'Moderate' Muslim Indonesia: Stoning to Death for Adultery

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Muslims in Indonesia who commit adultery could be stoned to death starting next month.




It's just a part of a new law passed by Indonesia's Banda Aceh province which also makes homosexuality a crime.




In addition, it calls for those caught having pre-marital sex to be beaten 100 times with a cane.

The region has been taking steps to implement harsh Islamic Shari'a law over the last few years.

Shari'a or Islamic law is part of the special autonomy agreement that ended the long separatist insurgency in Aceh.

While Indonesia is a Muslim country, Aceh is the only Indonesian province allowed to apply Shari'a.

Among the Shari'a regulations enforced by the Shari'a police are bans against the consumption and sale of alcoholic beverages, gambling, and illicit relations between men and women. Even married couples can be prosecuted for holding hands in public.

Public flogging is the punishment given to anyone found guilty.

While human rights groups say such punishment is unjust, Muslim Ibrahim, chairman of the Shari'a regulatory board and Ulemas Assembly says flogging is more humane than imprisonment.

"When a person is imprisoned, he is separated from his family for a long time and this can cause more problems," he said.

"With public flogging, he or she can get nine to 20 whips but it is not really the pain but the shame that the offender needs to face. The shame will be so hard to bear that this will stop them from doing the offense again," Ibrahim explained.

Because of the shame and pain, many women pass out during the ordeal.

Since last year, the Shari'a board has handled 60 cases, mostly on sexual relations outside marriage.

Just one day after CBN News interviewed the authority on Shari'a law, an article appeared on the front page of a local newspaper warning the Acehnese against saying anything negative about Shari'a law and its implementation.

But despite these warnings, the people here cannot help but express their true sentiments.

Ibu Merianti is a Muslim who supports Shari'a law, but she is concerned about how it is enforced.

"I think the implementation is unfair because the Shari'a police only target the poor," Merianti said. "The rich and those in authority get away with the crime. We should also realize that Shari'a is more than just a rule. I follow Shari'a from my heart, and not because I am afraid of the Shari'a police."

Nita is a teacher. She believes Islamic law may be a hindrance to the progress of Aceh.

"Particularly in the education of the children because they memorize what is in the Qur'an and memorize prayers and that's enough for them," she said. "It seems they don't need to learn about current events and general knowledge, and that's a hindrance for the new generation to help in the progress of Aceh."

During an exclusive interview with CBN News, the newly-elected governor of Aceh, Irwandi Yusuf, criticized the present implementation of Shari'a law and some of its provisions.

Governor Yusuf said, "I don't like the punishment. I do not agree with what's being implemented right now. Education is a way to achieve what we want and how the morality is to be practiced here."

Yusuf earned a master's degree in veterinary medicine at Oregon State University in 1993. He says his experience in the United States will affect the way he governs in Aceh.

"Good governance and clean government that is what I can copy from America," he said, "how they serve their citizens and how they protect their citizens."

While the new governor would like to see the Acehnese people protected from extreme punishment, the Shari'a police patrols are not expected to end any time soon.

In fact, Islamic leaders here are now pushing to implement a fourth Shari'a regulation: the amputation of hands of those caught stealing.

CBN News Sunday, September 20, 2009

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Human
• rights
• islam
• islamic
• muslim
• sharia
• law
• flogging
• stoning
• stoned
• shariah
• stone
• capital
• punishment
• death
• penalty
• Indonesia

[HalalKafir]

@nestee145 That's total bullshit. Those you claim are misinterpreting the Qur'an are actually the ones that follow it to the letter of the book. Islam is a fascist ideology and the Qur'an is a disgusting hate manual - and we're seeing the results on a daily basis where that evil death cult has a stranglehold on a country and its people.

[stacker911]

Some people wants to live in the stoneage. 1,5billion of them wants it.

[Thelastcrusader89]

Islam is an evil cult.We need to remove Islam from the face of the earth

[GeneralMe100]

there are good muslims out there but they have to understand the cult they are following attracts some pretty nasty people, i would like to see it banned, religion has no place in law, you cant base law around imaginary friends.

[ViciousBeats16]

True Sharia should be founded on TAQWA (God-Conciousness) not fear of police lol. Society wont understand. And Its okay to hold hands and be romatic with your wife, just dont over-do it, lol so ppl will be like "GET A ROOM" The Prophet himself held hands with his wife. Again, us muslims gotta stop being so extreme. Islam is the middle straight simple path. and Getting Lashed in public basically you would have to have SEX in public lol. How RARE is that. You truly deserve to be whipped then.

[nikachanO]

i think this would be good in indonesia :)

cos so many muslims have lost their way there, well they hide from their parents , i know a person there ,. astagfirullah im indonesian too ;D

[HalalKafir]

@an50331 That's actually not true at all. Poverty and lack of education can be a factor but look at the 9/11 hijackers - those guys were very much educated and came from upper class backgrounds. Look at bin-Laden whose family is filthy rich. Or how do you explain that 40% of Muslim university students in Britain want Shari'a Law implemented and 1/3 think that killing in the name of Islam is perfectly OK (as Wikileaks uncovered). These people grew up in the West, not some tent in a desert.

[an50331]

@HalalKafir It's just a result of being poor. When you are poor, you are miserable and uneducated, which leads you to religion. you tend to be more extreme the more poor and dumb you are. If you followed the Bible in a certain light, it could be very violent. all these ancient texts have to be loosely interpreted, or else youll have stoning and witch burning

[julianbautista87]

those are the moderated. You don't want to meet the extremist.

[BurnTheBurka]

@RoniCMaster Your reply has been sheer perfection to read. One point you can use for next time. Native American Reservations in the US are sovereign nations. They have the freedom to make their own laws and only follow US law on issues that impact the security of the US as a whole. Do Islamic Nations allow Christians to have sovereign nations in their countries? We know that can't happen because it would violate Sharia and they couldn't collect jizya.