The Southeast Asian nation of Brunei has implemented the death penalty for homosexuality. Brunei is a small Muslim-majority nation on the island of Borneo. The country is a dictatorship, ruled by its Sultan. The Sultan is Head of State, as well as Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Inspector General of the Royal Brunei Police Force, and Head of Islam. So, what he says goes.
The Sultan of Brunei, has been well-known for his playboy lifestyle. However, over the last decade Brunei’s royal family has, on the face of it, embraced a very strict form of Islamic rule. This has now culminated in the implementation of the punishment of death for homosexual sex, and general adultery.
The Sultan of Brunei has said the law is necessary for Brunei to be a nation that follows Islamic law. A series of new regulations based on sharia law are now in force. These include the punishment of being whipped or stoned to death for homosexual sex, adultery, sodomy, rape, and blasphemy.
Sharia law is based on interpretations of prescribed rules in the Koran – the most important book for Muslims, and the hadith, reports of statements or actions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The implementation of anti-LGBTI+ laws in Brunei is part of an ongoing process of Islamisation of the small Sultanate.
There is much speculation on why the Sultan is Islamising his country. Arguments have been put forward that the implantation of strict sharia law in Brunei is being done to distract the population from the nation’s economic decline. Also, the new laws are seen as a way for the country’s royal family to tighten control over its population. There is also speculation that the Sultan has been pressured by the country’s religious leaders, who have apparently been unhappy with the hedonistic lifestyles of most members of the Brunei royal family.
Very few people in the West would know where Brunei is. However, the country has very close relations with the West, especially with Britain. And former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has stated that he is good mates with Brunei’s dictatorial ruler.
Brunei was a colony – formerly a protectorate - of the UK up till 1984. And Britain continues to have a strong military presence in the country. Brunei’s close relations with Britain does explain the, up to now, muted protests from Western countries over Brunei’s implementation of draconian Syria law.
The New Zealand Government has only made very cautious statements of protest at Brunei’s implementation of death by stoning for gays and adulterers. This country’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters has called Brunei’s homophobic laws “seriously regrettable”. A rather lame statement of disapproval, straight from the diplomatic foreign affairs handbook. And Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that she stands opposed to new a law implemented by the Sultan of Brunei to punish gay sex by stoning offenders to death. A very cautious statement, far short from a complete condemnation of the homophobic regulation now in force in Brunei.
In a nod to the Sultan that relations between New Zealand and Brunei will go on as normal, both Ardern and Peters put their official statements against the stoning to death of gays in the context of the country’s general opposition to the death penalty. Both Adern and Peters were indicating here that, although they are obliged to make a formal protest to Brunei because of New Zealand’s formal opposition to the death penalty, good relations will continue with the Islamic Sultanate. What is clearly lacking here from the Jacinda Ardern-led Government is any strong condemnation and sense of moral disgust at the Brunei Sultan’s implementation of strict religious laws.
The Sultan of Brunei’s decision to make homosexuality a crime punishable by death is both tragic and farcical. The Brunei royal family is well known for their hedonism. Sex workers have been employed in the palaces of Brunei for decades to serve the needs of the male royals. Alcohol flows freely whenever the royals decide to party. And the Brunei Royal Family have stolen billions from the people of their nation.
Now that the economy is hurting, due to low oil prices, the Sultan is acting to bring in draconian religious laws as a way to frighten and threaten his population. Unemployment and poverty are becoming the norm. And a restless population presents a threat to the Sultan’s rule. As with most dictatorial rulers, the Sultan wants to hold on jealously to his immense wealth and power.
A critical analysis from a Malaysian Muslim on Brunei:
Why is the Sultan of Brunei acting to make homosexuality a crime punishable by stoning to death? Here is a powerful analysis of the situation in Brunei by Sharifah, a Malaysian Muslim and leftwing activist and intellectual:
“I think the Sultan is enforcing the new regulation because he is afraid that the development of democracy, of liberal and progressive elements from nearby countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines, will spread to Brunei. It will threaten his monarchy. Brunei might be an oil-rich country. But now it is facing high unemployment and poverty. I guess the Sultan is afraid the people will revolt against him, so he has to strengthen the conservatism of his country. Moreover, there are no elections in Brunei.”
