I read the news of the execution of Eric
Robert in South Dakota for the murder of prison guard, Ronald Johnson. It
disturbed me that his death by lethal injection is too painless and too humane.
At the same time, I heard a quote from a debate that made me felt so sick:
Marshall
said he has worked on death penalty cases in which exonerating evidence emerged
14 to 18 years after trial.
“They are us, they're our children,” he said, referring to murderers. “We are a community.”
As I mentioned in my
previous post, that I recommend hiring a Saudi Arabian Executioner who takes
pride in his profession. I decided to blog about the scimitar in memory of
Ronald Johnson and also to relief my sickness from that quote, no way, I am
never going to live with murderers! I wish a Saudi Executioner can behead them
all. If only Eric Robert could have been beheaded in public for the world to
see!
I got the information
from Wikipedia and at the end of the article, I will post several execution
videos from Saudi Arabia:
 |
|
A typical
19th century Saif.
|
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre
with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia (Middle East). The Arabic
term saif (سيف) translates to "sword" in general, but
is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in
particular.
The curved sword or "scimitar" was
widespread throughout the Muslim world from at least the Ottoman period, with
early examples dating to Abbasid era (9th century) Khurasan. The type harks
back to the makhaira type of antiquity, but the Arabic term saif is a
loan from Greek xiphos (the straight, double-edged sword of Greek antiquity).
The Persian sword now called "shamshir" appears by the 12th century
and was popularized in Persia by the early 16th century, and had
"relatives" in Turkey (the kilij), the Mughal Empire (the talwar).
 |
| Today's U.S. Marine Corps officers' Mameluke sword resembles those used by the Mamluks. |
Names:
The name is thought to be derived from the
Persian word shafsher which means “paw claw,” due to its long, curved design.
The word has been translated through many languages to end at scimitar.
Varieties of Persian shamshir have been created, including the Turkish kilij,
Indian tulwar, Moroccan nimcha, Afghan pulwar, and Arabian saif.
The term saif in Arabic can refer to
any Middle Eastern (or North African, South Asian) curved sword. The Arabic
word is ultimately cognate with the ancient Greek xiphos, but it is not
necessarily a direct loan from the Greek, it may have entered Arabic from
another source, as both saif and xiphos go back to an old (Bronze
Age) Wanderwort of the eastern Mediterranean, of unknown ultimate origin.
The English term scimitar is attested from
the mid-16th century, derives from either the Middle French cimeterre
(15c.) or from the Italian scimitarra. The ultimate source of these
terms is unknown. Perhaps they are corruptions of the Persian shamshir,
but the OED finds this explanation "unsatisfactory".
The following are regional terms for the scimitar:
- Shamshir (Iran)
- Kilij (Turkey and Egypt)
- Nimcha (Morocco)
- Pulwar (Afghanistan)
- Talwar (North India, Pakistan)
 |
|
Arabian-Saif
|
Morphology:
The curved sword, the sabre, is called
muhaddab in Arabia and occurred after the Turkish Seljuk migration from Central
Asia to Anatolia, popularizing the pre-existing Byzantine sabre designs for
cavalry use, which influenced the entire region. The word shamshir is Persian
and refers to a straight-edged sword as well as to a curved-edged sword,
depending on the era of usage.
The Indian talwar is a sword similar
to the shamshir, with the exception of a broader blade, mild curve and a disk
shaped pommel which provides a very secure grip. The sword is made from very
hard wootz steel. The word “tulwar” literally means “sword” in Urdu/Hindi. The
tulwar is unusual in that it can be used for thrusting as well as cutting.
The kilij is a scimitar used by the
Turks and the Ottoman Empire; it appeared around the 15th century. The kilij is
a unique kind of scimitar that has a slight taper down the straight of the
blade until the last third of the sword, when it angles sharply and becomes
deeper. After the First Barbary War, a bejeweled kilij was presented to the
commanding Marine officer, thus beginning the tradition of granting, to all
United States Marine Corps officers, the right to carry the ceremonial weapon
as part of that tradition.
The Moroccan nimcha is a scimitar used
in the late 18th century, and is usually forged using the blades of older
swords, dating from as early as the 17th century, and with blades from
countries as distant as Germany. This created a wide variety of nimcha, and
almost no two are the same.
The Afghan pulwar is similar in blade
design to the tulwar, but the cross guard on the pulwar angles in towards the
blade to catch swords. Many pulwar hilts are engraved with ornamental
inscriptions and designs.
 |
|
48-Inch Saudi Executioner's
Sword
|
Symbolism:
The sword
(or saif) is an important symbol in Arab cultures, and is used as a metaphor
in many phrases in the Arabic language.
The word
occurs also in various symbolic and status titles in Arabic (and adopted in
other languages) used in Islamic states, notably:
- in the Yemenite independent imamate
- Saif al-Haqq, meaning "Sword of Truth".
- Saif al-Islam, "Sword of submission to Allah" or (literally) "Sword of Islam", was a subsidiary title borne (after their name and patronym) by male members of the al-Qasimi dynasty (whose primary title, before the name, was Amir), especially sons of the ruling Imam.
- Saif ud-Daula and variations mean "Sword of the State"
- Saif Ullah Al-masloul the "drawn sword of God" was conferred by the Prophet Muhammed, uniquely, to the recent convert and military commander Khalid ibn al-Walid. Khalid ibn Al-Walid is often considered the greatest general in history, have been one of two unique individuals to have never lost a battle (the other being Genghis Khan). Al-Walid fought in ninety-nine battles.
- Saif ul-Mulk "sword of the realm" was an honorary title awarded by the Mughal Padshahs of Hind (India), e.g. as one of the personal titles (including Nawab bahadur, one rank above his dynasty's) conferred in 1658 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (whose life he is said to have saved by slaying a charging tiger with a single blow) to Nawab Muhammad Bayazid Khan Bahadur, a high mansabdar, whose jagir of Malerkotla was by sanad raised to Imperial riyasat, thus becoming an independent ruler.
- Saif ul-Ali, "Sword of Ali", referring to arguably most famous sword in Islamic history, belonging to both the Prophet, and later, Ali (Ra), Zulfikar, and with which Ali slew a Makkan foot soldier, cleaving both his helmet and head, at the Battle of Uhud, and with which he (Ali) slew Amr, a ferocious and devastating Makkan soldier at the Battle of the Trench at Madinah.
Saif and Saif
al Din "Sword of the religion" are also common masculine (and
male) Islamic names.
The
scimitar appears as a symbol of the Russian enemy in the Swedish/Finnish coat
of arms of Karelia, which depicts two armored arms fighting with swords. The
sword dexter symbolizes Swedish forces and the West, while the scimitar sinister
symbolizes Russians and the East. Karelia has been a battleground between the
Swedish and Russian empires for centuries. From this context, the sword and
scimitar have found their way into the coat of arms of Finland, which depicts a
lion brandishing a sword and trampling a scimitar. During the period of Russian
sovereignty over Finland (1809–1917), the scimitar was moved to the left paw of
the lion, only to be returned to being trampled with the independence of
Finland in 1917.
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded four men
in February 2007— Sangeeth Kumara, Victor Corea, Ranjith Silva and Sanath
Pushpakumara.These four Sri Lankan workers were convicted in a Saudi Arabian
court for an armed robbery committed in October 2004. Their deaths sparked
reactions from the international human rights group Amnesty International,
which called on the Saudi authorities to abolish the death sentence. The court
also ruled that the bodies of the four workers be crucified for public view as
an example for others. In most such cases the respective embassy is notified
only after the execution, thereby eliminating chances for international or
diplomatic protest.
A Day in the Life of an Executioner
Author:
Abdul Rahman Hassan, Special to Arab News
Tuesday
18 February 2003
 |
|
Ahmed Rezkallah
|
DAMMAM,
18 February 2003 — At first sight Ahmad Rezkallah is a pleasant man with a
nice, broad smile. He expresses himself with the confidence of the professional
man he is — Saudi Arabia’s most senior executioner.
Rezkallah
told Al-Majalla, a sister publication of Arab News, that he drifted into the
profession by chance.
“About
23 years ago the government asked for volunteers,” he explained. “I was 20
years old at the time, and the youngest in my group.”
Because
of his youth, people doubted he would be successful.
“But
I rose to it as a challenge,” he recalls.
He
says he has no trouble sleeping prior to an execution, but he is conscientious.
“Before
an execution, I wait and give the victim’s family a chance to forgive the man
who is going to be executed,” he says. “I go to the family of the victim and
ask them if they will forgive, or if blood money has been given. Sometimes this
happens at literally the last minute before an execution.”
“My
thoughts and prayers are concentrated on the fact that they will forgive the
criminal. I hope they forgive him and I feel joy when they do.”
“If
I get the chance, and most of the time I do, I go and ask the family of the
victim to give the criminal another chance,” he adds. “It has worked many times
and the family has forgiven the criminal at the last minute.”
“There
is clapping and cheering,” Rezkallah recalls. “The scenes of happiness are
indescribable.”
Failing
that, he has to go through with the execution.
“I
listen to their last requests,” he explains. “Some want to pray, some ask to
call for prayer in the execution square. Since I am the one responsible in the
execution square, I usually grant their last wish — as long as it doesn’t delay
the execution.”
And
then to the execution itself.
“The
sharpness of the sword and bodily strength are the most important things,”
Rezkallah says. “Also, the executioner must have the guts to do his job — and
believe in it.”
Rezkallah
has executed more than 300 people, 70 of them women, and says that in practical
terms there is no difference between executing men and women.
“People
here have the impression that women are soft and weak. But at the time of the
execution, most men collapse. When they hear they were forgiven, some are
paralyzed. Some go crazy. However, women in general have nerves of steel,” he
says.
“Ten
years ago, I was supposed to execute a woman,” he remembers. “She was down on
her knees and she was ready to die. At the last minute we heard that the family
had forgiven her, so police walked her back to the prison car. Then we found
out that the father of the victim had said he would only forgive her if his
wife did. So they took her out of the prison car and back to the execution
square. Then people went to the wife to ask for her forgiveness, and she agreed
and forgave the woman.
“So
they walked the woman back to the prison car. She calmly went with them and sat
in the back of the car. She was talking normally. If that had happened to a
man, he would have had a heart attack.”
“Actually,
most women I executed were strong and calm,” he adds. “In tough situations,
they are much stronger than men.”
Another
execution he remembers vividly is that of a man who killed his friend in a
fight.
“His
friend beat him, and when he got home to his mother she encouraged him to take
revenge. So the man went to his friend’s house and stabbed him to death. He was
sentenced to death for that crime.”
The
mother did not mean for her son to go and kill his friend, he adds, “but that’s
what he did. And that’s why families should never encourage violence in their
children.”
Al-Majalla
asked Rezkallah what consequences being an executioner has had on his own life.
“People
look at me as if I was from another planet,” he smiles.
“They
try to avoid dealing with me. Sometimes when I’m with a group of people,
someone who doesn’t know me comes and sits next to me. When they find out what
my job is, they suddenly feel uncomfortable and try to find an excuse to
leave.”
“I
love to meet people and I love to attend events,” he adds. “But sometimes
people don’t feel comfortable around me, so I leave.”
Instead,
he spends most of his time with his family.
“I
love my family very much. I spend most of my free time around them. Thank God
there is a lot of love and a great deal of understanding in my family. I love
my children, I go through their schoolwork with them and sometimes I sit with
their friends.”
Rezkallah’s
two elder sons, Abdullah, 21, and Khamis, 17, welcomed Al-Majalla into his
elegant living room, which is decorated with many swords.
Rezkallah
says he does not want them to follow in his footsteps. “I want them to go to
school and do something else,” he says.
No comments:
Post a Comment