Saddam's "eye-for-an-eye" death familiar to Arabs

Saddam Hussein's death by hanging conforms to the
adage "an eye for an eye" but his execution on a major Islamic holiday
also seems vindictive to many Muslims.

Capital
punishment is practiced throughout the Arab and Islamic world, ranging
from public beheading by the sword in Saudi Arabia to hanging and
firing squad in most countries.

Saddam went to
the gallows after being found guilty of killing and other crimes
against the Shi'ite people of Dujail after Shi'ite militants tried to
assassinate him there in 1982.

In a recent court
appearance he said he preferred to die a hero's death, shot by firing
squad rather than face the humiliation of hanging like a common
criminal.

The logic of killing him to match the
suffering he inflicted was clear to Muslims performing the haj
pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, who sympathized with him for his anti-U.S.
stances