On my desk: The Stoning of Soraya M

After a couple of weeks of waiting, I finally received the book The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story in the mail today. I’ve written extensively about the film of the same name, and interviewed the producer, director, and one of its actors in attempting to get Hot Air readers into the theaters. While you’re waiting for the film to be shown in your area, be sure to read the book as well. The book authored by Freidoune Sahebjam was first published in 1990, but remains powerful and timely to this day.

From Publishers Weekly in 1993, courtesy of Amazon:

This resonant book portrays the ugliness of fundamentalist Islamic mob justice in Khomeini-era Iran. Sahebjam, an Iranian journalist based in France who has written critically of the regime, returned to his homeland under cover in 1986. While visiting a small town he calls Kupayeh, he learned how an innocent 35-year-old woman had been stoned to death for supposed infidelity. His thorough reporting, based on a further visit to the village, reconstructs Soraya’s life and killing with much dialogue and interior monologue. Soraya gave birth to nine children in 14 years and her husband Ghorban-Ali also turned to prostitutes. He became involved in shady business deals and began to associate with Sheik Hassan, a criminal who was appointed Ayatollah Khomeini’s local representative. When Ghorban-Ali, having fallen in love with another woman, accused his wife of infidelity, villagers lied to aid him and Soraya was left with no support in the town. Her two eldest sons sat on the male tribunal that declared her guilty, and she was stoned by a mob that included her father. This book refuses to let such horror go unremembered.

The story triumphs over Soraya’s murderers every time it’s told.

Blowback