Decapitation was a standard method of capital punishment in pre-modern Islamic law. By the end of the 20th century, its use had been abandoned in most countries. Decapitation is still a legal method of execution in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Yemen. In Iran, beheading was last used in 2001 according to Amnesty International, but it is no longer in use.[1] In recent decades, extremist Salafi jihadist groups have used beheading as a method of killing captives and terror tactic.

Decapitation: background and context

The use of decapitation for punishment continued well into the 20th century in both Islamic and non-Islamic nations.[2][3] When done properly, it was once considered a humane and honorable method of execution.

Decapitation in Islamic scripture

There is a debate as to whether the Quran discusses decapitation.[4] Two surahs could potentially be used to provide a justification for decapitation in the context of war:[4]

When the Lord inspired the angels (saying) I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger. (8:12)[5]

Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom 'til the war lay down its burdens. (47:4)[6]

Among classical commentators, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi interprets the last sentence of 8:12 to mean striking at the enemies in any way possible, from their head to the tips of their extremities.[7] Al-Qurtubi reads the reference to striking at the necks as conveying the gravity and severity of the fighting.[8] For al-Qurtubi, al-Tabari, and Ibn Kathir, the expression indicates the brevity of the act, as it is confined to battle and is not a continuous command.[8]

Some commentators have suggested that terrorists use alternative interpretations of these surahs to justify decapitation captives, however there is agreement among scholars that they have a different meaning.[4] Furthermore, according to Rachel Saloom, surah 47:4 goes on to recommend generosity or ransom when waging war, and it refers to a period when Muslims were persecuted and had to fight for their survival.[4]

Decapitation in Islamic law

Decapitation was the normal method of executing the death penalty under classical Islamic law.[9][10] It was also, together with hanging, one of the ordinary methods of execution in the Ottoman Empire.[11]

Currently, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world which uses decapitation within its Islamic legal system.[12] The majority of executions carried out by the Wahhabi government of Saudi Arabia are public beheadings,[13][14] which usually cause mass gatherings but are not allowed to be photographed or filmed.[15]

According to Amnesty, decapitation have been carried out by state authorities in Iran as recently as 2001,[12][16][17] but as of 2014 is no longer in use.[16] It is also a legal form of execution in Qatar and Yemen, but the punishment has been suspended in those countries.[12][18]

Historical occurrences

Modern use by non-state actors

Extremist Salafi jihadist groups such as ISIS and Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad have used beheading as a method of killing captives. Since 2002, ISIS have circulated beheading videos as a form of terror and propaganda.[10][24] Their actions have been condemned by militant and other terrorist groups, as well as by mainstream Islamic scholars and organizations, who have contrasted Saudi government executions, which conform to standards that minimize pain, with the non-state actors who have "chosen a slow, torturous sawing method to terrorize the Western audience".[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Beheading was last used as a method of execution in 2001....beheading is no longer in use." Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, Death Penalty Worldwide: Iran Archived 27 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Cliff Roberson, Dilip K. Das (2008). An Introduction to Comparative Legal Models of Criminal Justice. CRC Press. p. 156. ISBN 9781420065930.
  3. ↑ Nina Rastogi (20 February 2009). "Decapitation and the Muslim World". Slate. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rachel Saloom (2005), "Is Beheading Permissible under Islamic Law – Comparing Terrorist Jihad and the Saudi Arabian Death Penalty", UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, vol. 10, pp. 221–49.
  5. ↑ "Surah Al-Anfal - 1-75". Quran.com. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Surah Muhammad - 1-38". Quran.com. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Dagli, Caner K.; Dakake, Maria Massi; Lumbard, Joseph E.B.; Rustom, Mohammed (2015). The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary. HarperCollins (Kindle edition). p. Commentary to 8:12, Loc. 23676–23678.
  8. 1 2 Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Dagli, Caner K.; Dakake, Maria Massi; Lumbard, Joseph E.B.; Rustom, Mohammed (2015). The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary. HarperCollins (Kindle edition). p. Commentary to 47:4, Loc. 59632–59635.
  9. ↑ Rudolph Peters (2006). Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 36.
  10. 1 2 Sara Hussein and Rita Daou (3 September 2014). "Jihadists beheadings sow fear, prompt Muslim revulsion". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  11. ↑ Rudolph Peters (2006). Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 101.
  12. 1 2 3 Hood, Roger; Hoyle, Carolyn (2015). The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective. Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-19-870173-6.
  13. ↑ Janine di Giovanni, "When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia" Archived 16 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Newsweek, 14 October 2014.
  14. ↑ Russell Goldman, "Saudi Arabia's Beheading of a Nanny Followed Strict Procedures" Archived 18 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine, ABC News, 11 January 2013.
  15. ↑ Justine Drennen (20 January 2015). "Saudi Arabia's Beheadings Are Public, but It Doesn't Want Them Publicized". Foreign Policy Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Death Penalty Database: Iran" Archived 7 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, deathpenaltyworldwide.org, Cornell Law School. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  17. ↑ "Iran / death penalty A state terror policy" (PDF). International Federation for Human Rights. 16 March 2010. p. 38. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Kronenwetter, Michael (2001). Capital Punishment: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576074329.
  19. ↑ Watt, W. Montgomery (2012). "Ḳurayẓa". In P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4535.
  20. ↑ Newman, Sharan (2007). The Real History Behind the Templars. Penguin. p. 133. ISBN 978-0425215333.
  21. ↑ Bunson, Matthew. "How the 800 Martyrs of Otranto Saved Rome". Catholic Answers. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  22. ↑ Nancy Bisaha (2004). Creating East And West: Renaissance Humanists And the Ottoman Turks. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 158.
  23. ↑ Byron Farwell, Prisoners of the Mahdi (New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1989), pp. 156-7.
  24. ↑ James Watson, Anne Hill (2015). Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 325. ISBN 9781628921489.
  25. ↑ Timothy R. Furnish (2005). "Beheading in the Name of Islam". Middle East Quarterly. 12 (2): 51–57.
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