Religion of Peace
Islam likes to portray itself as a religion of peace and I suppose, broadly speaking, that's true, but there is a disturbing tendency for parts of the Muslim faith to regard violence and even murder as an appropriate way of reinforcing ancient words written down in 'holy books' such as the Bible and Koran.
The problem stems from adherents who regard these words and admonitions as the 'literal word of God' which can be used to justify stoning a woman to death for adultery or throwing a man off a high building simply for being gay.
And while every religion has its fundamentalists, I can think of no other religion in the world today where such extreme violence is meted out to perceived transgressors on a routine basis for 'breaking the rules'.
Militants throw gay men to death from building
Isis militants about to push a bound and blindfolded young man off a roof — a punishment, they say, for being homosexual
By Sara Elizabeth Williams - The Times
Photographs have shown men thrown from tall buildings in a growing trend for punishing homosexuals in Islamic State-controlled Syria and Iraq.
Being gay is punishable by death under Isis ideology, and Isis media has reported the apparent killings with increased frequency. These photographs show two barefoot, bound men pushed off a building by armed, hooded militants. One victim was blindfolded.
Several hundred people can be seen gathered below in a busy market street. Not far from where the men’s bodies landed, two other men, accused of robbery, were crucified.
The photographs published on the internet refer to the deceased as “people of Lot”, a euphemism for sodomy, and say they are to be “thrown from a high place” — a punishment for homosexuality referred to in some more radical interpretations of Islamic law.
Compared with photographs released in December, where a man was thrown from a building in a quiet street, these depict a much more public spectacle. Isis media identified the area as within the Euphrates province.
