Brunei Imposes Sharia: Stoning & Chopping Hands Soon

(News article and photos from the Daily Mail UK on March 6, 2014.)

Brunei's Sultan Bolkiah.

The playboy-ruler with a large well-stocked harem and one of the richest men on the planet the Sultan of Brunei hits back at foreign criticism of looming implementation of Sharia law that will introduce amputations and stonings as punishments.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said all races should unite under Sharia law. He said introduction is 'a great achievement and not a backward step'. Harsh penalties include stoning for adultery and amputation for theft. Punishments can be applied to non-Muslim residents of Brunei.

The sultan of Brunei has rejected foreign criticism of the countty’s impending introduction of a form of strict Islamic Sharia law, saying it is not a backwards step. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said all races should unite under Sharia law and that the new penal code was a 'great achievement' for the small Southeast Asian nation.

Starting in April, Brunei will begin implementing a version of Sharia that allows for penalties such as amputation for theft and stoning for adultery.

Brunei's Sharia Law's Strict procedure for stoning to death a condemned female (woman or girl).

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said all races should unite under Sharia law, and that it is a great achievement for Brunei to implement it. Under limited circumstances, punishments can be applied to non-Muslim residents of the oil-rich country, according to those who have seen the law.

Public criticism of the government is extremely rare in the country, but some citizens have turned to the Internet to express alarm at the law. Around one-third of Brunei's 440,000 people are non-Muslims, mostly Christian or Buddhist Chinese.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah told legislators Thursday that all races should unite and support the laws, which he said were a 'great achievement for the country, and not a backward or old-fashioned step.'

The Sultan is implementing a version of Sharia that allows for penalties such as amputation for theft and stoning for adultery. The plans have alarmed international human rights groups, but Bolkiah said 'people outside of Brunei should respect us in the same way that we respect them.'

Brunei is a conservative country where alcohol is banned and Muslim courts already govern family affairs. Officials have said that punishments under the new laws will not be carried out until around 2017. Muslims in next door Malaysia are subject to a limited form of Islamic law that does not include amputation or capital punishment, as does Aceh province on the western tip of Indonesia.

(Blogger's note: There is a general impression that the interpretation and practice of Islam in Southeast Asia is more liberal than in parts of the Middle East and South Asia. But mega-oil-rich Brunei is now breaking bad and imposing the most brutal version of that barbaric, stone-aged Sharia law and will be stoning the raped-women and girls and chopping the hands and feet of alleged-thieves.)

Brunei Told New Penal Code Violates Human Rights

Brunei’s push to introduce Sharia law and deliver the extremely wealthy Muslim sultanate into legal territory more akin with Taliban thinking has been ruled incompatible with international human rights law by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

The ICJ also described the laws and severe punishments, which will come into force in April, as a backward step, particularly for women who have “more risk of receiving this penalty because they are most likely to be found guilty of adultery or having engaged in extra-marital sexual relations.”

Under the Sharia penal code the tough revised laws criminalizes extra-marital affairs, consensual gay sex and also re-introduces the death penalty by stoning and amputations for thieves, ending a long-standing moratorium.

Brunei announced the re-introduction of the laws in October, shortly after the tiny island state ended its 12-month term as chairman of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Critics argue the decision was timed to limit international criticism of the archaic medieval laws.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has said the Sharia Penal Code would only apply to Muslims and should be regarded as a form of “special guidance” from God. About two-thirds of Brunei’s 420,000-strong population is Muslim.

Muslims do not give a damn on Human Rights.
(Gang-raped and murdered this Syrian Christian
woman could be better of being stoned.)

Brunei became the first state in East Asia to impose Sharia law, beating even Malaysia which holds dear to its dubious claims of being secular. This will challenge ASEAN and its plans to launch an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), partially modeled on the European Union, by the end of next year.

In a letter to the Brunei government, the ICJ said the new legislation was not compatible with international human rights law. ICJ’s international adviser Emerlynne Gil told Australian radio the laws were definitely a setback for Brunei and the region, particularly for a country that was on the road to achieving international human rights standards.

“We were very surprised that an ASEAN member is doing this, especially at this point in time, where the ASEAN is trying to demonstrate to the international community that it is able to develop human rights standards,” she said.

The ICJ also noted that many crimes under the code would have a high burden of proof and that Sharia court judges would have discretion over punishments.

Standing Islamic rules in Brunei have traditionally been more sternly enforced than in Malaysia and Indonesia and were imposed largely through the family courts. Its rules include a ban on alcohol and evangelism by other religions.