Whilst many of Gods achievements remain in the bounds of conjecture, thereby providing anti-theists with ammunition to support the delusional nature of God-belief, it is reassuring to see that God does occasionally provide physical evidence of his reality as is the case with Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow. Aisha, a 13 year old Somalian girl, is of course named after the prophet Muhammad's 9 year old wife and sexual partner.
This Aisha, a Magadishu resident, a place where belief in God is all consuming, was raped by 3 Somali men sometime in October 2008. Following the rape, her father called in the local authority, in this case the al-Shabab militia, ostensibly to report the crime of rape. Although, in Sharia law, the interpretation of rape allows generous flexibility, reflecting the superior status of the man.
The ability to align ones existence to an imaginary deity and all that follows from that delusion will inevitably provide for for any convenient delusion to manifest as Gods will and in the case of Aisha, Gods will took the form of miraculously transforming a rape allegation into a charge of adultery, which in Somalia's Sharia process is a capitol offense for which Allah makes specific legal provision. Death by stoning whilst buried to the neck. Tough break kid. Should have kept your mouth shut.
Senior clerics within al-Shabab arranged for 50 selected believers, all men, to bury the screaming and struggling child Aisha up to her neck in the sand in a stadium in front of 1,000 excited spectators, themselves also all believers in the one God and his Holy Book.
A lorryload of hand picked rocks, sized according to the law governing these things ie: Not to big as to kill fast or too small as to cause merely annoyance, was delivered to the stadium. Islamic law is very precise and it is reassuring to know their standards in the science of rock selection were maintained throughout. No one wants to see an over-sized rock end the process prematurely - least of all Allah.
With the burial process complete and the child's body secure in the firm grasp of Mother Earth, the 50 chosen believers went to work throwing these onion sized rocks at Aisha's exposed head.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me" witnesses report as her final words.
Eventually after enough of the rocks had pounded her skull with sufficient force, her screaming ceased and she was dug up to be examined by the attending male cleric whose job it was to confirm the death.
Much to everyone's surprise he announced that she was still alive. As the law requires in these matters, and it is important to remember that this is Gods law, Aisha was then buried again and Gods work continued until Gods will was done by those he created in his image and who submit to his will until, finally, the last 'Allah Akbaar's' drifted over her lifeless bloodied corpse.
Only a fully qualified believer can properly appreciate the feeling of connection with Godliness the assembled crowd and the 50 chosen participants felt at the successful conclusion to their service.
Sheikh Hayakalah, the Sharia court judge, said in remarks broadcast on Radio Shabelle, a Mogadishu-based broadcaster, that Aisha had officially confirmed her guilt and was 'happy with the punishment under Islamic law.'
I am particularly relieved that the Shiekh has extended the logic of an invisible man in the sky determining everything - to the happiness of a child-rape victim finding justice in the form of grown men throwing rocks at her head. It is a consistent logical thread and one that enriches any argument in the value of God belief.
Aisha's father told Amnesty International that when they tried to report her rape to the militia, the child was accused of adultery and detained.
None of the men Aisha accused was arrested, as obviously no rape occurred, the more likely scenario, and the one accepted by Gods appointed arm of action, Sheikh Hayakalah, being that a devious and amoral 13 year old just fancied a four way with some smelly old bearded married men, who weren't themselves guilty of adultery, even though she was not married and they were.
Gods work is done.
