Malaysian judge orders Muslim man to be caned, jailed for drinking

The Quran only bans grape-based fermented beverages. If he had a beer, gin, vodka or pernod, he should be let off the hook.

I wonder what the next outrageou or wacky piece of religious news will be about. Whatever it is, we can be confident it will be soon.

One of the arguments that Muslins use to defend the stupidity of their religion is that they must keep to the written word of Koran, i.e., the word is not open to interpretation. Well it would seem that it is open to interpretation since, as Beelzebub points out the “The Quran only bans grape-based fermented beverages”. Typical of all religious nutters they corrupt their own religion to suit their own perverse thinking.

Where is Malaysia on the list of Amnesty International? Caning a human being for having an alcoholic drink? Isn't the former worse than the latter? Amnesty International is aware of human rights violations, but the self righteous administrators in Malaysia are not. "Since 2002, more than 35,000 people have been caned or flogged, most of them irregular migrants." Cruel, inhumane, callous and appalling.

Islamic law is the most ridiculous, backwards, un-evolved religious edict there is. Keep it up guys. More information like this will encourage less tourism to your crazy country's regime.

no wonder Japan keeps its border controls tight. who needs religious nut cases like this invading your country. Just be happy the law applies in Malaysia.

So this is the only news that comes out of Malaysia these days, caning for drinking. Well that's got to be bad for foreign investment as it paints a backward society.

So this is the only news that comes out of Malaysia these days, caning for drinking. Well that's got to be bad for foreign investment as it paints a backward society.

Well it IS a backward society, so it's an accurate portrayal. Some fancy buildings and slick tourism ads don't do much to drag the country out of the dark ages in human rights and racial equality.

Well it IS a backward society...

Too true. The fundimentalist interpretation of Islam has been holding the Arabs back since the middle ages. Good thing Europe tossed off the Vatican version of the same thing just in time to pick up the slack. When religion trumps civil government the result is pain.

HonestDictator If you read the article carefuly, the court ordered a MUSLIM man to be caned not NON MUSLIMS. Feel free to visit the beautiful and exotic Malaysia.You can go to nighclubs, bars, dancing halls, no dress code restrictions...

So, the courts ordered the man to be flogged 6 times and spend a year in jail, but if the religious authorities had been the ones to catch him, he would have only got a warning? That's seriously messed up. So the Malaysian law is even more extreme than the religious authorities?

HonestDictator If you read the article carefuly, the court ordered a MUSLIM man to be caned not NON MUSLIMS. Feel free to visit the beautiful and exotic Malaysia.You can go to nighclubs, bars, dancing halls, no dress code restrictions...

But make sure its only in Malasia. They're more tolerant there then in all the other Muslim countries. Thats because just under half the population isn't muslim. Countries like S.A. are much stricter. You basically can't do anything in those coutries without risking arrest. And there, being a non-muslim in a muslim society is like a crime.

So this is the only news that comes out of Malaysia these days, caning for drinking. Well that's got to be bad for foreign investment as it paints a backward society.

Animallover, most westerners find the idea of holidaying in places with dual legal systems fairly repugnant. It evokes memories of Apartheid-era South Africa. It would be one thing if Malaysian courts didn't force people to become Muslim (ie you are Muslim if you are Malay) and didn't deny people the freedom to choose their religion that is enshrined in the Malaysian constitution - but they do.

Most tourists would rather spend money in more progressive places - like pretty much everywhere else in SE Asia. Malaysia may be beautiful but only if disregard the piles of rubbish on the side of the road and the heavily polluted waters on the Western coast.

Argh, quoted the wrong poster, meant to quote:

If you read the article carefuly, the court ordered a MUSLIM man to be caned not NON MUSLIMS. Feel free to visit the beautiful and exotic Malaysia.You can go to nighclubs, bars, dancing halls, no dress code restrictions...

Animalover it doesn't matter to me if they only penalize Muslims, it matters to me that they penalize anyone for such a thing and then tag on bizarre capital punishment to boot. Any country like that I will avoid at all costs. I'd even hang out in China before I'd kick it in Malaysia due to religious influence in government laws.