Muslim Woman Beaten, Lashed, Caned For Standing Too Close to Boyfriend

This is how Sharia law works: Stand too close to your boyfriend, and get beaten and lashed. That’s the fate of a young Muslim woman in the Indonesian province of Aceh, who made the mistake of standing in too “close proximity” to her boyfriend and was then forced to pay the Sharia price – which was 23 lashes.

And she wasn’t the only one to receive such brutal punishment, in front of a large crowd of laughing, mocking, jeering Muslims.

The Mirror has the story:

“A woman screams in pain as she is caned in public after breaking strict Islamic laws.

“She was one of 13 people to be punished in the ultra orthodox Indonesian province of Aceh, with hundreds of people cheering.

“Each was given between nine and 25 strikes according to the severity of their crime.

“They were found guilty of inappropriate acts, including khalwat (affectionate contact by an unmarried couple) and ikhtilat (intimacy or mixing) in violation of Islamic bylaws, according to the Antara news agency.”

And more punishments for other women are on the way.

Get this, from the Mirror again:

“The caning of a fourteenth woman, aged 22, has been delayed as she is currently pregnant.

“Deputy mayor Zainal Arifin told Antara: ‘Caning sentences have been enforced many times in the city of Banda Aceh.

“‘This proves that the government and the people of Banda Aceh are committed to implementing and enforcing the sharia.’”

Indonesia is generally seen as a moderate Muslim-dominated country. But Aceh, which was granted special autonomy from the government in 2001 and shortly after brought in Sharia law, is an exception.

From the Mirror:

“Aceh has special autonomous status and is the only province in Indonesia to adopt Islamic law. …

“An increasing number of people are being punished with caning in Aceh and the number of women being caned has risen in particular, according to the Guardian .

“Despite 90 per cent of Indonesians describing themselves as Muslim, the majority only practise moderately.”