Following the latest implementation of harsh Sharia legal codes on this tiny, oil-rich country with a population barely larger than 415,000 – about 30% of whom are non-Muslims, New York Post investigates further about the deep hypocrisy that is going on inside the central authority, or precisely, what exactly the sultan – and his close relatives – are actually doing ‘behind closed doors’.
Read the full article here.
Excerpt:
Under Sharia law, the following is considered criminal behavior, punishable by fines, jail, amputation of limbs, public flogging or death by stoning: absence from Friday prayer services; becoming pregnant out of wedlock; wearing indecent clothing, and for women, refusal to wear a hijab; employing a non-Muslim babysitter; the use of the word “Allah” by Christians and the discussion of faith by any non-Muslims; publicly eating or drinking during Ramadan; theft; homosexuality; and adultery.
The Sultan, now 67, has slowly been moving Brunei in this direction for decades, but this recent, drastic declaration has no clear motive. Brunei is so rich with oil it’s fully independent; nor is it a target of Islamic extremists.
So, why now?
“Who knows?” says Reza Aslan, religious scholar and author of “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.” “This is obviously not coming from a place of religious devotion, since the Sultan himself is in violation of every single rule of Sharia law you could possibly imagine.”
Hans K.C.'s Journal 