The nation of Brunei has taken the final plunge into extreme Islamic laws with the adoption of the medieval Sharia law. As a result, the kingdom will stone to death homosexuals and adulterers. The expansion of Sharia law into Asia is a troubling development for human rights and civil liberties.

The new penal code will compel stonings to be “witnessed by a group of Muslims.”

While a country of only 450,000, the application of strict Islamic law will institutionalize the medieval Islamic abuse of homosexuals, religious minorities, women, and others.

The move is the latest example of the extreme views of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, who previously banned joint celebrations over the holidays by Muslims and Christians. His views and practices are so extreme that his purchase of the famed Beverly Hills Hotel has led to a long-standing boycott. He has now combined his authoritarian rule with extremist orthodoxy.