* Lets go to Aceh! Lets watch the public head,- hand & foot chopping, the canings, the stoning of women! Sharia in action! Come learn about sharia, Islamic justice!
* Hmm, thanks but no thanks. What else you got?
Indonesia: Aceh invites tourists to see Sharia law in action
Banda Aceh, 23 Nov. (AKI) – Tourism authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh province hope that its practice of Sharia or Islamic law will attract visitors.
“We invite international tourists to visit Aceh to observe how an Islamic community lives and how the Islamic code of Sharia is applied,” said Cipta Hunai, an Aceh tourism official, in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).
Muslim-devout Aceh is the only province in Indonesia allowed to apply Sharia law. However observers say that the application of Sharia in the province has harmed the rights of the poor and women.
Hunai said that Sharia allowed for the development of a peaceful and secure community in Aceh which would be appreciated by tourists. He said that Sharia law in Aceh was a tourist attraction because it allowed foreigners to see a reality, that perhaps, they did not already know.
“Here the tourists can visit many mosques and see how a community lives under laws based on the Koran,” he said.
Hunai denied that public canings – which are allowed and used to punish some crimes – could shock and discourage non-Muslim tourists.
“We don’t believe that this can scare anyone. In any case, the punishments are carried out to correct Muslims who have made mistakes,” he said.
“But one must remember that these punishments are only applied to Muslims and here even the religious minority is respected,” he added.
* Don’t bet on it…
Corporal punishment is carried out in Aceh for crimes including the sale or consumption of alcohol, gambling or meeting a person of the opposite sex, that is not your husband, wife or family member, in a private place.
According to data provided by local tourism authorities, there has been an increase in the number of visitors to Aceh, the province that was the epicentre of the massive 26 December 2004 tsunami which killed some 170,000 people and left thousands of others homeless.
* So the only thing you can do in Aceh is learn about sharia? Get stuffed!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh yeah-a caning wouldn’t shock anyone. Bring the kids-the smaller the better. Just goes to show what kind of mentality the Destroyers have. They probably want to show infidels what the future holds back home.
Indonesian Islamic clerics strike back at Amnesty International criticism: “Everyone must respect Islamic Shariah in Aceh”
Sharia Applied
Amnesty International criticized Sharia caning in Aceh; in response, Islamic clerics claim they’re motivated by “ignorance” and “dislike of Islam” — demonstrating that Islamic clerics the world over react in exactly the same way to any criticism. “Aceh Clerics Hit Back at Amnesty International’s Statement,” by Nurdin Hasan in the Jakarta Globe, May 23:
Banda Aceh. Acehnese clerics have criticized Amnesty International’s call for the Indonesian government to repeal a bylaw that allowed caning, arguing that the practice did not violate any regulation in the world.
In a statement released on Sunday, Amnesty said that caning violated the UN Convention Against Torture, which Indonesia ratified in 1998, and urged central government to review the bylaw to conform with international and national human rights laws and standards.
Clerics in Banda Aceh, however, dismissed the criticism, saying it originated from an ignorance of Shariah law, Islam and Indonesia.
“It is their right to criticize,” said Teungku Muslim Ibrahim, head of the province’s Consultative Assembly of Ulema (MPU) and a professor at Aceh’s State Islamic Institute (IAIN). “But as long as they do not seek to understand Shariah, they will continue to criticize something they know little about.”
He said the regulation governing caning as judicial punishment was in line with the country’s laws and did “not violate any regulation in the world.”
Caning adopted partial Shariah Law in 2001 as part of an autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment. Caning carried out there is mainly aimed at causing shame rather than injury. It is also used as a mandatory punishment for certain crimes in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
“People criticize because they don’t understand. The rules in Aceh are clear,” Muslim said. “The Koran says that those who believe in Allah and Rasulullah Muhammad Sallalaahu Alaihi Wassalam must not abide by laws other than the ones determined by their God.”
He added that caning did not violate the UN Convention on Human Rights because the convention respected compromises made by a community, big or small.
“Moreover, the Islamic community in Aceh is a majority. Caning is only applied to Islamic followers,” Muslim said, adding that regulations applied to the size and length of the cane as well as the distance between the Shariah violator and punishment executor.
When under pressure, claim “Islamophobia” and blame the Jews:
Teungku Faisal Ali, the head of the Aceh chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said those who criticized caning in Aceh tended to “dislike” Islam.
“Why didn’t they criticize caning in Singapore? Why didn’t they protest the banning of the head scarf in France? Why didn’t they protest Israel, which keeps on violating the UN resolutions?” said Faisal, who is also the secretary of Aceh’s Dayah Ulama Association (Huda), an organization comprised of the province’s traditional ulema.
“I think Amnesty International doesn’t have to intervene [sic] the application of Islamic Shariah in Aceh,” he added.
“Tell me, what law is violated in Aceh’s application of Shariah? What we apply in Aceh is a national law, which has been acknowledged as part of Aceh’s special autonomy. Everyone must respect Islamic Shariah in Aceh,” he said.