Saturday, July 25, 2009

Islam, alcohol and justice

I remember sitting in a Moroccan restaurant in Paris a few years back enjoying dolomints while discussing politics with a few friends. Our waiter, a good guy who I eventually befriended, told me he had been caned for drinking a dolomint at a party. He received 10 lashes from a religious court.  He showed me his scars. When I asked what he did about it, because in those days I had no idea that Islam was just nuts, he said, “I came to France.”

Dolomint: Gin, Galliano, Lime Juice, Soda Water, Mint Leaves.

Kartika_Sari_Dewi_ShukarnoI  remember thinking his experience was pathetic because there was no way I was going to take a caning for drinking something as unremarkable as a dolomint. A good beer maybe…

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old model, was arrested on charges of drinking beer after Islamic authorities raided a hotel nightclub last year. She was sentenced Monday to six lashes with a rattan cane after pleading guilty in the Shariah High Court.

Shariah courts are BS. Islam is way to concerned about the behavior of others, which is my rub with religions in general. When you take away a persons right to do as they choose and replace those rights with arbitrary rules interpreted by religious zealots, you end up with 10 lashes for drinking beer. It better have been a good beer. Can you imagine getting canned for a Coors?

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