hority ruled that
the virgin girls sentenced to death could be married
off to Islamic Revolutionary Guards for a few hours.
After defloration by their temporary husbands, the
girls could then be executed "Islamically" without
pangs of religious conscientiousness.
(Irfani, 1983: 266 67)
To many in the West, this passage sums up their concept of Islamic justice. Although Westerners have heard, vaguely, of the terms "Shia" and "Sunni," they are not at all aware of how far Khomeini is from being any sort of religious authority among Sunni Muslims. Even less are they aware of the degree to which Khomeinism represents his own and his followers' interpretations, as opposed to even Shia orthodox practice or belief.
At the same time, Westerners are aware that "Islamic justice" has taken root far beyond Iran. In recent years "Islamic" punishments have been imposed with great fanfare in countries such as Pakistan and Sudan. In the latter,
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