ICC Note: On Wednesday, the small sultanate of Brunei became the first nation in Southeast Asia to officially adopt Sharia (Islamic) law country-wide. The courts will now begin to enforce a range of punishments for various crimes under Islamic law and over the next few years will phase in additional crimes, including insulting the Prophet Muhammad, which will be punishable by death. With an estimated 40,000 Christians living in Brunei, the possibility for these laws to turn into religious persecution is very real.  

5/1/2014 Brunei (WWM) – The Sultan of Brunei has announced a controversial new law based on Islamic criminal punishments criticised by UN human rights officials and other human rights groups.

“I place my faith in and am grateful to God the Almighty to announce that Thursday May 1, 2014, will see the enforcement of Sharia law phase one, to be followed by the other phases,” Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, leader of the country’s absolute monarchy government for nearly 47 years, said in a speech the day preceding the implementation of the law.

Brunei, a tiny country of just over 420,000 people nestled in Southeast Asia, has already been practicing Islamic laws to regulate civil affairs such as personal and family issues, but now the laws will be extended to cover criminal offences.

The new Islamic penalties will be introduced over time, at least another year or two, and will eventually include severe bodily punishments, such as: flogging for adultery, cutting of limbs for theft, and stoning to death for rape and sodomy.

The first phase includes laws for offences against eating or drinking in public during Islam’s fasting month, which are punishable by fines and imprisonment.

Parts of the law also apply to non-Muslims. In February, Sharia law experts from the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced that non-Muslims could be punished for wearing indecent clothing that ‘disgraces Islam’. The offender could be jailed for up to six months, fined a maximum penalty of BN$ 2,000 (US$ 1,600), or both. Even now, it is mandatory for women of all religions—including Christians—to wear a hijab (head covering) if they work for the government or are attending official functions. However, now that the Sharia penal code is enacted, a violation against these religious instructions will be criminalized.

In the past, church leaders claimed to receive heavy monitoring by the government so the new penal code is expected to add pressure, anxiety, and fear upon Christians who make up 8.7 percent of the population.

“Brunei’s decision to implement criminal Sharia law is a huge step backwards for human rights in the country. It constitutes an authoritarian move towards brutal medieval punishments that have no place in the modern, 21st century world,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch.

Another restriction aimed at Christians who converted from a Muslim background includes a law that prohibits any Muslim parents from letting non-Muslims care for their child. The act is punishable by a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to BN$ 20,000 (US$ 15,600), or both.

Consequently, people who convert to Christianity can lose custody of their child should their new faith come to light. “All parental rights are awarded to the Muslim parent if a child is born to mixed-faith parents and the non-Muslim parent is not recognized in any official document, including the child’s birth certificate,” wrote the US Department of State in the 2012 International Religious Freedom Report. What’s more, once Sharia law takes effect, the restriction may be extended to daycare services operated by non-Muslims.

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