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On May 1, the Sultanate of Brunei introduced the first of three phases in its adoption of a penal code based on Islamic law, or Sharia. The move brought with it a flurry of international outcry, condemnation and moral indignation in the United States. The outrage over the adoption of a Sharia-based penal code, however, has outweighed any actual understanding of not only Sharia, but also of the Sultan of Brunei's calculated political move. Condemnations have focused, in particular, on the application of the death penalty by stoning for offences such as blasphemy and illicit sex acts such as sodomy, rape and extra-marital sex; whipping and amputations for "less serious crimes". According to the UN, Brunei's adoption of the penal code violates international law as "stoning people to death constitutes torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment and is thus clearly prohibited". Amnesty International also warned that the move threatened to send the country back to the "dark ages".
