With Saudi Arabia facing global outcry for execution of gays and display of crucified prisoners, Brunei is facing its own opposition movement over the adoption of Sharia law (including the stoning of adulterers and gays). In a remarkable act of hubris, Brunei is complaining over the lack of “tolerance’ for its intolerance for gays and others.
In a letter to the European parliament, Brunei basically argued that it would use the Sharia penalty of stoning for gays sparingly. It noted that it would only use the medieval punishment of death by stoning for homosexuality when two men of “high moral standing and piety” to be witnesses. Of course, with two such “moral men,” gays can be publicly stoned to death in the name of Islamic justice.
The four-page letter added a considerable element of irony in calling for “tolerance, respect and understanding” for its execution of people solely for their sexual orientation.
In addition, we are supposed to be understanding that the country’s new penal code provides for amputations upon thieves and whipping of people wearing clothes associated with the opposite sex.
Brunei is so clueless that it believes that this is all just a misunderstanding of why the country needed to stone adulterers and gays to death: “The criminalization of adultery and sodomy is to safeguard the sanctity of family lineage and marriage to individual Muslims, particularly women.” Thus, it only wants to stone people to death to protect the moral standing of the country.
Brunei has chosen religious orthodoxy over human rights. Yet, all those who believe in human rights cannot be “tolerant” or “understanding” of laws that deny the most basic rights to citizens. Explaining that you want to stone adulterers and homosexuals to death simply because you are trying to rid the country of immorality is not very compelling for most human beings.