Next time AI will stick to bashing Israel.

(Jakarta Globe) — Acehnese clerics have criticized Amnesty International’s call for the Indonesian government to repeal a bylaw that allowed caning, arguing that the practice did not violate any regulation in the world.

In a statement released on Sunday, Amnesty said that caning violated the UN Convention Against Torture, which Indonesia ratified in 1998, and urged central government to review the bylaw to conform with international and national human rights laws and standards.

Clerics in Banda Aceh, however, dismissed the criticism, saying it originated from an ignorance of Shariah law, Islam and Indonesia.

“It is their right to criticize,” said Teungku Muslim Ibrahim, head of the province’s Consultative Assembly of Ulema (MPU) and a professor at Aceh’s State Islamic Institute (IAIN). “But as long as they do not seek to understand Shariah, they will continue to criticize something they know little about.”

He said the regulation governing caning as judicial punishment was in line with the country’s laws and did “not violate any regulation in the world.”

Caning adopted partial Shariah Law in 2001 as part of an autonomy package aimed at quelling separatist sentiment. Caning carried out there is mainly aimed at causing shame rather than injury. It is also used as a mandatory punishment for certain crimes in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

“People criticize because they don’t understand. The rules in Aceh are clear,” Muslim said. “The Koran says that those who believe in Allah and Rasulullah Muhammad Sallalaahu Alaihi Wassalam must not abide by laws other than the ones determined by their God.”