Brunei to Bring in Tough New Sharia Law

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah

THE GUARDIAN: Oil-rich sultanate plans a new Islamic criminal code with punishments including stoning, flogging and amputation

Brunei plans to implement a tough new sharia criminal code next year that could see citizens stoned for adultery or having a limb amputated for theft.

Those convicted of drinking alcohol or committing other violations – such as abortion – could be flogged.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – who is thought to be worth about $20bn (£12.3bn) and exercises tight control over the Muslim-majority country – described the legislation as "part of the great history of our nation" and a form of "special guidance" from God.

"It is because of our need that Allah the Almighty, in all his generosity, has created laws for us, so that we can utilise them to obtain justice," the 67-year-old was quoted as saying in local media.

The oil-rich sultanate already forbids the sale of alcohol and bans the evangelism of religions other than Islam. It is known for practising a more conservative form of Islam than its majority-Muslim neighbour Malaysia.

While sharia law already exists within the small south-east Asian nation – which is home to roughly 406,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim – the Islamic court has, to date, primarily handled family-related affairs like marriage and inheritance.

The new penal code will be enforced in phases, local media reported, and will apply only to Muslims.

However, visitors to the Brunei could be flogged under existing secular laws for crimes including immigration offences. Caning is also used as punishment in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. » | Kate Hodal | Tuesday, October 22, 2013

THE BRUNEI TIMES: Brunei to enforce Syariah law next year » | Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Related »

New Dark Age Alert! Brunei a Throwback to an Age of Absolute Monarchy

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: For the 400,000 inhabitants of Brunei, life is a throwback to the age when monarchs wielded absolute power and their word went unquestioned.

With a swing of his powerful arm, a prison guard landed a wicked-looking cane on the back of a dummy dressed in the white uniform of convicts in Brunei.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as you think,” he said.

Earlier this month, the International Convention Centre in Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, was hosting a regional summit with the likes of John Kerry, the US secretary of state, and President Xi Jinping of China.

Last week, however, it was the venue for a three-day event designed to showcase the Sultan of Brunei’s decision to adopt Sharia for his country's Muslim population. Robes worn by judges were put on display and Islamic scholars gave speeches.

But the caning demonstration brought home the harsh reality of a penal code which punishes adultery with death by stoning, theft with amputation by sword - and drunkeness with 40 lashes from a rattan cane.

From next April, the Muslims who are 70 per cent of Brunei’s 400,000-strong population will risk all these punishments. And despite the guard’s assertion, just three or four strokes of his cane will break the skin and leave most victims scarred for life.

The impending adoption of Sharia has led to calls for Britain, Brunei’s closest ally, to re-assess its relationship with a former Protectorate which won independence as recently as 1984.

David Cameron was already facing criticism for agreeing to attend next month’s Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, where human rights abuses are common. The Prime Minister is now being pressed to condemn Brunei’s embrace of laws widely regarded as barbaric and draconian. » | David Eimer, Bandar Seri Begawan | Sunday, October 27, 2013

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Brunei introduces death by stoning under new Islamic laws: Brunei is to introduce a raft of tough sharia punishments including amputation and death by stoning for adulterers » | David Eimer, in Bangkok and Colin Freeman | Tuesday, October 22, 2013