Sovereign and independent
About Brunei…
A harsh new criminal law in Brunei — which includes death by stoning for sex between men or for adultery, and amputation of limbs for theft — went into effect on Wednesday, despite an international outcry from other countries, rights groups, celebrities and students.
In other words, Shariah, of the most inflexible kind.
The sultan, 72, is also the prime minister and holds several other titles. He first introduced the draconian version of Shariah in 2013, as part of a long-term project to impose a restrictive form of Islam on his country, which is majority Muslim.
It’s nice to have projects, but that’s not a good one.
International protest delayed its implementation at the time, but in deciding recently to put the law into effect, with some revisions, Brunei has stood defiant.
Brunei “is a sovereign Islamic and fully independent country and, like all other independent countries, enforces its own rule of laws,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Saturday.
Meh. Sovereign and independent aren’t the issue. The US is sovereign and independent too, but we put way too many people in prison, for way too long, for way too little reason. Oh, also, a very disproportionate number of them are descendants of slaves, another little blot on our sovereign and independent record.
Beginning on Wednesday, extramarital sex, anal sex, and abortion are to be punished by death by stoning. The death penalty will also be required for some other offenses, including rape and some forms of blasphemy or heresy, like ridiculing the Quran or insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
The law requires amputation of a hand or foot for some crimes, and whipping for others. The punishment for lesbian sex, previously imprisonment and a fine, is now to be 40 lashes.
Nasty god they bow to.
I wonder how much overlap there is between the set of people who bang on about sovereignty and independence and the set of people who desire a reduction in the rights of people who are not like them?
Listening to the more rabid Brexiteers, Republicans and this guy, I start to suspect that the two sets are identical.
Sovereignty and independence are vital to deflecting criticism from outside. One of my main reasons for wanting to remain in the EU is it’s braking effect on some of the more extreme politicians (like our dear leader) who think that silly old human rights are an impediment to the proper functioning of
capitalismgovernment.Rape getting the death penalty usually sounds like a fine idea, but most of these societies will only actually declare an assault to be ‘rape’ if the woman was following all the other strictures of Islam first–meaning that the rapist must have broken into the home, or overcome her ‘guardian’ male relative, first, If she’d dared to step outside on her own, or was voluntarily in the company of a man who turned out to be untrustworthy, well, then, that’s on her. (And, of course, they will tell you flat-out that marital rape isn’t a real thing.)
I’m reminded of the scene in Life of Brian where everyone keeps trying to stone each other for saying “Jehova.”
And, of course, of that interview about the movie with Cleese and Palin and some Condescending Church of England Wanker who had not seen the movie but decided to personally insult the intelligence, motivations and character of Cleese in particular, despite the fact that the film was pretty much spot on. With the possible exception of the bit with the alien.
If I wasn’t already always as angry as the Hulk when he opens his Council Tax bill, I’d watch that interview again right now. Stuff like this is happening in the world and the people who pride themselves on being the moral guiding light guffaw their way through it all telling people they shouldn’t criticise religion.
This is the aforementioned interview because I’m that sort of person:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ni559bHXDg
The Insufferable Wanker in question was of course Malcolm Muggeridge.
Also, look at the suit the host is wearing! We had a sofa in the 70s made from the same material.
Interesting thing about that interview. I once went to a reading by Michael Palin in a local bookstore when he had a new book out. (It drew a big audience, as you can imagine.) In the question part someone must have asked about that, because he talked about it, with considerable energy. He said it was one of the very few occasions (or perhaps the only) when he got really angry with an interlocutor. He didn’t forget it was Malcolm Muggeridge, I can tell you. Fair seething he was.
Correctly.
I met Michael Palin once, too. I think he’s as nice as he seems and that goes a long way, especially these days.
All the people I admire are… kind. Palin, Doctorow, LeGuin, Benson, Gaiman….
Although to be fair, Benson is suspect.
I think so too, and I’ll tell you why. I watched him (naturally) while I waited in the queue to get a book signed, and saw that he looked every single person squarely in the eyes and said hello. He gave every one of us the ability to feel we’d “met” Michael Palin.
Latsot, have you actually met LeGuin and Gaiman? I may have to have a fanboy by proxy moment…
I have not. I met that Benson woman once, though.
Speaking of Life of Brian: Monty Python’s Life of Brian to return to cinemas for 40th anniversary.
You met that Benson woman and survived!? I feel like I haven’t lived until I have been forged by the experience.
I didn’t say I survived.