Weird and disturbing news out of Malaysia:
A Malaysian state plans to recruit "spies" from the public to snoop on unmarried lovers and report them to Islamic religious authorities, a newspaper said Tuesday.
The Terengganu state government plans to enlist the part-time spies to look out for un-Islamic behavior, such as unmarried couples kissing or holding hands, the Star daily said.
"Some of these 'spies' could be waitresses or even janitors at hotels acting as auxiliary undercover agents for our religious department," the head of the state government's Islamic and welfare committee, Rosol Wahid, was quoted as saying.
And this is why we can't have Sharia law in Canada, not even just a little bit. It not only demeans those it targets for punishment, it has an erosive effect on the rest of society, even those members who are following the rules faithfully. The incorporation of the State into the Church, and the use of State organs of security as a way of enforcing Church doctrine invariably leads to this sort of thing. Now your co-workers, your neighbours, maybe even your family -- anyone could be a State agent, but tasked to judging your faith instead of taking measure of your observance of purely civil rules and procedures. Distrust and ultimately paranoia -- Orwell's nightmare comes true with Big Brother married to the Crescent of Islam.
Don't fool yourself. Had Islamic tribunals been established in Canada, as was considered, Muslims appearing before them would have been judged in part on the quality of their faith instead of just on the merits of the case. And for that, close friends and relatives would be compelled to testify, assuming they don't just freely offer up the dirt.
Maybe that's what Allah wants -- everyone to be fearful of each other. I guess that's one way for an Islamic state to avoid having to face organized rebellion.
