'Outstanding' Leader Obama Fawned over Just Legalized the Stoning of Gays
Believe it or not, an old pal of former President Barack Obama is turning out quite the opposite of the “outstanding” leader Barry made him out to be.
During a meeting with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in 2013, as The Washington Post reported at the time, Obama welcomed his “good friend” to Washington, practically fawning over the ruler’s “outstanding leadership” of his tiny Southeast Asian nation.
Obama was also apparently awestruck by the sultan’s ability to pilot a plane.
“I’m glad that he’s had a chance to visit. He got here yesterday and flew in his own 747, meaning he actually piloted it himself,” Obama said. “I think he’s probably the only head of state in the world who flies a 747 himself. And so in case Air Force One pilots have problems, we know who to consult.”
The exchange, complete with reporters laughing at Obama’s less-than-stellar jokes, can be seen on the White House’s YouTube channel below. Obama’s praise of the sultan goes on long, and gets laid on thick.
Perhaps if Obama wasn’t too busy making jokes at the expense of his own pilots, he may have noticed that the sultan is not exactly a leader worthy of all that praise.
Since the sultan is the unquestioned leader of his country (he’s also the defense minister, finance minister, and prime minister — can you see why Obama loved this guy?), the direction and actions of Brunei ultimately fall on his shoulders.
As a 2010 report by the U.S. Department of State found, free speech is restricted and it is a crime to challenge the authority of the sultan or his family. Women are similarly disadvantaged, with the law not recognizing a rape between husband and wife as a crime.
But Brunei’s latest move is perhaps the most brutal in its recent history.
As The Associated Press reports, Islamic criminal laws – literally called the Shariah Penal Code — instituted by the sultan were recently updated to include brutal punishments for everything from homosexuality to theft.
Thieves, if captured, lose their right hand under the law. If caught a second time, amputation of the left foot is the punishment.
Thieves have it easy compared to the LGBT community, however.
If found guilty of gay sex, offenders can be stoned to death. These laws apply to citizens of Brunei as well as visitors and tourists to the sultanate.
Celebrity backlash in the United States has been fierce. LGBT icons like Ellen DeGeneres called for the boycott of hotels owned by the sultan.
Tomorrow, the country of #Brunei will start stoning gay people to death. We need to do something now. Please boycott these hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up. pic.twitter.com/24KJsemPGH
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) April 2, 2019
The sultan appears to have already dug himself in, however.
A statement through his prime minister’s office declared, “Brunei Darussalam is a sovereign Islamic and fully independent country and, like all other independent countries, enforces its own rule of laws. Brunei Darussalam has always been practising a dual legal system, one that is based on the Syariah Law and the other on Common Law.”
“The Syariah Law,” the statement later continues, “apart from criminalizing and deterring acts that are against the teachings of Islam, it also aims to educate, respect and protect the legitimate rights of all individuals, society or nationality of any faiths and race.”
Nothing says “respecting the legitimate rights of all individuals” like a good old-fashioned stoning. Unfortunately for many in Brunei, this is now an everyday reality of life.
Call it a difference in leadership style — or maybe something more fundamental — but thankfully it’s unlikely President Donald Trump will be giving the sultan the same praise as Obama did.
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