Adulterous Couple Paraded Naked And Beaten
An Indonesian Muslim couple chose the wrong province to engage in adulterous act. In Indonesia’s Aceh province, Shariah law has been introduced in stages. On Wednesday this week, the couple was caught in adultery by angry neighbors but instead of letting Shariah police handle it, the villagers proceeded to parade them naked in the village, tied them to a pole, and then beat them. This mob justice has alarmed many Indonesians who fear that Muslim extremists are trying to impose Islamic values over the secular constitution of Indonesia.
Neighbors Were Suspicious
Earlier this week, neighbors in Banda Aceh’s Seuneubok village staked out a house and saw 36-year old Bus, a teacher at an Islamic boarding school entering it at night. Inside the house was a 28-year old housewife called Yus. The frequent night visits by Bus caused neighbors to be suspicious, especially since these visits took place when Yus’s husband was away on business trips. Apparently Yus’s husband was frequently out of town because of business travels.
Neighbors had observed that Bus would visit Yus whenever her husband was away. They became suspicious when Bus did not enter the house by the front door. Instead Bus would always use the back door to gain entry into the house. The neighbors suspected that Bus and Yus were engaged in an illicit, adulterous relationship.
Neighbors Raided The House
After observing the going and coming of Bus to Yus’s house for a year, the neighbors decided to take action. They staked out the house. And last Wednesday they hit jackpot. They saw Bus entering Yus’s house by the usual back door. At that time, Yus’s husband was away on one of his frequent business trips.
The stakeout party waited but there was no sign of Bus leaving the house. At 2 a.m., the neighbors decided to take the law into their own hands. They raided the house. The raiding party broke through the front door of the house, and then they found Bus in the bedroom with Yus. It is not entirely clear whether the couple was caught in the very act of adultery. What is clear is that Bus and Yus were indeed having an extramarital affair.
Mob Justice
Having caught the couple in a compromising and embarrassing situation, the neighbors proceeded to mete out punishment mob-justice style. First they marched the naked Bus and Yus round the village. Then they tied both to a pole before proceeding to beat them. The neighbors were angry at the couple for shaming their village. Apparently they were beaten so badly that they had to be rescued by the police. Both of them were admitted to the local hospital and one of them is reportedly in intensive care.
Reactions To The Mob Justice
Human rights activist Zulfikar Muhammad said: “To parade people around naked is not sanctioned in Islam. The acts of the villagers who paraded the two through a village clearly violates both Islamic Shariah law and human rights. Islam upholds justice and the rights of human beings.”
A spokesman for the justice and human rights ministry said: “This is a barbarous crime and obviously against our rule of law. We will order police to launch an immediate probe and to take firm and concrete action against the perpetrators.”
What About The Shariah Police?
T Abdurrazak, operational commander of Aceh’s Shariah Police said: “Even though the Shariah Police has every right to investigate this violation, we do not have investigators as yet. We are therefore working in collaboration with local Aceh Barat Police to process the case.”
Qanun Jinayat
In September 2009, the previous Aceh’s legislative council passed a set of local bylaws known as Qanun Jinayat that would extend more Shariah laws to Aceh province. The objective is for the Qanun Jinayat to replace parts of the Criminal Code in Aceh province. More specifically, this set of Qanun Jinayat would incorporate the death sentence by stoning for adulterers. However, Governor Irwandi Yusuf refused to sign the Qanun Jinayat into law. He and the Indonesian government have asked for this Qanun Jinayat to be withdrawn. T Abdurrazak said: “If the Qanun Jinayat had been signed by Aceh’s governor, the couple could have faced stoning to death.”
Constitutional Rights Versus Demands of Shariah Law
This case has reopened debated on whether religious laws should take precedence over the country’s secular constitution. Indonesia is the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country with 90% of its 234 million people being Muslims. Most of them are moderate Muslims.
Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission has called on Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to state categorically in a directive that rights under the constitution takes precedence over local regulations, including religious regulations. Ifdhal Kasim said: “This can be a bad precedent for other regions which have similar tendencies and which try to put religious values above the country’s constitution. The directive should mention that Indonesia is a secular country and everything should be based on the constitution.”
Think about it
Local Shariah regulations in force in Aceh province calls for adulterers to be given a maximum of 9 lashes of the cane. But Bus and Yus were already caned by the mob, in fact so harshly that they required medical attention. Can they be caned again for the same offense? And why is it that people who are supposed to be role models are usually the ones who fail? Here Bus is a Muslim teacher in a Islamic boarding school. He should be a role model for his students. Then again we see Roman Catholic clergies involved in forbidden sexual acts. And in the sporting world we have the likes of John Terry, Tiger Woods, et al. What an upside down world we are living in now, when people who are expected to be role models are the very ones needing good role models.
Previous posts
Aceh – Sharia Law On Women Wearing Trousers To Be Implemented
Aceh – Revisiting Sharia Law On Stoning
Aceh & Sharia Law
Sharia Law In Aceh – Caning & Death
Recent Comments