Death penalty in Kuwait law

Death penalty in Kuwait law1

Historical foundation2

Blasphemy3

Death Penalty4

Apostasy5

Identify modern international law and philosophy as impacting this issue8

How the international influence can impact Kuwait9

Political resolution9

References11

Death penalty in Kuwait law

Death penalty in Kuwait law

Kuwait's National Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a new law that imposes the death penalty for all those Muslims who insult Allah, the Quran, the prophets and those who sully the honor of Muhammad and his wives, as reported by the newspaper 'Kuwait Times'. A total of 40 MPs - including all the ministers present - have voted in favor of the law, while the five Shiites and one Liberal MPs have voted against it. The new legislation will come into force after its publication in the official gazette, "Kuwait Today ', so theoretically occur in the month following the approval and acceptance of the law by the Executive. The two articles introduced in the law require judges to call upon the accused to repent. If they do and ask forgiveness for the crime, the penalty is reduced to five years in prison and a fine of 10,000 Kuwaiti dinars.

In case you do not repent, the individual will be executed, provided that they are Muslims. However, for those non-Muslim defendants, the law provides a penalty of at least ten years in prison; though some MPs have called also apply the death penalty. The five Shiite MPs had requested to be included in the law to the twelve imams revered by the Shia and Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, but this request was rejected. In response, Shiite MPs decided not to support the new legislation. In Kuwait, Death Penalty is mandatory in cases of blasphemy. This specific crime is always regarded so serious that it calls automatically for the Death Penalty. It is going to be a great deal of distrust in the Government who is focusing on Blasphemy and its punishment to lure the public from the socio-economic reforms the people are crying for. The reform of the Legal system in Kuwait, especially about the death penalty and crimes that would be imposed for, is important. Reasons are, 1- it is hard to contain religion's freedom in the twenty first century, and 2- the crime of Blasphemy is vaguely defined in the Kuwaiti Law. The methods of execution are ancient, and shocking to the public consciousness. Cursing God and his prophet, or some religion's sect are very serious crimes in the Islamic world. But, what about the intentional murder and heinous crimes that are beyond any human decency? Those later crimes are more deserving of the Death penalty than the first ones. The Death Penalty should be changed to accommodate the spirit of the modern age, as Kuwait does not live in a Vacuum .

Historical foundation

The death penalty has been in practice for centuries if lot even longer. The religion of Islam is one of the most tolerant religions and allows tolerance and forgiven in almost every aspect except blasphemy and ...