The Aceh provincial administration and legislative council have approved the Qanun Jinayat (behavior-governing bylaw), which means that both Muslims and non-Muslims in Aceh must follow sharia. Aceh has enforced sharia for a while now, but it was only enforced for Muslims. Now, non-Muslims must follow it, and all violators will be tried under Islamic law regardless of their religion.
Those who passed the bylaw state that it is unfair for Muslims to be punished when non-Muslims are not. But social scientist Saifuddin Bantasyam stated that he thought it would be awkward for Islamic law to be applied to non-Muslims, regardless of whether the violation was categorized as a sharia violation.
Ask the Father to encourage believers in Aceh despite this recent ruling. Pray that this would provide an opening in conversation to share the Gospel.
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