06-13-2014, 11:58 AM
Okay, Mo, tell me if I'm losing my mind here.
I'm starting to wonder if the Sultan of Brunei made a good decision in officially adopting sharia law.
He's got a tiny secular nation, Muslim-heavy, with some real wealth and natural resources in a strategic location.
Given what's going on with Islamic fundamentalist insurgents and foreign infiltrators fighting to overthrow secular governments -- and in some cases using the promotion of sharia law as their mission statement and justification for terrorist acts -- in Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iraq, etc...would it be off-base for the Sultan to consider Brunei a logical future target?
2⁄3 of Brunei's university enrollments are now female, the standard of living is equivalent to some western countries (though it's said to be hellish for foreign workers), and sharia has always been heavily practiced in the country anyway (alongside a parallel British justice system). And, so, in a proactively defensive move, he decides to remove the perceived bulls-eye from his chest. "We've adopted sharia law; nothing to be accomplished and no excuse to bring your terrorist fight here; keep your hands offa my stack" kinda deal.
If Brunei formally/officially adopted sharia law to ensure greater national security and manages to minimize actual changes in society in the process, is that a winning strategy? Could be, IMO. Yeah, Jay Leno, Ellen, and Richard Branson won't be vacationing there anytime soon and there is probably some financial loss associated with western boycotts of Brunei-owned businesses abroad, but that's a small cost as compared to revolution, war, or invasion.
I'm just thinking out loud and connecting perceived dots -- could be completely off base. But, it makes some sense of a very rich party-loving monarch making that official change when it doesn't appear anything was broken internally in the first place.
I'm starting to wonder if the Sultan of Brunei made a good decision in officially adopting sharia law.
He's got a tiny secular nation, Muslim-heavy, with some real wealth and natural resources in a strategic location.
Given what's going on with Islamic fundamentalist insurgents and foreign infiltrators fighting to overthrow secular governments -- and in some cases using the promotion of sharia law as their mission statement and justification for terrorist acts -- in Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iraq, etc...would it be off-base for the Sultan to consider Brunei a logical future target?
2⁄3 of Brunei's university enrollments are now female, the standard of living is equivalent to some western countries (though it's said to be hellish for foreign workers), and sharia has always been heavily practiced in the country anyway (alongside a parallel British justice system). And, so, in a proactively defensive move, he decides to remove the perceived bulls-eye from his chest. "We've adopted sharia law; nothing to be accomplished and no excuse to bring your terrorist fight here; keep your hands offa my stack" kinda deal.
If Brunei formally/officially adopted sharia law to ensure greater national security and manages to minimize actual changes in society in the process, is that a winning strategy? Could be, IMO. Yeah, Jay Leno, Ellen, and Richard Branson won't be vacationing there anytime soon and there is probably some financial loss associated with western boycotts of Brunei-owned businesses abroad, but that's a small cost as compared to revolution, war, or invasion.
I'm just thinking out loud and connecting perceived dots -- could be completely off base. But, it makes some sense of a very rich party-loving monarch making that official change when it doesn't appear anything was broken internally in the first place.