 |
| In addition to four legal wives the Sultan of Brunei has hundreds of beautiful sex slaves in his harem. |
Those laws allow for stoning and whipping to death LGBTQ people in the tiny oil-rich kingdom. Seen as part of the kingdom’s “reforms” initiative, it begs the question: When are the sultan and his family going to reform their own non-sharia compliant deviant behavior (not to mention their exorbitant quasi-unIslamic extreme spending)?
As the new sharia-compliant laws are set to take effect on April 3, 2019, here are some fast facts about the sultan of Brunei, who is reported to be worth a cool $20 billion, to keep his new penal code in perspective:
1. In 2011, Vanity Fair dubbed the sultan of Brunei and his brother, Prince Jefri, “constant companions in hedonism.”
2. The extravagant parties of Brunei are an open secret. Vegas showgirls and high-end escorts are often flown in for “entertainment.”
3. In a lawsuit brought by Prince Jefri in a U.S. court , a scandal erupted when the prince attempted to prevent the court from seeing pictures of erotic life-sized statues of himself that show him “in the act.”
4. While a good part of the Muslim world suffers from extreme poverty, the sultan of Brunei spent $27million on his 50th birthday.
5. Lavish parties of extreme opulence with no expense spared seem to be the norm in the sultan’s family. While the Quran doesn’t expressly forbid spending, it does encourage spending in the way of God and discourages waste. The life of the Prophet Muhammad also warned against personal excess. Meanwhile, the Sultan of Brunei…
6. Entertains million dollar shopping sprees in London.
7. Has a palace worth $350 million, plus homes globally.
8. Is no shrinking violet when it comes to ostentatious displays of excess. “While playing polo with Britain’s Prince Charles, the sultan once had his polo shoes delivered – by helicopter – to the palace field.” His haircuts alone cost $21,000.
9. And of course, it is against the grain of Islam to create pop-up harems simply because you feel like it. As documented by Vanity Fair in 2011:
“The brothers routinely traveled with 100-member entourages and emptied entire inventories of stores such as Armani and Versace, buying 100 suits of the same color at a time. “When they partied, they indulged in just about everything forbidden in a Muslim country.
“Afforded four wives by Islamic law, they left their multiple spouses and scores of children in their palaces while they allegedly sent emissaries to comb the globe for the sexiest women they could find in order to create a harem the likes of which the world had never known.”
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Amnesty International on Wednesday slammed plans by Brunei to implement what the rights group called “vicious” Islamic criminal laws such as stoning to death for gay sex and amputation for theft.
Amnesty said in a statement that the new penalties, which also apply to children, are provided for in new sections under Brunei’s Sharia Penal Code and will come into effect April 3. The legal changes were announced in a discreet notice on the attorney general’s website, it said.
“To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei researcher at Amnesty International. She said some of the potential offenses “should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender.”
“Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments and revise its penal code in compliance with its human rights obligations,” Chhoa-Howard said. “The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice.”
Brunei’s sultan instituted the Sharia Penal Code in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the tiny, oil-rich monarchy, which has long been known for conservative policies such as banning the public sale of liquor. The first stage of the law included fines or jail for offenses such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on Friday.
Amnesty labeled the Penal Code as a “deeply flawed piece of legislation” with a range of provisions that violate human rights. There has been no vocal opposition to the law in Brunei, where Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah rules as head of state with full executive authority. Public criticism of his policies is extremely rare in Brunei.
The playboy Sultan, who has reigned since 1967, has previously said the Shariah Penal Code should be regarded as a form of “special guidance” from God and would be “part of the great history” of Brunei. Under secular laws, Brunei already prescribes caning as a penalty for crimes including immigration offenses, for which convicts can be flogged with a rattan cane.
