Just for carrying cell phone this punish makes no sense ,but this is their country law so citizens must obey.
The only thing which matters in this news is that though Saudi Arab is a muslim country and centre of the Holy places therefore every muslim has respect for that country ,but it has monarchy not Islamic form of Govt or islamic law,just by picking few things from Shariah ( which definetly gives maxium results) but still doesn't represent Islamic Law or Islamic system , so these news should not be related to islam , and instead of avoiding these kind of news we should clear these things to the people who have no knowledge of that.
@84471K
yes Islam has very strict punishments but only for those crimes which comes under the catagory of hudud .
Islamic Law provides a complete legal system. It takes into consideration the changing circumstances of society as well as the constancy and permanence of human nature. Consequently, it contains comprehensive principles and general rules suitable for dealing with all the problems and circumstances that life may bring in any time or place. Likewise, it has set down immutable punishments for certain crimes that are not affected by changing conditions and circumstances. In this way, Islamic Law combines between stability, flexibility, and firmness.
There are three catagories of Islamic punishments:
(1).HududThe first and most severe type of punishments are known as the hudud (singular hadd) meaning a thing which restrains or prevents since a punishment "prevents a man from doing crimes". However, it is a strictly defined penalty which is mentioned in the Qur'an or the Hadith and it includes adultery, fornication, false imputation of unchastity (qadhf), drunkenness, armed robbery, sedition and apostasy, though there are some disagreements on whether one or two are technically described as 'hudud'. Because of "the decisive nature of hadd, its severity and its exactness and its strictness in the rules of evidence", it has "considerably limited the severest penalties".
(2).QisasThe second category of punishment, known as qisas (equitable retribution), is inflicted for deliberate killing or wounding of a person. Unlike hadd, the penalty could be waived by the victim or his heir in lieu of blood-money (diya), but for unintentional homicide or wounding there is no retribution and only compensation is paid. The Qur'an teaches that:
"And for you in equitable retribution there is Life, 0 people of understanding, that you may ward off evil" (2: 179).
(3).Ta'zeerThe third category of punishment is known as ta'zeer (discretionary punishment) and it is "a sentence or punishment whose measure is not fixed by the Shariah" neither as to the offence nor the penalty. It helps to meet varying circumstances (e.g. if a definition element is short in a hadd offence) and the punishment that was generally inflicted in the past was whipping, though other alternatives such as a warning, fines and imprisonment could be given, but the quantum of punishment for ta'zeer is generally much below that of hadd (e.g. ten lashes).
