An Eye for Two Eyes

An Iranian court has ruled that a man found guilty of burning, disfiguring, and blinding a woman whom he believed spurned his romantic affections should himself be blinded in one eye with a drops of the same acid he poured on his victim. Despite her protestations to the contrary, what Ameneh Bahrami sought and has now been granted is nothing but revenge, plain and simple.

Although my knowledge and experience of Islam is minimal, my general perspective is to be open-minded when I hear devout Muslims express their conviction that theirs is a religion of love, justice and peace.

It's hard to hold that perspective, however, when so called "Islamic law" allows for this kind of "justice." In such a system -- one where this type of retribution (called "qisas") is enforced and where a woman is seen as half the value of a man -- how long long would it be before the whole world is blind? Is this the kind of world The Prophet envisioned? I pray not.