Living in

Sharjah is a no-tolerance location. There is a sharia court which punishes people for what we in the west consider normal ways of living. It seems that living together without marriage is a serious crime.

As with anything, I suppose once you get on the ground there it may be different, but for now, all that I read about says the opposite.

“One 15-year-old girl from Kalba said she was kept at the Sharjah Rehabilitation Centre for 11 months and received 90 lashes because she was involved in a sexual relationship with a man.”

“Another 15-year-old girl said she had a sexual relationship with her 18-year-old national boyfriend. She went out with him every day. She became pregnant and was caught by police at his house. She was sent to the Sharjah Rehabilitation Centre for one year and received 100 lashes.”

“The Imam (preacher) of a mosque here has been sentenced to one month in prison and 90 lashes followed by deportation for spending time alone with a woman. Killa Mohammed was arrested at a friend’s home alone with housemaid N. Jihan.

The police raided the home after being tipped off and arrested the man and the woman and later the owner of the home. The Imam, an Indian, and the housemaid were accused of adultery. But after the case went to the Sharia Court, the charge against the Imam and the housemaid was changed to cohabitation, which also violates Islamic teachings. “