THE STONING OF SORAYA M.

THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is a powerful, passionate dramatization of a true story about Soraya, a Muslim woman whose husband, Ghorban-Ali, wants to dispose of her. This compelling and emotional movie represents what occurs all too often in some Islamic countries.

In the beginning, Fereidoune Sahebjam, a French journalist of Iranian descent, becomes stranded when his car breaks down in a small Iranian village, just after the Khomeini Islamic revolution. One woman, Zahra, tells the reporter the frightening story of her niece Soraya. Her niece’s husband was doing well financially, but refuses to give any money to Soraya, and wants to get rid of Soraya so that he can marry another woman. The couple has four children, two girls and two boys.

To try to get rid of her, the husband blackmails the local mullah, who the husband knows used to be a criminal before the Islamic regime. Soraya does not want a divorce. The mullah says that she can be his temporary wife, which the Koran says is legitimate, but that would mean that Soraya would be nothing more than a prostitute. Soraya rejects the mullah.

When the wife of the town mechanic dies, Soraya goes to his home to prepare her body for burial. Soraya’s husband, the mullah and the mayor convince the very simple-minded mechanic to hire Soraya to clean his house and fix his food. This bothers Soraya’s aunt Zahra, who suspects a conspiracy.

Soraya’s husband and the mullah start the gossip mill. Then, they so threaten the mechanic with the potential loss of his mentally deficient son that he cooperates with them by telling lies about Soraya and their relationship. Soraya is charged with adultery.

After this charge is leveled, all the men in the town stone her until she dies a slow agonizing death. Soraya’s father is given the first stone to throw, then her husband, then her sons, and finally the rest of the men in the town. According to the information at the end of the movie, this is still a widely practiced custom in Middle Eastern Islamic cultures.

After hearing about the stoning from Zahra, the reporter fears for his life. The question becomes, will he be able out of town before being killed by the fanatics?

This movie is a powerful, dramatic insight into the evils of radical Islam. The direction makes you feel like you are there as an eyewitness. Like THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST movie, most of the movie is in a foreign language. The acting is more than convincing. The stoning is one of the most painfully powerful scenes since the scourging of Jesus in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.

While there have been many articles, news reports and documentaries about the treatment of women in Islamic countries, this is the most powerful dramatic movie that has ever been produced. There is hope, however, because the reporter escaped, and the truth was revealed.

The real hope, however, lies in Jesus Christ, who offers love, salvation and compassion and died and was resurrected for every man and woman, in stark contrast to the cruel, male chauvinistic ways of Mohammed who founded Islam. Jesus died so that each person would be forgiven and set free from the judgment of sin. When we accept Christ, we become His and part of His Kingdom. In Christ, we are all equal because there is no male or female, slave or free. At the end of the movie, one can only hope that the good news of Jesus Christ penetrates the darkness of Islam.

This is not a movie for children, but it is a movie that every adult with faith and values should see in order to understand the evils of radical Islam, and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ.