Sharia Law Against LGBT
Two men on trial for being in a same-sex relationship are escorted to the courtroom at the Sharia court in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 17 May 2017.
The Sharia court in Aceh sentenced a gay couple to 85 lashes each as punishment after it was proven that the two men were in a same-sex relationship. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that has implemented the Sharia law as a positive law and considers lesbian, gay, bisexual relationships and sex outside of marriage as Sharia law violations.
Being LGBT in Aceh, is considered a violation of the law in Indonesia. Those who declare themselves as LGBT will get punished with caning as an implementation of the sharia Law in this region. Aceh is known as the “Veranda of Mecca”, the western-most tip of Sumatra island, Indonesia. This nickname is inherently thick because Aceh is also claimed to be the starting point for the spread of Islam to the archipelago. The nickname of the Veranda of Mecca increasingly thickens and strengthens when Aceh finally applies Sharia Law as a positive law in the midst of people’s daily lives.
The long journey of the application of sharia law began since Aceh was handed over by the Dutch to the Indonesian Government after seizing independence. There are many bitter experiences that must be experienced by the people of Aceh to be able to get special status in the application of Islamic law.Starting from the D.I T.I.I (Darul Islam Indonesian Islamic Army), prolonged armed conflict that claimed many lives and tears, until the devastating catastrophe of the 2004 Tsunami became the starting point for the implementation of sharia law as a whole in Aceh people’s lives.
Post-disaster and peace agreement between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement in Helsinki Finland became the main gateway to the application of sharia law through special autonomy called “self-government”, a status higher than just regional autonomy that had been implemented in Indonesia before.
This status mandates Aceh to make a regional law called the Jinayat Qanun. In this Qanun there are ten types of criminal codes which are categorised as violations of sharia law. Some of these types of violations include gambling, liquor, being together in the dark place (dates), adultery, homosexuality, lesbians and several other types of crimes that openly regulate the moral issues of their society.
Every violator is whipped with a varying number of lashes, from 7 times to 100 lashes, according to his mistake, and it is carried out in a public place where it can be witnessed by the public. The aim is to embarrass the offender as well as provide a lesson for the community not to commit violations according to sharia law.
In implementing the sharia law, Aceh was criticised and spotlighted by various parties, especially human rights activists in Indonesia and the international community. Whipping is considered as a punishment that violates human rights because it has entered the private domain of individuals, especially when implemented to people who have different sexual orientations, such as homosexuals, lesbians, or transgenders. Among the Acehnese themselves there are sharp differences between those who agree and those who disagree with sharia law being implemented in Aceh.
This happened because the implementation of caning as an implementation of sharia law [affects the lower classes much more than the higher classes/ ‘was blunted up’ and ‘sharply down’]. Only people who do not have power feel the caning sentence, while those who have immunity escape this punishment
The Sharia court in Aceh sentences a gay couple to 85 lashes.
A masked executor whips a man in front of a public audience as a punishment for being in a homosexual relationship in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Sharia court in Aceh sentenced a homosexual couple to 87 lashes each as punishment after it was proven that the two men were having a relationship.
A man is escorted during whipping in front of the public as punishment for being in a same-sex relationship in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 23 May 2017. Sharia court in Aceh sentenced a gay couple to 85 lashes each as punishment after it was proven that the two men were in a same-sex relationship. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that has implemented the Sharia law as a positive law and considers lesbian, gay, bisexual relationships and sex outside of marriage as Sharia law violations.
A woman covers her face during whipping in front of the public as punishment for breaking the sharia Law in Aceh, Indonesia.Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that has implemented the Sharia law as a positive law and considers lesbian, gay, bisexual relationships and sex outside of marriage as Sharia law violations.
Acehnese woman with her hijab on in public. Aceh is the only province inIndonesia that has implemented the Sharia law as a positive law and considers lesbian, gay, bisexual relationships and sex outside of marriage as Sharia law violation
Muslim activists attend an anti-LGBT rally in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 02 February 2018. Aceh, which is governed by Sharia law, has established LGBT practices as a violation of Sharia law. Recently several beauty salons in Aceh province were raided and their transgender employees taken to a local police station for punishment
Muslim activists prepare to burn a hello kitty doll during an anti-LGBT rally in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 02 February 2018. Aceh, which is governed by Sharia law, has established LGBT practices as a violation of Sharia law. Recently several beauty salons in Aceh province were raided and their transgender employees taken to a local police station for punishment.
Sherly, who is transgender, poses for the photo in her beauty salon at Banda Aceh, Indonesia.Aceh, which is governed by Sharia law, has established LGBT practices as a violation of Sharia law. Recently several beauty salons in Aceh province were raided and their transgender employees taken to a local police station for punishment
