http://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/australian-woman-gang-raped-and-jailed-having-illicit-sex-under-sharia-law
I foresee this posting will go viral very fast and hope those who circulate it be responsible and understand the consequences.
If this story is in fact the truth, the world needs to know the cruelty of what had happened there...the emirates police authority, the hotel management, the Australian embassy and even the emirates judiciary body shd all be equally responsible of what had happened and all are at crime.
First of all, non-muslim are not subject to syariah law unless he or she choose to.
2nd of all, the fact that after colonization of western invaders, the syariah law was totally alienated globally by secularist and the systems were undermined for long period of time even unto muslim community.
Allow me to elaborate and hope everybody is open to hear. Before colonization era, Muslims held strong to their faith and the faith went across daily life beyond religious activities in Masjid which include political ideology, social behaviour and culture, education, science, invention, medicine, philosophy, mathematics, economics doctrines, financing, trade, taxataion and zakat, judicial process, governing policy apart from ceremonial and customary event like death, birth, marriage and inheritance of family assets. These systems and way of life had kept the nation and its subject live peacefully even in just and fair society which some of them are multi-ethnic/religous community (NB: the subjects includes Muslims, Christians and Jews).
During occupation, colonial regimes have intentionally distance the Muslim ummah/community from Islamic political systems, economic doctrine and judiciary structure and leaving the community with only marriage affairs, death and customary activities. Why?.. to alienate and undermine these systems even to muslim community to ensure that they (the community) do not hold strong to their faith and value which might be a threat to the colonial regime ideology. The long period of colonization not only sucking up the wealth and resources of the countries they invaded but the very fundamental value of the people of these countries which used to be their strength had also systematically been destroyed to ensure long lasting stay of the so called post-colonial regime to keep in power. This long abandonment of the knowledge and information and the killing of the scholars by the colonial and regime left by them had caused the systems to be almost irrelevant to be implemented to the whole wide world. However, deep inside these muslim communities which were divided into several countries, the sentiment were very strong to regain their glory but after several generation passed they are without comprehensive knowledge and experience.
Some elite Muslims with western education in several countries a the same time, have been having their own plan to inherit the nation by manipulating with the sentiment of the people.
After independent from colonial countries, reintroduction of the syariah law to muslim ummah by some muslim countries were rushed by radical Islamic movement especially the Wahabbis Saudis (Saudi Nasionalist) and those countries under their influence which caused bad reputation to the Islamic law systems. This happened due to lack of knowledge by its practitioners - the judges, the lawyers, the registrar etc.
Slowly, all Islamic systems are crawling back to show that its systems is justified, relevant, fair and just to the entire social structure and this manifested with the latest development of the embrace of Islamic Financing (which is just one of the branch of Islamic economics) especially by the western countries as they are finding their way out from the economics turbulence they are facing. However, this is still an option to the non-muslim to choose between conventional financing and Islamic financing. For non-muslim, it is about the system for the end game which is fair and just social structure, but for Muslim it is more than that, it is about faith.
The slow, structured, diligent re-development of Islamic economics system was not happening the same way and same momentum with the Islamic law as mentioned above with the Wahabbis Saudis (Saudi nationalist) taking advantage of the muslim community sentiment to their advantage by rushing into its implementation.
The wahabbis saudi who themselves are installed by British without any war for independent had rushed in implementing them just to get support from its people leveraging on sentiment that going strong among the community. They also influence Arab world to force the law to be enforced without sufficient knowledge.
The Ikhwanul Muslimin or Muslim brotherhood movement on the other hand had long tries to systematically re-develop all these systems especially for the Muslims and optionally for the non-Muslim to bring the true Islamic value which resulted in fair and just social structure. For the non-Muslim, it is about fair and just social structure but for Muslims it is more than that, it is about their faith. Muslim brotherhood moderate approach of non-confrontational and non-radical which have been successful in bringing back the muslim ummah to its original value is seen as a threat to the nationalist/secularist value. There are two separate muslim nationalist/secularist, one is elite non-arab Muslims who manipulating their community who loves peace too much until they are willing to forego their faith and value scarifying the truth and putting blind eyes for any corrupt practice as long as their material needs are fulfill. Another one is the arabs who are utterly emotional with their sentiment which is being used by arab tyrant for their own benefit. They uses Islam as their radical tool, wrongly implementing the law onto their people but they themselves lives in sin with women, liquor and excessive spending of their wealth. Apart from letting the arabs to continue their excessive hatred against the west which had caused the emergence of terrorist simplicity mentality like the Taliban, they have also using their wealth to portray those that really wanted to bring back the true value of Islam as fundamentalist and labelled them as terrorist movement instead..
Let us come back to UAE, as a result of non-systematic re-development of the system due to lack of knowledge and experience practitioners caused by radical approach rushing into it, some loop-holes were leveraged by opportunists and criminals. Not only the Emirates government should be responsible of what has happened to Alicia and all other similar cases if any, but the politician and administrative personnel in this case Australian Embassy is equally responsible. The Emirates authority must look into the implementation of the system in a very detailed, knowledgeable and structured manner as the punitive measure in applying Islamic law is not as simple as they might thought as the way the Wahabbis Saudi and the terrorist Taliban teaches them.
Other than non-Muslim is not subject to Islamic law and it is an option for them to choose, the law is trying to be fair to both the accuser and those that are being accused. 4 witnesses is only the first step towards justifying the claim. The carefully developed syariah law does provide few other steps apart from the first step to prove the claim all the way until the used of evidence like sperm cement, chronology of event etc. But this option is done with full discrete to avoid any shameful effect to both the accuser and those that being accused what ever the outcome the verdict may be. As much as it is natural for people to see and sympathies with the accuser as the victim, but not many see the possibility of the one being accused as victim. Hence, the law is such to ensure both accuser and the one being accused could channel to argument. Why 4 witnesses is the first step? It is because, the systems does not allow people to simply make accusation without proof. But the Syariah law practitioners must not only stop there if there is no 4 witnesses and make conclusion from there to end at punitive measure but must also proceed with several other steps to make a fair and just judgement.
I am glad I live in Malaysia which have multi-religion community because as much as I support such systems and believe them as the most just and fair systems be it judicial, political, social or economical, but to implement such system must be done with full diligent, knowledge, systematical, responsible, accountable, consultative and to be fair to not only the muslims but also to non-muslim as much. In the case of judicial matter, the implementation of syariah law should not only be about the interpretation of the law but also a) the process on how the enforcement against the crime, wrong doing and corrupt practice, b) judiciary process in the court and c) the outcome process i.e. if there is punitive measure required, how should it be done in the most fair and just manner according to the law and if those involve were acquitted, how should they be protected and defended.
My conclusion is please do not make condemnation to such law as that relates to the faith of the muslim and for Muslim, their faith is fundamental. The condemnation or constructive criticism should be against the implementor of the law be it from enforcement or judicial aspects of the country. In the case of Alice in UAE, again if the claim is true, regardless whether it is genuine or false accusation, the UAE authority is at fault in the aspect of enforcement, judicial process and the punitive measure as much as Australian embassy irresponsible action towards its own citizen abroad and also the un-ethical act of the hotel management
