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Aceh – Adulterers Caned

Adultery And Khalwat (Close Proximity)

Aceh Province, the only one in Muslim majority Indonesia to follow Shariah law (though not fully yet), carried out a public caning last Friday.  One couple was found guilty of adultery while another couple was found in close proximity of each other.

The Adulterous Pair

34-year old Irdayanti is in the process of divorcing her husband.  [...]

Bangladesh – When Islamic Sharia Punishment Turns Awry

Hena Begum Whipped 80 Times

Bangladeshi girl Hena Begum was 14 when she died in late January 2011.  A week before she died, she was whipped 80 times according to Sharia law by her Chamta village elders and clerics in Shariatpur district, over 50 miles from the capital Dhaka.  Hena Begum was accused of a heinous crime [...]

Saudi Arabia – Prosecutor Failed To Get Judge To Order Caning And Jail Term For Sex Segregation Offense

Sex Segregation Permissible?

As is well known, sex segregation is observed strictly in Saudi Arabia.  And so it was with great surprise that security officials at a cafe in Madina saw a group of 9 men and women openly sitting together in contravention of the sex segregation law.  But what is more surprising to many people is [...]

Lawyer Says Saudi Man Who Boasted About His Sex Life On TV Wins Appeal

 Update On Mazen Abdul Jawad

Remember Mazen Abdul Jawad, the Saudi divorcee with 4 children who worked for an airline?  He became famous, or rather infamous, after appearing on the Bold (or Thick) Red Line program aired by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) in conservative Saudi Arabia.  In it he boasted about his various sexual escapades. He spoke of [...]

Iranian Woman Facing Death By Stoning

Save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Plea

“Please help end this nightmare and do not let it turn into a reality. Help us save our mother!” cried Iranian Farideh, 16, and her brother Sajad, 20, as they pleaded to the international community to save their mother – 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani – from stoning.

Death By Stoning And Hanging

Sakineh Mohammadi [...]

Kartika Caning Case - Prof Says Judgment Was A Human Enactment Camouflaged As Sharia

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno Finally Opens Up

Remember Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, the Malaysian model who was charged with  consuming alcohol in Pahang and who was sentenced to a fine and 6 lashes of the cane by the Syariah High Court?  Her case attracted widespread attention, and she would have been the first woman to be caned in [...]

Child Marriages In Afghanistan

Lashings for Child Brides Trying To Escape From Their Marriages

Two adolescent Afghan girls who had been forced into marriages with elderly men ran away disguised as boys because their husbands beat them when they tried to resist consummation of their marriages. However, after two days of fleeing across rough roads and mountain passes, Khadija Rasoul, aged [...]

Kartika Caning Case - Freedom At Last

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno Now A Free Woman

Thursday April 22, 2010 is a very special day for former Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno.  On this day, she completed her 3-week community service at the Tengku Ampuan Fatimah Children Home, walked out of the gate, and became a free woman.  This brings an end to the whole saga [...]

Kartika Caning – Nobody Should Dispute Ruler’s Decision

One would have expected that the decision by the Sultan of Pahang to commute the caning sentence of 6 lashes of the cane on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno to a 3-week community service at a children’s home would be welcome by all. Instead, that decision disappointed the folks at the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association (PPPM) which [...]

Kartika Caning - Changed To Community Service By Sultan

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was to be caned with six lashes on Thursday, April 1, 2010.  But there was no caning.  No folks, this is no April Fool’s Day joke.  On Wednesday, March 31, 2010 Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno received a letter from the Sultan of Pahang commuting the caning sentence to a 3-week community service punishment.

Shukarno [...]