Free Burned by Thomas Enger

this form of punishment.”
    “What had he done?” Nøkleby asks.
    “You mean what had she done?”
    Nøkleby bows her head, embarrassed at her ignorance.
    “She had an extramarital affair.”
    The rest of the team looks at Sandland. Fredrik Stang puts down his water glass.
    “I don’t follow, didn’t we just make an arrest?” he says. Stang has dark hair, cut short to the point of a crew cut, and a face which always oozes earnestness. He likes to wear tight-fitting clothes, so people can see he spent much of his youth in the gym.
    “Indeed we did, but he denies the murder and it’s far too early not to pursue other leads. Besides, we’re trying to establish a motive,” Nøkleby points out.
    “Hagerup had screwed around,” Stang protests. “The texts suggest she had. And Marhoni is a Muslim, isn’t he? To me, it sounds like a straightforward home run.”
    Sandland raises a bottle of Coca-Cola Zero to her lips and takes a swig.
    “Sure, I agree that it might look that way. But I still think we need to ignore the honor killing theory. It’s more obvious to take a closer look at sharia.”
    “Sharia?” Gjerstad frowns.
    “Yes. You do know what it is, don’t you?”
    She looks around the team. Most people nod, but not very convincingly. Emil Hagen shifts in his chair.
    “Extreme rules telling you how to live or something?”
    Sandland smiles briefly.
    “That’s one way of putting it. Most people, who’ve heard about sharia, immediately think ‘mad mullahs and fundamentalists.’ But sharia is a complex concept. Those who call themselves learned, as far as sharia is concerned, have studied the legal principles of sharia for years. They study the Koran, the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslim history, how different legal schools have interpreted the law, and so on. In Muslim countries today, sharia primarily applies to aspects of family law such as divorce and inheritance.”
    “But what has this got to do with the murder of Henriette Hagerup?” Gjerstad asks impatiently.
    “I’m getting to that. There’s no such thing as one Islamic law, and only a few countries enforce a penal code based on Islamic law. The countries that do have something they call hudud punishments.”
    “Hu-what?” Hagen asks.
    “ Hudud punishments. It’s a penal code in the Koran. It prescribes specific punishments for certain crimes. Flogging, for example. Or chopping off someone’s hand.”
    Brogeland nods quietly to himself. He has instantly grasped the implications of Sandland’s information.
    “So what crimes warrant these punishments?” Nøkleby asks, folding her hands in front of her. Sandland looks at her while she explains.
    “Adultery, for example. You can get one hundred lashes for that. If you’re caught stealing, you might lose your hand. But the degree of enforcement of hudud punishments varies from country to country and, in some cases, people take the law into their own hands and justify their sick acts by referring to the law of Allah. The symbolic value of having such punishments is probably more important, because it proves that you respect the edicts of the Koran and Islamic law.”
    “Even if it’s only in theory?” Nøkleby continues.
    “Even if it’s only in theory,” Sandland says and nods. “However, some countries do actually enforce the laws. In November 2008, a thirteen-year-old Somali girl was stoned to death for trying to report a rape. She was taken to a soccer stadium, buried in a hole that was filled with earth up to her neck. Then fifty people started stoning her. A thousand people watched.”
    “Bloody hell,” Hagen gasps. Brogeland gazes dreamily at Sandland. You can lecture to me anytime, he thinks. With a cane and handcuffs within easy reach, for when I get the questions wrong.
    Stang shakes his head.
    “How come you know all this?”
    “I did Religious Studies for A-level.”
    “This is all very well,” Gjerstad interjects, “but we’re still no