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.” Read more
These canings are unfortunate and raise many concerns about how Islamic laws are understood and implemented and adds to the negative image of Islam.
Harsh punishments are meant to be deterrents and are always conditional. The conditions are such that the in theory the punishments may never take place.
According to the Holy Quran the specific conditions that must be met in order for an individual to receive corporal punishment for extramarital sex includes having four people testify that they witnessed the actual act. They also have to concur on all the details. How likely is it that these women were seen in this situation?