Brunei's crackdown on homosexuality: Why is the Kingdom implementing draconian Sharia law?

New Islamic laws are taking effect in Brunei today, punishing gay sex and adultery by stoning offenders to death.

It’s triggered an outcry from countries, civil rights groups, and celebrities far beyond the tiny Southeast Asian nation's shores.

The penalties were provided for under new sections of Brunei's Sharia Penal Code, instituted in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the oil-rich monarchy of around 430,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim.

Even before 2014, homosexuality was already punishable by a jail term of up to 10 years. But under the new laws, those found guilty of gay sex could be stoned to death. Adulterers risk death by stoning too, while thieves face amputation of a right hand on their first offence and a left foot on their second.

Guest: Bridget Welsh

Associate Professor of Political Science at John Cabot University in Rome

New Islamic laws are taking effect in Brunei today, punishing gay sex and adultery by stoning offenders to death.

It’s triggered an outcry from countries, civil rights groups, and celebrities far beyond the tiny Southeast Asian nation's shores.

The penalties were provided for under new sections of Brunei's Sharia Penal Code, instituted in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the oil-rich monarchy of around 430,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim.

Even before 2014, homosexuality was already punishable by a jail term of up to 10 years. But under the new laws, those found guilty of gay sex could be stoned to death. Adulterers risk death by stoning too, while thieves face amputation of a right hand on their first offence and a left foot on their second.

Guest: Bridget Welsh

Associate Professor of Political Science at John Cabot University in Rome