Remember "moderate" Indonesia. And Obama's fondness for the moderate version of Islam there. Here's how moderate it is.
A Shariah court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province has sentenced two gay men to public caning for the first time, further undermining the country's moderate image after a top Christian politician was imprisoned for blasphemy.
The court, whose sentencing Wednesday coincided with International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, said the men, aged 20 and 23, would each be subjected to 85 lashes for having sexual relations. One of the men cried as his sentence was read out and pleaded for leniency.
The chief prosecutor, Gulmaini, who goes by one name, said they will be caned next week, before Ramadan starts on about May 25.
When progressives support Shariah law, this is what they support. When they buy into Islamist claims that opposing Sharia law is Islamophobic, they have to choose between Islamophobia and Homophobia.
And you only get to pick one.
The lead judge, Khairil Jamal, said the men were "legally and convincingly proven to have committed gay sex."
He said the three-judge panel decided against imposing the maximum sentence of 100 lashes because the men were polite in court, cooperated with authorities and had no previous convictions.
"As Muslims, the defendants should uphold the Shariah law that prevails in Aceh," Jamal said.
Indeed. This is Islamic law. And it's a moderate implementation of it. If you want to see real Islamic law in action, pay a visit to ISIS.
Aceh implemented an expanded Islamic criminal code two years ago that allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including gay sex.
Caning is also a punishment for adultery, gambling, drinking alcohol, women who wear tight clothes and men who skip Friday prayers. More than 300 people were caned for such offenses last year.
We're still waiting for an Obama condemnation. Perhaps he can tell Indonesia's Muslim supremacists that this isn't who we are.