At first glance, one may think that it is the religion, Islam, that forbids the execution of virgins, but this is not so. Islam has no problem executing virgins no matter how young they are; after all if one can marry a 9 year old then certainly one should be able to execute a 9 year old.

The actual problem is that virgins are promised a place in Paradise; and this is precisely what repulses the Imams in Iran. To prevent these young criminals, some as young as 9 years old, from entering Paradise, they passed a law forbidding the execution of virgins and to make sure they went to Hell, these Islamic old farts also mandated that virgins be raped married on the night before their execution to prevent their arrival in Paradise.

As for the rape of female prisoners, Islam not only allows but encourages the rape of prisoners-of-war, slaves, enemies of the Islamic state as well as civil prisoners, male or female.¹

It should be noted that if a female prisoner somehow avoids execution and becomes pregnant, then the child, being born of a Muslim father, is a Muslim, regardless of the mother's religion. And so, another explanation of why Islam is the fastest growing religion.

Disclaimer: Yes, we also execute virgins in the United States although none yet as young as 9 years of age ², so in that regard we are marginally more civilized than Iran.

Executions by Country 2008

Notes

(1):

Israel National News, Ahmadinejad's Imam: Islam Allows Raping, Torturing Prisoners

A highly influential Shi'a religious leader, with whom Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regularly consults, apparently told followers last month that coercion by means of rape, torture and drugs is acceptable against all opponents of the Islamic regime.

In the wake of a series of publications worldwide regarding the rape and torture of dissident prisoners in Iran's jails, supporters of Ahmadinejad gathered with him in Jamkaran, a popular pilgrimage site for Shi'ite Muslims on the outskirts of Qom, on August 11, 2009. According to Iranian pro-democracy sources, the gathered crowd heard from Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi and Ahmadinejad himself regarding the issue.

...

"Can an interrogator rape the prisoner in order to obtain a confession?" was the follow-up question posed to the Islamic cleric.

Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The necessary precaution is for the interrogator to perform a ritual washing first and say prayers while raping the prisoner. If the prisoner is female, it is permissible to rape through the vagina or anus. It is better not to have a witness present. If it is a male prisoner, then it's acceptable for someone else to watch while the rape is committed."

This reply, and reports of the rape of teen male prisoners in Iranian jails, may have prompted the following question: "Is the rape of men and young boys considered sodomy?"

Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi: "No, because it is not consensual. Of course, if the prisoner is aroused and enjoys the rape, then caution must be taken not to repeat the rape."

A related issue, in the eyes of the questioners, was the rape of virgin female prisoners. In this instance, Mesbah-Yazdi went beyond the permissibility issue and described the Allah-sanctioned rewards accorded the rapist-in-the-name-of-Islam:

"If the judgment for the [female] prisoner is execution, then rape before execution brings the interrogator a spiritual reward equivalent to making the mandated Haj pilgrimage [to Mecca], but if there is no execution decreed, then the reward would be equivalent to making a pilgrimage to [the Shi'ite holy city of] Karbala."

(2):

The Progressive Puppy, In Iran, Pre-Teen Girls Are Raped Before They're Executed

There are currently 134 minors on death row in Tehran where a vast array of crimes "against religion" qualify for capital punishment. Girls as young as nine-year-old girls are held legally responsible for their actions while boys are not held accountable until they reach the age of thirteen. In Iran, the suffering of prepubescent females on death row isn't limited to the hangman's noose.