Who'd have thought we'd see the day when a legislature would pass laws to reverse society's slide into immorality... or, worse, amorality. But it's going to happen! Not in the AABC countries (America, Australia, Britain, Canada), which are not Christian even in name these days, but in... wait for it... mostly Muslim Indonesia.
Although it's not officially an "Islamic republic" like, say, Iran, Indonesia is the world's biggest country, by population, in which Muslims are the majority, with Hindus and Christians tiny minorities. Reuters reports that Indonesia's government is introducing a new criminal code which, according to Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, deputy justice minister, will be "in line with Indonesian values."
The new code will ban sex outside marriage. It also carries stiff penalties for abortion, “black magic” and insulting the president. The punishment for extramarital sex is up to one year in jail. And that's just the punishment in this world, never mind the next.
The usual suspects have long warned the new law, which has been decades in the making, would violate the rights of women, minorities, and the alphabet people, as well as undermine freedom of speech. And, they say, it will be bad for business too! The law applies to foreigners as well as Indonesians, so there'll be no more going to Indonesia for a dirty weekend!
Bali, in particular, has traditionally been a top holiday destination, attracting millions of tourists every year. A spokesthingy for Indonesia's Employers' Association told Reuters the morality clauses of the new criminal code would "do more harm than good," especially for businesses engaged in tourism and hospitality. "For the business sector," she said, "the implementation of this law will create legal uncertainty and make investors reconsider investing in Indonesia."
The legislation also bans expressing any views contrary to Indonesia's state ideology -- that would be Islam -- and criminalizes abortion, with the exception of rape victims. Insulting the president, a charge that can only be reported by the president, carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. [Don't tell Brandon or Trudeau about this! Ed.]
The draft,which looks set to be passed into law next week, has the support of many conservative Islamic groups, whose influence is growing across the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Indonesians who feel that their right to be immoral is being infringed are advised to move to any of the aforementioned AABC countries, where that right is enshrined in law.
Further reading: "Indonesia ranks among most religious countries in Pew study", Jakarta Post, 30/7/20.
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