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

The Darkness of Islam Spreads Apace
RTB NEWS: The Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam through the Ministry of Religious Affairs Ministry continues to observe the undertakings of new converts so that they can understand and know more about the Islamic Religion. This was stated by the Minister of Religious Affairs, Yang Berhormat Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Doctor Haji Mohammad during his visit to the Temburong District, this morning.

According to the Minister of Religious Affairs, his ministry have several programmes and are divided into three stages with the aim to enhance their Islamic faith. Yang Berhormat said, as soon as they converted to Islam, his ministry has arranged a ten-day Islamic Introduction Course for the new converts. After that, they are given the Islamic Religion Basic Guidance Course for another 14-days and followed by the third stage called the Islamic Religion Advanced Course for Divisions One and two for two weeks. Ministry of Religious Affairs Ministry continues to observe the undertakings of new converts >>> | Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Sultan of Brunei's Low-key Third Marriage Ends with Quiet Divorce
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah with his wife Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim in 2006. Photo: The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: The Sultan of Brunei "can do no wrong in either his personal or any official capacity," according to the oil-rich country's constitution. But perhaps not all the time.

Brunei's palace announced yesterday that Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has divorced his wife, Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, after five years of marriage. State television and radio last night carried the announcement that the 63-year-old sultan had divorced Azrinaz, 30, a former Malaysian television news journalist, and that all of her royal titles had been revoked.

It marked the end of a marriage that began with a private wedding ceremony which contrasted starkly with previous lavish royal events paid for with the vast wealth accrued by the tiny nation. Michael Jackson had been flown in to perform for the sultan's 50th birthday, while a week of celebrations for the marriage of his eldest daughter included a concert by Stevie Wonder.

The sultan, the heir to an unbroken 600-year Muslim dynasty, is one of the world's richest royals with a private fortune estimated to total at least $20bn (£13.5bn).

His wife had given birth to the sultan's 11th child, a baby boy, less than a year after their wedding and a daughter in 2008 but rumours of a marriage break-up had been circulating for some time in Brunei. >>> Paul Peachey | Thursday, June 17, 2010

Le sultan de Brunei divorce de sa troisième femme !

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Philippines: Muslim Unrest May Spread to Neighbours
ABS-CBN News Online: With peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels in tatters, analysts are warning violence will escalate and could spill over into neighboring countries.

President Arroyo this week scrapped the government panel handling the negotiations, a move analysts say ended any hopes of settling the four-decades-old Muslim insurgency before she leaves office in 2010.

They fear the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had been negotiating for a Muslim homeland on the revolt-hit southern Mindanao island, may now splinter into smaller and more radical groups.

The government has said any future peace talks will have to be more representative of the people of Mindanao rather than just the MILF, which will have to disarm if it is to enter any future negotiations.

"No respected revolutionary movement will even think of handing over their guns," said Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank.

He said the dissolution of the peace panel would lead the MILF rebel forces to resume their armed struggle on a larger scale, and warned the conflict could "spill over to neighboring countries like Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei." Muslim Unrest in RP May Spread to Neighbors: Analysts >>> Agence France-Presse | September 5, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>