Malaysia Says Muslim Women Caned

"I hope this will not be misunderstood, so that it defiles the sanctity of Islam," Mr. Hishammuddin said. "The punishment is to teach and give a chance to those who have fallen off the path to return and build a better life in the future."

Misunderstand the sanctity of Islam ?

I think we understand it quite well , Islam Defiles itself.

And all this , just to teach them a lesson .



The Wall Street Journal
Malaysian authorities said Wednesday that officials caned four Muslim men and, for the first time, three Muslim women this month after being found guilty of having sex out of wedlock.

The move to cane the women under the country's Islamic Shariah laws has raised fresh concerns about the growing political and judicial influence of Islam in what traditionally has been one of the world's more moderate Muslim nations.

The vibrant, resource-rich country came under intense international scrutiny last year after a Shariah court sentenced 32-year-old Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno to be caned after she was caught drinking beer in a hotel bar. Many moderate Muslims and non-Muslim Malaysians saw that verdict as reflecting the growing reach of Islam in Malaysia over the past several years, although Prime Minister Najib Razak has said he won't let Malaysia drift toward becoming an Islamist state.

The caning of Ms. Kartika, who is a Muslim, still hasn't been carried out despite her requests to the Islamic courts to get it over with.

Wednesday's announcement that three Muslim women were caned on Feb. 9 for having illicit sex thus came as a shock to many Malaysians. "This was a big a surprise. We had no idea this was going to happen," said Ragunath Kesavan, president of the Malaysian Bar Council. "We were always told Ms. Kartika would be the first."

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein waited more than a week before announcing the punishment at a news conference following the government's weekly cabinet meeting Wednesday. He didn't provide details of the women's identities. Later in the day, Mr. Hishammuddin said in a statement that four men also were sentenced and caned in connection with the case. They also weren't identified.

All seven were found guilty of illicit sex and sentenced by a Shariah court in the Kuala Lumpur area between December and January.

"I hope this will not be misunderstood, so that it defiles the sanctity of Islam," Mr. Hishammuddin said. "The punishment is to teach and give a chance to those who have fallen off the path to return and build a better life in the future."

Two of the women and the four men were each struck six times, while the other woman was struck four times.