“Everybody must get stoned,” Bob Dylan said, but despite the fact that she has been accused of committing an offense for which Islamic law prescribes stoning, the one person to whom Dylan’s words do not apply is Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). Even the most hardline Muslim clerics worldwide are almost certain to remain silent about Omar’s alleged adultery, even in her home country of Somalia. The reason why is clear: she is simply too useful to their larger cause.
Roger L. Simon noted Tuesday that “going back to Somalia would definitely spell big trouble for Omar….To wit: ‘Somalia’s Islamist group al-Shabaab has publicly stoned a woman to death in a town in the south for cheating on her husband, an official told Reuters.’”
Simon is right: Omar is on extremely thin ice, Shariawise. The caliph Umar, one of Muhammad’s closest companions, even maintained that the penalty of stoning for adultery was not only part of Islamic law, but was originally in the highest authority for Muslims, the Qur’an:
Umar said, “I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, ‘We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book,’ and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession.” Sufyan added, “I have memorized this narration in this way.” ‘Umar added, “Surely Allah’s Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him.” (Bukhari, vol. 8, bk. 82, no. 816)
The man referred to as “Allah’s Apostle” here is Muhammad, who himself carried out stonings. In one hadith he challenges a group of Jewish rabbis about stoning. The hadith records, amidst the barbarism and brutality, a final act of love and compassion:
The Jews came to Allah’s Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah’s Apostle said to them, “What do you find in the Torah (old Testament) about the legal punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?” They replied, (But) we announce their crime and lash them.” Abdullah bin Salam said, “You are telling a lie; Torah contains the order of Rajm.” They brought and opened the Torah and one of them solaced his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and following it. Abdullah bin Salam said to him, “Lift your hand.” When he lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, “Muhammad has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave the order that both of them should be stoned to death. (‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said, “I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones.” (Bukhari, vol. 4, bk. 56, no. 829)
The early Islamic literature even claims that monkeys practiced stoning:
During the pre-lslamic period of ignorance I saw a she-monkey surrounded by a number of monkeys. They were all stoning it, because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I too, stoned it along with them. (Bukhari, vol. 5, bk. 58, no. 188)
So has Ilhan Omar committed a stoning-worthy offense under Sharia? If she has indeed committed adultery with Tim Mynett, then the answer is certainly yes. However, there are other considerations involved that will almost certainly prevent any Islamic hardliners from calling for her to be punished. At this point, Ilhan Omar is simply too valuable to too many people to be sacrificed. To the Left, she is a symbol of their rejection of President Trump’s “Islamophobia” and their commitment to “diversity” and “inclusion,” especially of “women of color.” That leads them to downplay or overlook altogether the massive amount of evidence, compiled by David Steinberg and published by him in four explosive PJ Media articles (here, here, here, and here), that Omar entered into a sham marriage with her brother in 2009 in order to commit immigration fraud. And to Sharia supremacists, Omar is too valuable as a sign of growing Muslim involvement in American politics, and of the acceptance of Sharia adherence in the American public square, to be denounced.
This effectively gives Ilhan Omar a free pass to do pretty much anything she wants. Omar has joined the Clintons and their cronies in the new protected class in America, made up of people who are above the law, any law, because their importance, power and influence overrides all other considerations. Will she reward this development with her gratitude? Will she become kinder in her appraisal of her adopted country, which unlike the country of her birth, will not require her death for this offense? Don’t bet on it.
Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS. Follow him on Twitter here. Like him on Facebook here.
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