In an unfortunate lurch back into the Dark Ages, the tiny south-east Asian country of Brunei has just announced that it will be bringing in a particularly brutal and conservative version of Islamic sharia law, which will include death by stoning for homosexuality, and the chopping off of an hand a foot for theft.
The tiny country, surrounded by Malaysia on the island of Borneo, was a British colony until 1984, and it has been ruled by the mega-rich Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (whose full title is Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah) since 1967. It has long been a pretty restrictive place, with ban on alcohol, and jail sentences for having children out of wedlock.
But the new laws will take this to a whole new level, bringing in the death penalty for homosexuality, sodomy, adultery and rape, and amputation for theft. The sharia laws are supposed to only apply to Muslims in the country (about two-thirds of the population), and other Muslims are supposed to witness the punishment. Shades of The Handmaid's Tale.
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