Use of the death penalty tends to be taken for granted in Arab countries. Saudi Arabia, of course, is one of the world's leading executioners, chopping off heads for all sorts of reasons other than murder. Just this week, a court in Madina upheld the death sentence against Ali Hussein Sibat, a Lebanese TV magician accused of "publicly practising black magic, thus spreading corruption on the earth".

In general, though, most Arab countries are much more sparing with their executions and several haven't executed anyone for a very long time. Mauritania, a backward country in many other respects, has had no executions since 1987. In Morocco, the most recent execution was in 1993; in Tunisia 1991; in Algeria 1993.

But formally abolishing the death penalty is a different matter: as in the United States, it runs into opposition from the more extreme religious elements. Morocco considered abolition in 2007-2008 but eventually dropped the idea, apparently fearful of the God squad's reaction.

Now it has cropped up again, this time in Algeria where executions have been suspended for the last 17 years even though the courts have continued handing out death sentences which are not carried out. According to Amnesty International, Algeria ranks fourth in the world in terms of the number of death sentences passed.

The current Algerian debate was sparked by an announcement from Farouk Ksentini, head of the National Advisory Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, that he intends to lobby for full abolition. 

This has brought a predictable response from religious elements, with the Movement for Society and Peace saying: "We must preserve the death penalty as a precept set forth by the Qur'an."

Meanwhile, Sheikh Bouamrane, head of the High Islamic Council, has said he "could never endorse the abolition of the death penalty", because doing so would "jeopardise several verses of the holy Qur'an", and Bouabdellah Ghlamalah, the minister for religious affairs and endowments, has also come out against abolition.

On the other side of the argument, Ali Yahia Abdennour, of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, says the religious justification for keeping the death penalty is weak. "In the Qur'an, there are only two verses that call for the 'law of retaliation', leaving room for other options before the execution of this sentence," he said.

At least one government official has also challenged the religious objections. Benchaa Dani, director of political affairs and international security at the foreign ministry said on the radio: "We won't defy the religion by abolishing the death penalty, if that will benefit society."