime was cookingfor afriend's widowed husband. Exhausted by a lifetime of abuse and hardship,Sorayasaid nothing, and the makeshift tribunal took her silence as a confessionofguilt. They sentenced her to death by stoning: a punishment prohibited byIslambut widely practiced. It is a storythat mustbe told. No one outside her immediate family would ever have guessed that her childhood was fraught with every imaginable hardship: a mentally ill mother who was in and out of jails and psych wards throughout Stephanie's formative years, neglect, hunger, poverty, homelessness, truancy, foster homes, a harrowing lack of medical care, and ongoing sexual abuse.
Stephanie, in turn, knew very little about the past of her mother, from whom she remained estranged during most of her adult life. All this changed with a phone call that set a journey of discovery in motion, leading to a series of shocking revelations that forced Stephanie to revise the meaning of almost every aspect of her very compromised childhood.
Stephanie's story is unique but its messages are universal, offering insight into what it means to survive, to rise above, to heal, and to forgive. It is a novel in which we see Jesus, the man, living quietly in Nazareth as he has for many years. EMBED for wordpress. Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Muslims cannot stone a human being, but when a woman is accused by her husband - rightly or wrongly - of infidelity, she is no longer considered human.
This is the true story of an innocent woman stoned to death in modern Iran. Soraya M. He wanted to get out of his marriage. The penalty for such a crime is death by stoning - a barbaric practice condoned by Sharia law, that still prevails in some parts of the world.
Deemed too controversial to release in some parts of the world, including the UK, The Stoning of Soraya M is a cry for help from the thousands of women who are murdered in cold blood for often bogus crimes of dishonour, such as premarital sex, or as in the case of Soraya M, adultery.
Forgot your password? Don't have an account? Sign up here. Got more questions about news letters? Email support rottentomatoes. Already have an account? Soraya M. Rather than The Stoning of Soraya M. Her husband basically involves himself in a diabolical plot to "frame" his wife to make it look like she is unfaithful to him He does this out of lust for another woman whom he wants to marry. Soroya's aunt is the old woman who recounts the story of her niece's stoning to the journalist author and demands the story be told to the whole world.
She is the hero in the book. Because she is an old woman, she gets away with confronting the village leaders and immam with their shameful injustice. It is to no avail however,because in the end, the whole village is whipped up into a terrible frenzy of blind hatred and violence, and Soroya is murdered in cold blood. The saddest thing that I think is apparent in this story, is that "religion" and "God" are twisted and used by these wicked men to justify something that would never be considered lawful otherwise.
I had to think of the woman brought to Christ after being caught in the "very act" of adultery. The religious leaders were CERTAIN that He would have to pronounce the death sentence on her, but instead, Jesus looked into their hearts and said those powerful words,"He who is without sin, cast the first stone.
Her life was restored, and He sent her on her way with these words, "Go and sin no more. We would do well to remember this when faced with the fact that radical islamists are trying to make inroads into our own culture and country. View 1 comment. Jul 31, Dhwani Swadia rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites , i-own , read-in The movie had made quite an impression.
The story shows how rules of the God can be used against a person for personal gains. Where earlier she was free to give her opinions, her opinions and thoughts were now of no consequence, due to the widespread propaganda of religious elements. Zahara is shown to be strong woman with a mind of her own. When Soraya is told that she is being suspected of infidelity, she is expected to prove her innocence.
When Zahara asks how is one expected to prove that? She is told that if a man accuses his wife of infidelity, she has to prove her innocence, and if a woman accuses her husband of infidelity, she has to prove her claim. This line itself summarizes the entire thought process. Mar 25, Sharon rated it it was amazing Shelves: history-world , non-fiction. I didn't want to rate or review this book and it feels like applauding a tragedy to give it five stars. But this story is so powerful it just wouldn't let me put it aside without comment.
For Soraya's sake this story had to be told and has to be remembered. Yet can I recommend it? Only if I add a disclaimer. This is a horribly tragic story and you need to be prepared to be haunted by its images.
Soraya was young, beautiful and righteous, and I fell in love with her humanity and courage. While I I didn't want to rate or review this book and it feels like applauding a tragedy to give it five stars. While I cried over her death, her own father, sons, and every other male member of her village condemned her and participated in her execution.
They neither repented of her death nor mourned her loss. And what was it she was actually guilty of? Something quite unforgivable. She was born female into an intolerant male society. However, The Stoning of Soraya M. Reading the book itself is journey, at this point anyone who picks up the book The Stoning of Soraya M.
Reading the book itself is journey, at this point anyone who picks up the book is fully aware of what is about to happen in the next or so pages. You're slowly introduced to the 4 perpetrators who stoned an innocent women inhumanely and your heart wrenches as you read about Ghorban Ali's abusive behaviour towards his wife and children. Keep reading the book and the descriptions of the day Soraya is stoned is certain to make your stomach turn.
The way her stoned lifeless body protrudes from a 6 feet hole in the ground with her brains spilling out to the road is described enough to fuel your imagination to colour the full picture of the injustice that took place on the 15th of August in Kuhpayeh.
It makes me uneasy to know that it's possible even today that there are people like the perpetrators. The Ghorban Ali's of the 21st Century are unlikely to sentence a stoning, but they would do something equally worse if they could not get what they wanted. Throughout the book, one fact about Soraya is emphasized, that she was a silent woman even from when she was a little girl.
Ever since her marriage to Ghorban Ali, she always accepted whatever abuse came her way and endured it in silence. It's a familiar story isn't it? Ghorban Ali and his cronies are the big bullies and Soraya is the victim who suffers in silence, afraid to speak out.
From the Stoning of Soraya M. It is not Soraya's fault that she was stoned to death but, perhaps had she stood up for herself against her husbands early abuse, her outcome could have been less tragic. Then again Soraya's story takes place in Iran when the world was very, very different. Considering everything that book offers, it's safe to say that The Stoning of Soraya M.
Jul 18, Susan rated it it was amazing. Just saw this movie. A quote from the preface: After the shah was deposed and the fundamentalist regime headed by Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in February , many dubious elements of the population, including common-law criminals who had been jailed for good reason under the shah, were released from the country's prisons.
Taking advantage of the religious fervor sweeping the land, a number of these people, especially those with at least a basic knowledge of the Koran and its t Just saw this movie. Taking advantage of the religious fervor sweeping the land, a number of these people, especially those with at least a basic knowledge of the Koran and its tenets, donned clerics' garb, gave themselves the title of mullah, and roamed the country seeking opportunities for self-enrichment or, quite simply, to conceal their past from the authorities.
This is the most horrifying story I've ever encountered. How something like this could happen I will never understand. The hypocrisy of those who charged Soraya with a crime she did not commit is astounding.
They were the guilty ones, not her. I wonder about their secret thoughts as they threw their stones -- was there any guilt? Any shame? Of course I am reminded of the story of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and was brought to Jesus.
This -- that everyone has sinned -- is a fundamental truth of Christianity, and one that indicts all those who took part in Soraya's murder. Soraya's accusers refer to Allah as "the Compassionate, the Merciful" both before and after her stoning, but what they did is no reflection of who they believe he is.
I was struck by the unfairness of the laws of their society: "When a man accuses his wife, she has to prove her innocence. On the other hand, if a woman makes an accusation against her husband, she has to produce proof" Why are women less?
One more thing Does the Koran mandate the stoning of a woman accused of adultery? I don't know, and this just adds to the questions I have about what the Koran actually says vs. Jun 20, Martyna rated it really liked it Shelves: belles-lettres , french-literature , owned-books , cinema. A French journalist visits his country of origin - Iran - and when he passes through a small village, his car breaks down.
While waiting for repairs to finish he meets woman who asks him to listen to the story of the death sentence of her niece Soraya. Freidoune Sahebjam, a French journalist of Iranian origin, wrote this book based on the account he heard.
The truth of this story banned in Iran has been repeatedly questioned, but I'm not going to go into much details on this matter as i s. The truth of this story banned in Iran has been repeatedly questioned, but I'm not going to go into much details on this matter as it's not the purpose of this review. Although it is difficult to determine to what extent the events depicted in reflect the facts, the leitmotif cannot be accused of distortion. Stoning was a legal form of the death penalty in Iran until , when it was officially banned by the judiciary there, but the brutal practices were not completely eradicated - Iran's Islamic Criminal Code is not free from stoning references and cases of this method of execution are still being recorded.
The issues raised in the book are not only very controversial, but also deeply moving, and the author knew perfectly well how to present them. A rather obvious dramatization was necessary in order to appeal even more effectively to the ordinary, human empathy of the reader.
Because what exactly was wrong with Soraya? Actually, only that she was already a wife of Ali, when he saw a charming fourteen-year-old girl. He cannot afford to support two legitimate spouses, so he decides to get rid of the one that has already been with him.
The way with which Soraya's husband, deprived of any noble feelings, makes up a lie which leads to Soraya being sentenced to death, is unimaginable. The end of this story is known from the beginning - the spoiler is included in the title - but it is still difficult to prepare for the shocking reading. The execution, and especially its beginning, was depicted in great detail, emphasizing the most accurate way to convey to the reader the pain and suffering of the "unfaithful wife" and the ruthlessness of her executioners.
Everything - from leading Soraya to death, through execution of the sentence, to covering the remains of a woman with a blanket - is very vivid. The novel shows a certain specific cultural context against women, the cruel and ruthless reality of the Islamic villages, to diagnose human attitudes and characters at a time when law and tradition guarantee them impunity.
We all know about the lack of equality of women in Islamic cultures, but thanks to such novels as "The Stoning of Soraya M. Shelves: womens-studies , human-rights , biography , iran-persia.
I came across this book some years ago while researching the position of women in Iran. Written by an expatriate Iranian journalist who secretly returned to his country in , The Stoning of Soraya M. One of the most extreme form of human rights violation committed under Shariah legal systems, stoning is a sentence that can be given to either male or female "criminals," but is most frequently applied to women accused o I came across this book some years ago while researching the position of women in Iran.
One of the most extreme form of human rights violation committed under Shariah legal systems, stoning is a sentence that can be given to either male or female "criminals," but is most frequently applied to women accused of adultery.
Although far more common under the regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini, stoning remains a significant problem in Iran, as witnessed by a recent Amnesty International article , from January of this year Sahebjam tells the story of a thirty-five-year old mother of nine, who, when her husband decides he would like to remarry, is falsely accused of infidelity.
Despite the complete lack of evidence, Soraya M. This is a very difficult book to read, and should incense any right-thinking person. The patent absurdity of the charges, the sheer hypocrisy of those involved, and the complicity of the victim's family, are all sickening to behold. The author's methodology has been criticized, in that he includes passages written from the victim's "perspective," despite the fact that he investigated after the fact, and never interviewed her.
It is instructive to note however, that no significant challenge, as regards the actual facts of this case, has been put forward by Mr. Sahebjam's critics, which leads this reviewer to the conclusion the "controversy" surrounding the author's methodology is little more than a smokescreen for the benefit of apologists.
In sum: this is a tragic and very disheartening book, but well worth the reader's time. Addendum : since writing the above review, in early , I understand that a movie has been made of Soraya M. I have not seen the film, and cannot offer an opinion. The hideous practice of stoning, however, and the human rights campaign to end it, are ongoing, as seen in an April letter from Amnesty International.
This book left me feeling so enraged at the senseless killing of this innocent and pure souled woman at the hands of vile, repugnant, waste of human life - MEN. These MEN knew full well that Soyara was innocent of adultery and knew first hand that her husband who greased all of their palms was the true adulterer.
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