Killing in God's House: Non-Allah Approved!

By Alison Royer

"A Kuwaiti father is hoping for a last minute miracle that will save his son from the death penalty."

So here's what happened: A Kuwaiti man, Faleh Al Dhufairi, went with his mother and sister on a pilgrimage (Hajj – don't get me started.  More on that later.), then he got into a scuffle with a Saudi man AND THEN HE PULLED OUT A KNIFE AND STABBED THE SAUDI! 

"The victim died later at the hospital and Faleh was arrested. His mother and sister, under the shock, returned home without performing the much-coveted pilgrimage."

I mean…if it was so "coveted" perhaps we should have all established a rule called, "Hey let's all try super hard not to stab and kill anybody on this trip."  Faleh's father defended his son by saying:

“My son tried his best to avoid the argument and pleaded with the man to stop the disagreement as Muslims are not allowed to get into any verbal dispute or quarrel during the pilgrimage."

Ok…now to me, it doesn't really seem like he "tried his best to avoid the argument" seeing as he STABBED AND KILLED A MAN!  Yeesh.

"The father said that the case would be reviewed by the Saudi Court of Appeals amid hopes that the verdict would be changed."

So is this what all the praying is about?  That seems weird doesn't it?  Your son goes on a pilgrimage in order to fulfill his religious duty, gets into an argument with a stranger, accidentally stabs and kills said stranger and now we're back to God?  This all strikes me as bizarre.  I'm not pretending to be super religious or anything but I'm pretty sure if you want to get in touch with your religion you don't have to go on long pilgrimages or spend all your free time praying.  You merely need to NOT STAB AND MURDER ANYONE!  Ugh…religion is confusing.