His name is Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem; he is a 36-year old human rights lawyer in Saudi Arabia. If you think that the last phrase in the previous sentence is an oxymoron, you are right. According to today’s edition of the Washington Post, Lahem’s license to practice law in the Saudi kingdom was revoked because of “belligerent behavior, talking to the media for the purpose of perturbing the judiciary, and hurting the country’s image.”
Mr. al-Lahem is defending a 20-year-old woman from Qatif, Saudi Arabia, who, according to the Post, was “sentenced on a morals charge after she was gang-raped by seven men,” following her kidnapping and that of a male friend while both were sitting alone in a car. Both were sentenced to six months and 200 lashes!
Sharia law, as interpreted and enforced by the judiciary of that country, “prohibits unrelated men and women from mingling.” The kidnapping and raping apparently is viewed as an unrelated issue and has no bearing on the punishment of the woman and man.
Tomorrow morning, as you walk out of your home in Bridgewater to hit the stores, or to tend to some other priorities, you might want to remember how ubiquitous American freedom is and how dearly it has been purchased for us by generations of American patriots.
For a full account of this story see the Washington Post at, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/21/AR2007112102232.html
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