Somalia:Sharia Amputations:Postponed by Heat Delay

This is an update on the "Sharia in Somalia:Amputations Ordered" story. Sometimes we see rain delays during baseball games. But apparently when it comes to sharia enforced amputations there are heat delays.

Somali court postpones amputations, citing weather
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An Islamic court in Somalia that sentenced four men to have a hand and a leg cut off postponed the punishment Tuesday, saying the sweltering weather could cause them to bleed to death.

The court sentenced the men Monday in the capital, Mogadishu, after accusing them of stealing mobile phones and guns. The court is run by al-Shabab, a powerful insurgent group that is trying to topple the U.N.-backed government and install a strict form of Islam.

"The sentence will be carried out later," an al-Shabab official said, requesting anonymity because he was not allowed to speak publicly. "It was postponed because of the hot weather and fears that the victims will bleed to death."

No date was set for the punishments to be carried out.

Amnesty International has appealed to al-Shabab not to carry out the "cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments."

The U.S. considers al-Shabab a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida, which al-Shabab denies. The group, which controls much of Somalia, is boosted by hundreds of foreign fighters.

Somalis traditionally observe Sufi Islam, a relatively moderate form of worship. But in recent years, insurgents have begun to follow austere Wahabi Islam — rooted in Saudi Arabia and practiced by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

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