INDONESIA: READY TO IMPOSE STRICTER SHARIA LAW

ACEH PROVINCE LEGISLATORS VOTE TO IMPOSE
STRICTER SHARIA LAW EVEN TO BE STONED TO DEATH

INDONESIA - Yakarta (EFE). Lawmakers in the Indonesian province of Aceh have passed a law that could see Muslim adulterers stoned to death. Religious parties have pushed for a stricter interpretation of Sharia law to be enforced in the region. Aceh's newest Sharia regulation includes punishments for Muslims found guilty of consuming alcohol, rape, pedophilia and homosexuality. Only married adulterers could face being stoned to death. Caning has already been used in the province for several years, a punishment meted out for Muslims found guilty of gambling and drinking, and for unwed couples caught fraternizing.

A legislative member said the new law is designed to save people from hell. He says Sharia law is already being applied in Aceh and all Achenese people are Muslim. He says as a Muslim, it is impossible for him to refuse the regulations of Allah. However, Indonesia's Legal Aid Institute has already indicated it will challenge the bill in the Supreme Court. "But Aceh has autonomy so it is very difficult to make some strong statement," said Nur Kholis, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights. "We should respect what we call autonomy, on one side, but we should follow also the national law which mentions that we don't have any type of punishment like stoning." He expresses concern that the regulations violate Indonesia's national law. More than 200 million Indonesians are Muslims, but most follow a moderate form of the faith. The national government is secular. Many human rights groups in the country have said they oppose the strict implementation of Sharia law in Aceh.

The picture above (archive file photo) shows an Acehnese woman kneels to be
caned by Islamic Sharia law authorities. Banda Aceh, Indonesia - Jan. 12, 2007.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

There are different proposals in the religious conceptions of different peoples. There are Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and Jews. Among those who follow the Vedic doctrines, there are Vaisnavas, Sankarites, and so many others. But if we are to judge the value of different religious conceptions in a comparative study, we must judge their value by three things: sat, cit, and ānandam. This means we must judge how far a religion is durable, eternal. What is the quality of what is conceived; how far can we conceive of it within the plane of knowledge; and what is its development of rasa, ānandam. These three things must be there: existence, consciousness, and the food of consciousness - ecstasy, happiness. We are to compare religion on the basis of these three things. In this way we may ask, "What is the proposal of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism regarding existence, knowledge, and ecstasy, which is the goal of all religion."

Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja:
"Subjective Evolution of Consciousness - Chapter Nine: Spiritual Evolution"