Yassine is Muslim. I don't know too much about Islam. Maybe Yassine can clear some details up since he knows more about the faith than I do.
- By all means, I'll be happy to answer any of your questions. If you don't quote me in your reply I don't get notified.
a rape requires 3 male witnesses in order to be declared as valid in most Sharia nations
- I'm not sure what that sentence exactly?! But I will answer as concisely as I can.
1. According to the Islamic Tradition, Sharia abides by the Four Pillars: Mercy, Justice, Wisdom & Benefit for the purpose of preserving the Six Universals: Religion, Self, Reason, Family, Property & Honor. That is why Sharia penalizes major transgressions against any these universals. For instance, apostasy is a transgression against religion, murder is a transgression against Self, intoxication is a transgression against Reason, adultery is a transgression against Family, theft is a transgression against Property, defamation is a transgression against honor... etc.
2. Rape in Islamic Law (aka Fiqh) is a complex crime, for it is defined as a *coercive and dispossessive act of fornication (/adultery)*, thus a transgression against Self, Family & Property; hence penalized accordingly:
i. For coercion, such as under the threat of an offensive weapon, the penalty can go up to severing one arm and one leg.
ii. For fornication, the penalty is a hundred lashes (or stoning if the rapist is an adulterer, i.e. already married).
iii. For dispossession, such as taking the virginity of the victim, the penalty is a compensation of at least 50 dinars ($12k) or a settlement.
3. Of course, in practice it is hard to implement the maximum penalty (Hadd) for lack of conclusive evidence. For instance, establishing conclusively the act of fornication requires 4 reliable witnesses, quite the implausible thing to achieve. Thus the judge must ascertain the evidence as to whether the accused is guilty in order to issue the appropriate sentence (Taazir).
4. This applies equally to man or woman. It is important to note that once the act of fornication is established, proving coercion automatically absolves the victim from any punishment.
5. The above rules relate to Islamic Law. However, since 1909 no Muslim nation has actually implemented them. Penal codes across Muslim nations today have a mix bag of Islamic, customary & civil (sometimes common) laws. For instance, traditionally, in Islamic Law prison sentences can not exceed one year. This rule is not applied in any nation today.
Are these witnesses easy to come by? If a woman gets raped in the streets, there will be so many witnesses available that can testify against the rapist.
- A scream while in act is sufficient to establish the woman's (or man's) innocence, if not then the apparent aftermath (if she run out for instance), if not then the physical or psychological effects thereafter, if not then the circumstances (it's easier to establish rape if he is in her bed than if she is in his bed), if not then character judgement.
