An Explainer on Sharia Law and Why It Shouldn't Be Used to Punish Gays

ADVOCATE: Draconian laws like those in Brunei are based on a misapplication of Sharia, which isn't really a legal code, Islamic scholars and activists say.

There has been, understandably, much outcry against the sultanate of Brunei’s imposition of what is often called Sharia law — a legal system based on Islam. But Sharia is not monolithic, according to many scholars of Islam; it can be and is interpreted in different ways from one country to another. And some point out that referring to Sharia as “law” is problematic — it’s a religious way of life.

Brunei, ruled dictatorially by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, began incorporating aspects of Sharia into its penal code in 2014, causing international outrage and a boycott of the luxury hotels owned by the sultan’s company, the Dorchester Collection. Some portions of the code going into effect in April provide for death by stoning for people who have sex with a person of the same gender and women who have sex outside of marriage, and for amputation of a hand or foot for thieves. » | Advocate.com Editors | Monday, April 1, 2019

ADVOCATE: Brunei's Antigay Laws Are Too Much Even for Ted Cruz » | Trudy Ring | Monday, April 1, 2019r

PINK NEWS: Bill Maher says Brunei boycott is ‘chickens**t tokenism’ » | Nick Duffy | Monday, April 1, 2019

Brunei to Punish Homosexuals with Death by Stoning

PERSPECTIVES | The sultan of Brunei has declared homosexuality is now punishable by stoning to death. The sultan's move has LGBT groups and human rights organizations worried, as the sultanate in southeast Asia takes a step in a more conservative direction. How is the international community perceiving this? Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen analyzes.

Gay Sex Is About To Become Punishable With Death By Stoning In Brunei | TIME

UN Joins Clooney in Decrying 'Inhuman' Brunei Anti-gay Law

THE GUARDIAN: Penal code that imposes death by stoning for gay sex is serious setback for rights, says commissioner

The United Nations has condemned “cruel and inhuman” laws set to take effect in Brunei this week that impose death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, and amputations for theft.

“I appeal to the government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code, which would mark a serious setback for human rights protections for the people of Brunei if implemented,” the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement.

Brunei, an absolute monarchy ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has said it will implement the code starting on Wednesday.

Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but their implementation has been delayed in the face of opposition by rights groups, and as officials worked out the practical details.

The law stipulates the death penalty for a number of offences, including rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insulting or defaming the prophet Muhammad.

It also introduces public flogging as punishment for abortion as well as amputation for theft, and criminalises exposing Muslim children to the beliefs and practices of any religion besides Islam. » | Agence France-Presse in Geneva | Monday, April 1, 2019

Elton John Joins call for Boycott of Brunei-owned Hotels

THE GUARDIAN: Singer follows George Clooney in protest at sultanate’s death penalty for gay sex and adultery

Elton John has joined George Clooney in calling for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate’s new death penalty laws for gay sex and adultery.

“I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalised, or worse – by boycotting the sultan’s hotels,” the singer wrote on his Twitter page late on Saturday.

The 72-year-old, a veteran gay rights campaigner, said his “heart went out” to staff at the hotels, but that “we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable”.

The nine hotels mentioned by Clooney, in the US, Britain, France and Italy, include London’s exclusive Dorchester and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. » | Agence France-Presse | Sunday, March 31, 2019

George Clooney Calls for Hotels Boycott over Brunei's LGBT Laws

THE GUARDIAN: Actor targets nine sites owned by kingdom after it announced death penalty for gay sex

George Clooney has called for a boycott of nine luxury hotels, including the Dorchester on Park Lane in London, because of their links to Brunei, which plans to impose death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex and adultery from next week.

“Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone,” the film star and activist wrote in an opinion piece for Deadline.

In a novel form of political activism aimed at the global elite, he called for the public to join him in immediately boycotting the hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection luxury chain: three in the UK, two in the US, two in France and two in Italy. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, March 29, 2019

George Clooney: Boycott Sultan Of Brunei’s Hotels Over Cruel Anti-Gay Laws

DEADLINE: George Clooney has a long relationship with Deadline, often on matters beyond film and television. In a guest column, he calls for the immediate boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and six others to protest the imminent legalization of laws that make it open season on the LGBTQ community in Brunei.

The date April 3rd has held a unique place in our history over the years. Theologians and astronomers will tell you that Christ was crucified on that date. On April 3rd Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, arguably the greatest postwar intervention in the history of man. The first portable cellphone call was made on April 3rd. Marlon Brando was born on that day.

But this April 3rd will hold its own place in history. On this particular April 3rd the nation of Brunei will begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay. Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone. » | George Clooney | Thursday, March 28, 2019

Brunei Brings In Death by Stoning as Punishment for Gay Sex

THE GUARDIAN: From 3 April, people in the tiny south-east Asian kingdom will be subject to a draconian new penal code based on sharia law

Brunei is to begin imposing death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex and adultery from next week, as part of the country’s highly criticised implementation of sharia law.

From 3 April, individuals in the tiny southeast Asian kingdom will be subject to a draconian new penal code, which also includes the amputation of a hand and a foot for the crime of theft. The capital punishments are to be “witnessed by a group of Muslims.”

Brunei, which has adopted a more conservative form of Islam in recent years, first announced back in 2014 its intention to introduce sharia law, the Islamic legal system which imposes strict corporal punishments. It was a directive of the Sultan of Brunei, who is one of the world’s richest leaders with a personal wealth of about $20bn and has held the throne since 1967. » | Hannah Ellis-Petersen, South-east Asia correspondent | Thursday, March 28, 2019

ADVOCATE: Re-Boycott the Beverly Hills Hotel and Its Gay-Stoning Bruneian Owner »

THESE ARE THE HOTELS TO AVOID: »

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UK: Brunei: 'Vicious' new laws to allow stoning of same-sex couples and amputation for robbery »

We Should Hail the Celebrity Boycott of the Dorchester over the Sultan and Sharia Law

THE OBSERVER: It may be a 'fashion thing' but the stance taken against the sharia-loving sultan reflects a new pro-activism

In his almost 50 years as a successful absolute ruler, the Sultan of Brunei has naturally encountered little opposition. It will have helped that criticism of the Brunei royal family, an outfit close to the heart of Prince Charles, is prohibited. Public gatherings of 10 or more people require a government permit. As for elections, there have not been any since 1962, when the British helped crush a popular uprising.

Accordingly, when the sultan announced the imposition of full sharia law, including stoning to death for adultery and homosexuality, and amputation for thieves, there was every reason to suppose this innovation, described by Amnesty as a return to the dark ages, would go swimmingly within the dictatorship and cause little trouble abroad.

His career in oppression has never, after all, impaired the Sultan's warm relations with the UK, which for some reason rents him a battalion of Gurkhas, or his business as a hotelier, proprietor of the Dorchester Collection. Unlike the Obamas, for instance, the Sultan was an honoured guest at the wedding of William and Kate; just last month Baroness Warsi, Britain's "human rights minister", allowed herself to be entertained by this supporter of laws which value her testimony at one half of a man's.

On the other hand, the Sultan has not previously annoyed Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Fry, Richard Branson, much of the fashion industry and another force he is unlikely to encounter in his kingdom, the unionised LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) activists, whose efforts brought his planned barbarism to celebrity attention. Now, days after the first phase of sharia law came into effect, the Sultan is, in fashion terminology, a thing. Boycotts are having a moment.

The Sultan's name is rubbished on Twitter, petitions are circulating, disrespectful placards and demonstrations assault his hotels in cities far beyond the reach of Brunei's sedition laws. In Beverly Hills, the council demands that the sultan sell up the Beverly Hills hotel or denounce his own legislation. Fry, who cancelled his own stay at the hotel group's Coworth Park, Ascot's "exclusive pampering destination", tweets followers to: "Take action against the Sultan of Brunei and his new anti-gay law by putting sanctions in place," while Yves St Laurent is one of several big names pitting fashion against sharia, with a pledge that, until the law is repealed in Brunei, none of its employees will stay in a Dorchester Collection property. Read on and comment » | Catherine Bennett | Saturday, May 10, 2014

Related »

Hollywood Turns on Sultan of Brunei

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Stars boycott Polo Lounge in protest at Sultan of Brunei's plans to introduce Sharia law at home - but waiters say it's only them who will suffer

Amid the opulent surroundings of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, for decades the scene of Hollywood power lunches and celebrity tete-a-tetes [sic], a pall has descended.

Secluded booths once occupied by A-listers who stepped in from Sunset Boulevard lie empty as waiters stand idly by under the green-striped ceiling, listening to a pianist play Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

The lounge, once frequented by stars from Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, has become an unfortunate casualty of a movie industry boycott aimed at the Sultan of Brunei, the hotel's ultimate owner.

Last week Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah confirmed he was pushing ahead with a plan to introduce Sharia law for the 70 per cent of his 400,000 subjects who are Muslims, and the first phase came into effect on Thursday.

Unsurprisingly, the prospect of punishments such as death by stoning for adultery and same-sex relationships, amputations by sword for theft, and 40 lashes from a rattan cane for drunkenness, has not gone down well in Hollywood and the Sultan has been unofficially declared persona non grata. Read on and comment » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Saturday, May 10, 2014

My comment:

I wonder what Prince Charles has to say about the introduction of full sharia'h law in the Sultanate of Brunei? After all, the Sultan is one of Prince Charles' big chums. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Related »

Hollywood-Protest gegen Scharia in Brunei: "In welchem Jahr leben wir?"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Brunei hat das Scharia-Strafrecht eingeführt, in Hollywood formiert sich der Protest. Dem Sultanat gehört auch das glamouröse Beverly Hills Hotel, wo die Stars der Szene am Pool entspannen. Jetzt wird zum Boykott aufgerufen.

Los Angeles – Das Beverly Hills Hotel ist vor allem für seine glamourösen Geschichten bekannt, es gehört mit den Legenden seiner mehr als hundertjährigen Historie zum Inventar Hollywoods. Hier stiegen Elizabeth Taylor und Richard Burton ab; hier ignorierte Marlene Dietrich die Vorschrift, dass Frauen im Restaurant keine Hosen tragen dürfen; hier betrachtete Faye Dunaway nach der Oscar-Nacht ihre Goldstatue im Bademantel am Swimmingpool.

Nun müssen die Hotel-Manager jedoch mit einer äußerst unangenehmen Geschichte umgehen. Am Montag versammelten sich Dutzende Demonstranten, um gegen den Besitzer des Hotels und dessen Politik zu protestieren.

Seit Jahren gehört das Beverly Hills Hotel einer staatlichen Investmentgesellschaft aus Brunei. In dem Sultanat auf der Insel Borneo wurde in der vergangenen Woche das Scharia-Strafrecht eingeführt, was Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah als "großartigen Fortschritt" pries. Auf Ehebruch und homosexuelle Handlungen können demnach in Brunei künftig der Tod durch Steinigung stehen.

Zum Protest vor dem Hotel hatten unter anderem Feministinnen und Homosexuellenverbände aufgerufen. Unter den Teilnehmern war auch der berühmte Moderator Jay Leno. "In welchem Jahr leben wir? 1814? Kommt schon, Leute. Es ist 2014", sagte Leno laut "Variety.com". "Das Böse blüht, wenn gute Leute nichts tun." » | hut/AP/dpa | Dienstag, 06. Mai 2014


VARIETY: Jay Leno Among Sultan of Brunei Protesters at Beverly Hills Hotel: As it is embattled with a growing list of prominent organizations dropping out of events, the Beverly Hills Hotel on Monday faced the public spectacle of a protest across the street as entertainment figures and political leaders rallied against a harsh Islamic code imposed by the sultan of Brunei, who owns the fabled venue as well as other prominent tony hotels. » | Ted Johnson | Senior Editor | Monday, May 05, 2014

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Brunei law on gays, women sparks Beverly Hills Hotel boycott: The tiny, oil-rich country of Brunei has been a quiet steward of the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, undertaking multimillion-dollar renovations of the landmarks. ¶ But in recent days both hotels have come under siege from Hollywood feminists and gay rights advocates because of new laws in the Southeast Asian sultanate. ¶ Brunei last week imposed new criminal codes, based on Islamic law, with harsh penalties for homosexuality and adultery, including death by stoning. » | Martha Groves, Nabih Bulos, Matt Stevens | Monday, May 05, 2014

Brunei: Steinigung und Amputation werden Teil des Strafrechts

DIE PRESSE: Das südostasiatische Sultanat führt das strenge Strafrecht der islamischen Scharia ein. Der OHCHR äußert scharfe Kritik.

Im südostasiatischen Sultanat Brunei wird von Donnerstag an das strenge Strafrecht der islamischen Scharia eingeführt. Die neuen Rechts-vorschriften würden schrittweise eingeführt, erklärte Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah am Mittwoch. Eigentlich sollte das Scharia-Strafrecht in dem mehrheitlich muslimischen Königreich bereits vor einer Woche starten.

Der Termin wurde jedoch zunächst auf unbestimmte Zeit verschoben. Bolkiah, dessen Familie das rund 400.000 Einwohner zählende Königreich seit sechs Jahrhunderten streng autoritär führt, hatte die Einführung der Scharia im Oktober angekündigt. » | APA/AFP | Mittwoch, 30. April 2014

Concern as Brunei Brings In System of Islamic Law with Punishments That Include the Dismemberment of Limbs and Stoning to Death

The Sultan of Brunei says he wants to set up a
'firewall' against globalisation

THE INDEPENDENT: The country’s ruler says sharia was created as guidance from Allah

The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world’s wealthiest rulers and a close ally of Britain, will this week oversee his country’s transition to a system of Islamic law with punishments that include flogging, the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death.

The 67-year-old absolute monarch declared last year that he wanted to introduce a full sharia system in his oil-rich nation and warned critics who took to social media sites to complain that they could be prosecuted using the new laws.

The decision to introduce sharia and reintroduce the death penalty has been condemned by NGOs and legal rights campaigners, who say the new rules will breach international laws. It has also triggered alarm among some of Brunei’s non-Muslim communities, who will also be subject to some of the rulings. » | Andrew Buncombe | Saturday, March 29, 2014

New Dark Age Alert! Sultan of Brunei Hits Back at Foreign Criticism of Looming Implementation of Sharia Law That Will Introduce Amputations and Stonings as Punishments

MAIL ONLINE: 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 fro [sic] theft / Punishments can be applied to non-Muslim residents of Brunei

The sultan of Brunei has rejected foreign criticism of the countries 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.

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.' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, March 06, 2014