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11-24-2009, 19:03 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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tankie
Military Professional
Join Date: 11-22-06
Location: u/k
Country: 
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Death sentence in Saudi for witchcraft
Good grief , are these people for real , we can see this sort of prog everyday on tv ,its called entertainment , and the crystal ball , he never saw that coming did he . 
SkyNews © Sky News 2009
A man has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for witchcraft because he makes predictions on television.
TV Presenter On Death Row For Witchcraft
Ali Sibat is not even a Saudi national. The Lebanese citizen was only visiting Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage when he was arrested in Medina last year.
A court in the city condemned him as a witch on November 9.
The only evidence presented in court was reportedly the claim he appeared regularly on Lebanese satellite issuing general advice on life and making predictions about the future.
The case is causing outrage among human rights campaigners but has made little news elsewhere despite the ludicrous nature of the charges and the extraordinary severity of Sibat's sentence.
"Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
"The crime of witchcraft is being used against all sorts of behavior, with the cruel threat of state sanctioned executions."
Ali Sibat's supporters say he was denied a lawyer at his trial and was tricked into making a confession.
He is not the only victim of Saudi Arabia's literal witch hunt. Human Rights Watch says two other people have been arrested on similar charges in the last month alone.
It claims a lower court in Jeddah started the trial of a Saudi this month who was arrested by the religious police and said to have smuggled a book of witchcraft into the kingdom.
In another case the religious police are said to have arrested for "sorcery" and "charlatanry" an Asian man accusing him of using supernatural powers to solve marital disputes and induce others to fall in love.
In 2006 a Jeddah court convicted an Eritrean national Muhammad Burhan for "charlatanry" because he possessed a phone book that contained writings in the Tigrinya alphabet used in Eritrea.
Human rights campaigners claim prosecutors classified the booklet as a "talisman" and the court accepted that as evidence, sentencing him to 20 months in prison and 300 lashes.
__________________
TANKIE 
WITHOUT WAX
Last edited by tankie; 11-24-2009 at 20:03 PM..
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11-24-2009, 19:56 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Contributor
Join Date: 04-21-05
Country: 
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wow I wish someone would execute some Saudis for wearing that silly outfit. The religious nuts in the country are insane.
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11-24-2009, 20:00 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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Military Professional
Join Date: 01-04-07
Location: cheshire uk
Country:
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Not too sure how many £Billions the UK get from them through Arms deals so I shouldn't think the Government will say too much about it. 
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11-24-2009, 20:21 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 01-12-07
Location: Melbourne
Country: 
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The Saudis are small beer
Unfortunately this sort of thing is also very common in Christian parts of Nigeria. In this case it is Evangelicval Christians doing the persecuting. The victims are frequently young children & babies. If they are lucky they might be 'exorcised' or they & their families are simply driven from their villages. If not they are abandoned by their families or even killed.
Make you a bet. The Saudi case will be put down to 'Islamic barbarism' of some sort. The much larger problem in Nigeria will be put down to 'African superstition' rather than Christianity. I also wouldn't expect many quetsions about links between Evangelical Christianity in Nigeria & the US.
'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge - Telegraph
Quote:
'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge
Mary is a pretty five-year-old girl with big brown eyes and a father who kicked her out onto the streets in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. Her crime: the local priest had denounced her as a witch and blamed her "evil powers" for causing her mother's death.
By David Harrison
Published: 9:42PM GMT 08 Nov 2008
Children from Crarn accused of being witches and wizards, protesting outside the Governor's headquarters. Photo: Mags Gavan, Redrebel Films
Ostracised, vulnerable and frightened, she wandered the streets in south-eastern Nigeria, sleeping rough, struggling to stay alive.
Mary was found by a British charity worker and today lives at a refuge in Akwa Ibom province with 150 other children who have been branded witches, blamed for all their family's woes, and abandoned. Before being pushed out of their homes many were beaten or slashed with knives, thrown onto fires, or had acid poured over them as a punishment or in an attempt to make them "confess" to being possessed. In one horrific case, a young girl called Uma had a three-inch nail driven into her skull.
Yet Mary and the others at the shelter are the lucky ones for they, at least, are alive. Many of those branded "child-witches" are murdered - hacked to death with machetes, poisoned, drowned, or buried alive in an attempt to drive Satan out of their soul.
The devil's children are "identified" by powerful religious leaders at extremist churches where Christianity and traditional beliefs have combined to produce a deep-rooted belief in, and fear of, witchcraft. The priests spread the message that child-witches bring destruction, disease and death to their families. And they say that, once possessed, children can cast spells and contaminate others.
The religious leaders offer help to the families whose children are named as witches, but at a price. The churches run exorcism, or "deliverance", evenings where the pastors attempt to drive out the evil spirits. Only they have the power to cleanse the child of evil spirits, they say. The exorcism costs the families up to a year's income.
During the "deliverance" ceremonies, the children are shaken violently, dragged around the room and have potions poured into their eyes. The children look terrified. The parents look on, praying that the child will be cleansed. If the ritual fails, they know their children will have to be sent away, or killed. Many are held in churches, often on chains, and deprived of food until they "confess" to being a witch.
The ceremonies are highly lucrative for the spiritual leaders many of whom enjoy a lifestyle of large homes, expensive cars and designer clothes.
Ten years ago there were few cases of children stigmatised by witchcraft. But since then the numbers have grown at an alarming rate and have reached an estimated 15,000 in Akwa Ibom state alone.
Some Nigerians blame the increase on one of the country's wealthiest and most influential evangelical preachers. Helen Ukpabio, a self-styled prophetess of the 150-branch Liberty Gospel Church, made a film, widely distributed, called End of the Wicked. It tells, in graphic detail, how children become possessed and shows them being inducted into covens, eating human flesh and bringing chaos and death to their families and communities.
Mrs Ukpabio, a mother of three, also wrote a popular book which tells parents how to identify a witch. For children under two years old, she says, the key signs of a servant of Satan are crying and screaming in the night, high fever and worsening health - symptoms that can be found among many children in an impoverished region with poor health care.
The preacher says that her work is true to the Bible and is a means of spreading God's word. "Witchcraft is a problem all over Nigeria and someone with a gift like me can never hurt anybody," she says. "Every Nigerian wants to watch my movies." She denies that her teachings and films could encourage child abuse.
One British charity worker is fighting to help the children stigmatised as witches. Gary Foxcroft, 29, programme director for the UK charity Stepping Stones, Nigeria, first came to the country in 2003 to research the oil industry for his masters degree. But he was so shocked when he learned about the children's plight that he decided to help raise money for the refuge - the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (Crarn) - and try to persuade the parents to take their children back. He has also helped to build a school for the children who are refused places at local schools.
"Any Christian would look at the situation that is going on here and just be absolutely outraged that they were using the teachings of Jesus Christ to exploit and abuse innocent children," says Mr Foxcroft whose expose of what he describes as "an absolute scandal" will be screened in a Channel 4 documentary on Wednesday.
The Niger Delta is an oil-rich region but the wealth does not reach the people who live there. The locals blame their hardship on the Devil but international analysts point to the oil industry's large-scale contamination of air, land and sea.
In the documentary, the charity worker visits one of the pastors, a man who calls himself "the Bishop" and who claims to be able to drive evil spirits out of "possessed" children. At his church in Ibaka, the Bishop pours a homemade substance called African mercury, a potion of pure alcohol and his own blood, into the eyes of a young boy lying on a table. "I want this poison destroyer to destroy the witch right now, in Jesus' name," he says.
The priest charges £170 - in a country where millions of people are forced to live on less than £1 a day - for "treating" a child every night for two weeks, and holds them captive until the bill is paid.
He has recently refined his techniques for dealing with child witches. "I killed up to 110 people who were identified as being a witch," he says. He claims there are 2.3million "witches and wizards" in Akwa Ibom province alone.
The children's shelter was started five years ago when Sam Itauma, a Nigerian, opened his house to four youngsters accused of witchcraft. Today, he and his five staff are caring for 150 youngsters. "Every day, five or six children are branded as witches," he says "Once a child has been stigmatised as a witch, it is very difficult for someone to accept that child back. If they go out from this community... there is a lot of attacks, assault and abuses on the children." Children often arrive at the shelter with severe wounds, but few clinics or hospitals will treat a child believed to be a witch.
"Christianity in the Niger Delta is seriously questionable, putting a traditional religion together with Christian religion - and it makes nonsense out of it," he says. "If you are not rich and don't have anything to eat, you look to blame someone. And if you don't get anything, you blame it on the witches."
Christians have been in Nigeria since the 19th century and the Niger Delta area claims to have more churches per square mile than any other place on Earth. The vast majority of the country's 60 million Christians are moderate, but an influx of Pentecostals over the past 50 years has led some churches to be dominated by extremist views. Five years ago, the Nigerian government passed a Child Rights Act, which made abuse illegal, but not every state has adopted it.
At the refuge, a baby girl called Utibe and her five-year-old sister, Utitofong, are dumped at the gate by their mother because a "prophet" told her that Utitofong was a witch and had passed the spell to her sister. The mother, who spent four months' salary on an unsuccessful exorcism, left them at the centre because she feared they would be killed. The police are called but locals offer them no help.
Mr Itauma goes to the village to try and convince the locals to accept the daughters' return, but the older girl is threatened by a man with a machete. "Get away from our food - I'll kill you," he shouts. Utibe is allowed to stay, but the older girl has to go back to the refuge.
At the end of the film, Mr Foxcroft and all the "child-witches" stage a demonstration at the Governor's residence in the state capital, Uyo, and urge him to adopt the Child Rights Act." After four hours the Governor comes out and says the Act will be adopted. It has since been adopted, but so far not a single pastor has been convicted of any offence. And the rescue centre still takes in up to 10 children a week.
Mr Foxcroft took Mary back to her village where he was told that her father left a year ago to find work in Cameroon. A cousin says: "She is a witch, we don't want her here." Mary is now back at the refuge
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__________________
Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C
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11-24-2009, 20:25 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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tankie
Military Professional
Join Date: 11-22-06
Location: u/k
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfella
Unfortunately this sort of thing is also very common in Christian parts of Nigeria. In this case it is Evangelicval Christians doing the persecuting. The victims are frequently young children & babies. If they are lucky they might be 'exorcised' or they & their families are simply driven from their villages. If not they are abandoned by their families or even killed.
Make you a bet. The Saudi case will be put down to 'Islamic barbarism' of some sort. The much larger problem in Nigeria will be put down to 'African superstition' rather than Christianity. I also wouldn't expect many quetsions about links between Evangelical Christianity in Nigeria & the US.
'Child-witches' of Nigeria seek refuge - Telegraph |
Ok B/F , I BET 40 ZILLION ZONKS 
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11-24-2009, 20:54 PM
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#6 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 01-12-07
Location: Melbourne
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tankie
Ok B/F , I BET 40 ZILLION ZONKS |
I dunno mate, with the current market value of the Zonk what it is that is about AUS $2.50. 
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11-24-2009, 21:04 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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tankie
Military Professional
Join Date: 11-22-06
Location: u/k
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfella
I dunno mate, with the current market value of the Zonk what it is that is about AUS $2.50. |
Jeez , where you been , its the universal currency , worth about 50 zillion thai baht , ya can buy some fish heads and rice for that
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11-24-2009, 21:54 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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aspiring grumpy old fart
Military Professional
Join Date: 02-29-08
Location: Missouri, pron"misery"
Country: 
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religion + little practical education = this exact thing!
The key to civilization is education and englightenment and religion is not complimentary to either.
So what is really holding man back as a race?
Pathetic!
__________________
When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. (Ben Franklin)
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11-24-2009, 22:05 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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Regular
Join Date: 11-21-09
Location: Manila, Philippines
Country: 
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Are you shitting me...? W-i-t-c-h-e-s??? It looks like someone high up in the Saudi government got a little too scared watching the Wizard of Oz as a child
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11-24-2009, 22:27 PM
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#10 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 01-12-07
Location: Melbourne
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tankie
Jeez , where you been , its the universal currency , worth about 50 zillion thai baht , ya can buy some fish heads and rice for that |
Friend of mine just got back from Vietnam. AU$100 = 1.6 million dong. Now that's a LOT of dong. 
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11-24-2009, 22:30 PM
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#11 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 01-12-07
Location: Melbourne
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 7thsfsniper
religion + little practical education = this exact thing!
The key to civilization is education and englightenment and religion is not complimentary to either.
So what is really holding man back as a race?
Pathetic!
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Yep, and there are people in the west who want to teach creationism in science classrooms. East Asia must be wetting itself with laughter.
There is a remarkably simple societal truth - religious fundamentalism makes you stupid.
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11-24-2009, 22:35 PM
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#12 (permalink)
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aspiring grumpy old fart
Military Professional
Join Date: 02-29-08
Location: Missouri, pron"misery"
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfella
Yep, and there are people in the west who want to teach creationism in science classrooms. East Asia must be wetting itself with laughter.
There is a remarkably simple societal truth - religious fundamentalism makes you stupid.
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And you just can't fix stupid! 
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11-24-2009, 22:41 PM
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#13 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 01-12-07
Location: Melbourne
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 7thsfsniper
And you just can't fix stupid! |
...well...ya can, but stupid has ta wanna get fixed, & even then it ain't quick or easy.
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11-25-2009, 00:24 AM
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#14 (permalink)
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: 04-21-08
Location: Sydney, Australia
Country:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 7thsfsniper
And you just can't fix stupid! |
You can always shoot stupid though... like witches, stupid, when allowed to roam free is contagious and spreads... only way to deal with it is to exorcize it with lead poisoning, usually just behind the ear, the great poohbah in the sky has it revealed in the holy books.
__________________
The best part of repentance is the sin
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11-25-2009, 00:27 AM
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#15 (permalink)
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Military Professional
Moderator
Scotch taster
Join Date: 08-06-03
Country: 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfella
East Asia must be wetting itself with laughter.
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The Dali Lama, Falun Gong, Yaukuni Shrine. Yeah, East Asia is all that better.
__________________
Chimo
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