Islamic Law: Young Couple Brutally Whipped in Public Square for Cuddling in "Moderate" Indonesia

Former President Obama oft times brags about being raised in this “moderate” country. Indonesia is held up as a moderate Muslim country. Uh huh.

Young couple caned in public square for cuddling in Indonesia

By Molly Rose Pike, The Sun, NY Post:

Teenage sweethearts were brutally caned in front of a baying crowd because they were caught cuddling.

Cheering locals took photos on their phones as the punishment was carried out in a public square in Banda Aceh in Indonesia.

The unidentified girl, 19, was dressed with her hair covered with a white hijab and kept her head down as she was led to the platform.

She kneeled on stage with her eyes closed waiting for the painful whipping with a bamboo cane.

Her boyfriend – who was also not identified – was then brought in front of the crowd wearing a white robe, known as a jubba.

He appeared to wince in pain as he was struck by a man whose face was covered with a mask.

It is not clear how many lashes the couple received, but the usual punishment for “moral crimes” is up to 29 lashes.

Criminalized cuddling

Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia where local sharia courts are allowed to mete out justice.

Public cuddling is a crime under Aceh’s extremely conservative laws, based on a strict regional interpretation of sharia.

Hundreds of people have been publicly caned since the punishment was introduced in Aceh in 2005.

Sharia courts also consider lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships a serious crime.

Anybody caught having consensual gay sex is punished with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.

The area has been globally condemned for caning people found guilty of a range of offenses including gambling and drinking alcohol.

Women wearing tight clothes and people who skip Friday Muslim prayers are also punished.

The introduction of local sharia law was a concession made by the central government in 2001 as part of efforts to end a decades-long war for independence.

Last year authorities announced that unmarried couples will be banned from sitting at the same table in restaurants, cafes or coffee shops under a religious crackdown.

The local head of the Jufliwan Islamic police said the measure additionally forbids staff serving lone female customers after 9:00 p.m. if they are not accompanied by close male relatives.

In November a woman was caned for allegedly having sex outside marriage in the region while cheering crowds looked on.

The same thing had happened in September, as another woman was lead on stage to be publicly whipped.