Human rights trumps delicious food and serene settings.
Yesterday, I reviewed the restaurant at the Bel-Air hotel. I stand by my post, but need to discuss the hotel’s ownership.
The Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the Brunei government, owns The Hotel Bel-Air as well as the Beverly Hills Hotel which are part of the Dorchester Collection. Recently, the Brunei government has come under widespread criticism since Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced last week the new criminal code based on sharia law, the moral code and religious law of Islam considered the infallible law of God.
Harsh penalties for homosexuality, adultery and other sharia law crimes in the oil-rich nation of Brunei sparked a protest Monday in front of the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel and are expected to draw formal condemnation from the Los Angeles City Council. The proposed resolution also calls for the Brunei government to sell the hotels.
Under the first phase of the legal code announced last week, fines and jail terms can be imposed for failing to attend Friday prayers, indecent behavior and pregnancies outside of marriage. A second phase later this year prescribes the severing of limbs and flogging for property crimes. The third phase, set for late 2015, will allow for death by stoning for crimes including adultery, rape and gay sex.
Sharia law is for the ordinary people. The rich and powerful are exempted from it. I was a contractor from Malaysia doing some work in Khartoum, Sudan, about 20 years ago. Our Malaysian boss was able to procure prostitutes with the help of his friend who was a VIP over there to satisfy his sexual urges. He was boasting it doesn’t matter whether the country is Islamic or not as long as you have money and connections, anything goes. So much for syaria law.
Terrific. Really well put.
Paula
Sharia law is for the ordinary people. The rich and powerful are exempted from it. I was a contractor from Malaysia doing some work in Khartoum, Sudan, about 20 years ago. Our Malaysian boss was able to procure prostitutes with the help of his friend who was a VIP over there to satisfy his sexual urges. He was boasting it doesn’t matter whether the country is Islamic or not as long as you have money and connections, anything goes. So much for syaria law.