Imposing the death penalty, following Shari’a, and harsher prison conditions are the best way forward for solving the increasing violence in Maldivian society, several MPs have stated.
Fares-Maathodaa MP Ibrahim Muththalib said the major problem faced by society today is the decision of the criminal justice system to ignore Shari’a. “We cast aside the Shari’a and adopted man-made sentencing laws”, he said, making today’s violent society possible.
“Instead of being put to death, murderers are allowed to languish in prisons, given the opportunity to get married and to procreate. We cannot stop the violence without stopping such practices. We cannot stop such problems without a death for death policy”, Muththalib told the Majlis.
“I believe that if you impose the death sentence on just two people in this country, there will no longer be anyone left who will kill. If you amputate the hands of two people in this country, there will be no more thieves left. We have to think about how we can establish these principles of Islam”, Muththalib said.
The debate began after an emergency motion tabled by Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed on Monday to discuss the violent murder of 81-year-old business man, Hussein Manik, on September 27 in Hoarafushi.
“Those who kill should be killed”, Rasheed said, introducing the motion. “We should amend our penal system to ensure that those who endanger the lives of others would be held in solitary confinement for life, and are never eligible for parole”, Rasheed told the Majlis.
If the murderers of Mohamed, or “any criminals of the sort” should ever return to Hoarafushi, he said, he would personally lead a campaign to provide justice to the people of the island. “I will not hesitate, even if it means that I personally get entangled in the law.”
Madaveli MP Mohamed Nazim agreed that the death penalty, as in the Shari’a, was the answer. “Islam is unequivocal that the penalty for death should be death”. The current violence in the country is a consequence of ignoring or violating the teachings of Islam, he said.
“Otherwise, had we maintained the principle of death for death the murderer would not be there to kill again, or to encourage others to kill. The problems we are confronting today is a consequence of ignoring this principle, which would have set an example for the Ummah and the nation’, he said.
Nazim also said there is no need to amend the country’s murder laws, as the death penalty already exists. “I do not see anything in the penal code that says the penalty for murder should be changed to 25 years imprisonment”.
Nazim said that unless and until the death penalty is imposed, as it is stated in the current penal code, the escalating violence in the Maldives could not be stopped.
Thoddoo MP Ali Waheed attributed the increase in violent crime to the lack of proper prisons. “People who should be behind bars are sitting around on the beaches, sucking on butts and all sorts of things – this is the result”, he said.
Drugs, agreed several MPs, were the main cause for the increase in violence in the Maldives. “We know that sometimes people can get intoxicated to such an extent that they become unaware of their own actions. Sometimes murder can be committed,” said Vilifushi area MP Riyaz Rasheed.
MPs themselves should set a good example, and allegations of intoxicating substances being found in their places of residence or their vehicles are not helping matters, Riyaz Rasheed said.
“Pictures of official delegations abroad show them drinking some sort of a yellow liquid”, he said. Unless such ways are amended, there would be no solution to the social problems of the Maldives today, Riyaz Rasheed said.
Maavashu member Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakr suggested that religious scholars can make the most important contribution to the problems in society. Perjury, he said, is a major problem in Maldivian courts.
The gravity of such an act, as stated in Islam, should be made clear. “It is incumbent upon religious scholars to relay the ominous penalties that await such actions in Islam”, he said.
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state outlaws drug use. but state officials can use drugs freely.
state outlaws murder, and exempts itself from this law.
am i the only who sees the paradox
"an eye for an eye, and the world whole would be blind"
I am deeply worried about the state of mind of some of the MPs. Are these really the people who are being given the responsibility of our legislature under a democratic Constitution?
It is a sad day for us when the MPs are openly, without fear discussing taking laws into the own hands and expressing views that can actually spark violence and perhaps legitimising violence.
Dear ignorant MPs, there is a reason why many coutries have left the bush and have established a system of Governance that will ensure justice.
The US have had death penalty and that has not really changed the crime level - people in Saudi Arabia get raped and killed and murdered all the time.
OPEN YOUR EYES DEAR MPS!!!!
I'm as shocked by this cowardly, horrific murder as anyone else, but to use this as a justification to impose the shari'ah system is a bit worrying.
I find I'm not against the death penalty in cases of extreme violent crimes such as this, but I'd like to point out that there isn't a more abused system of law than Shari'ah in the world today.
By resting the entire judiciary on the whims of a few our "scholars", we'd be committing a much larger social crime.
If the outcomes of cases in other countries that have implemented this system are anything to go by, we'd have lashing for rape victims, stoning for "crimes" that affected no one, and of course - goodbye Co-education!
Despite the common law still in practise in the Maldives, mullah judges have acquitted ax-wielding child rapists on the sickening premise that the child didn't scream, so it must have been "consensual sex".
With such bright legal minds among our "scholars", I shudder to think someone's seriously considering giving them all the power to decide common people's fates.
The principles of shari'ah are more closely observed in modern, codified legal systems - where justice is held above the mere whims and fancies of a selected few nutjobs.
If justice exists, it exists where shari'ah law (as defined by people like Muttalib) hasn't reached.
My dear Maldivian friends--I would never offer to judge your legal system,but I will state that there are plenty of people in our world that should have been executed rather than been imprisoned,and I am not alone in this belief...
They want shari'a law in a country that is practically roiling in injustice?.
Inb4 innocents who refuse to engage in crime get their hands amputated by bribed witnesses, women get killed when they refuse the sexual advances of filthy rich lechers, and every other injustice that shari'a law brings.
Seriously, name one single country under shari'a law today that is free from injustice and tyranny.
Also, Muththalib is a bald-faced liar. In this country, murderers never go to prison. They are almost always set free for "lack of evidence". It is mostly the innocent, or the framed that end up in prison. That's to be expected, though. He has connections to the adhaalath parteys.
Please know that every study ever done on the implications of death penalty on crime have demonstrated that having the death penalty does not deter crime.
The consequences of crime are the last thing people examine when committing violent crimes or theft. Having the death penalty only means that society comes one step closer to making the mistake, and we always do, of putting an innocent to death.
Maldives has had a moratorium on the death penalty for 58 years, crime has not increased in its absence, but over crowding, and lack of opportunities have pushed crime forward.
Religious scholars, Quran teachers and Muezzins are angels in human form. They are just, will never break the law and are experts at keeping their fingers off little children and their hearts pure.
In other words, exemplary models of the perfect human.
We MUST trust them. It just makes sense.
LOL! We Maldivians are going to hell for being embarrassingly stupid.
congratulation on the idiots that elected the idiot !!!!
I am here since more then 15teens years, and most of the times in Male. Male become more and more violent.
I think this a normal human law we should respect.
maldives problem is, drugs and alcohol. Who to blame? Govermant! drugs -you can stop at the airport with drug-DOG. Alcohol, well there you start by the Police responsible person, who is seating in the Office, instead to check what is going on On the road! Somebody is earning a lot of money!! They want money the shari’a law ? When was writen?
And yes bring this discussion in public it is not professinal how you talk. I agree with above writer. Still crime is going on in the USA. don't make you blind to get more money, think about your country , then paradise is going down. Many changes but nothing is changing.
aaa trade ministery, if you like a lince to do a workshop for the goods of peole, you are forced to do ilegal , then they give you temporarly license or they will tell sorry we can not give , but kust do it! ??? yes it is truth! Hello people like to hones but anger is coming!
It’s better to conduct seminars about laws to these MPs, main legal systems like Common Law, Sharia’h and Civil Law. Hoarafushi MP has no knowledge about criminal justice. He seems to be mastered in street justice mechanism.
I agree that the failure of the judges are behind the escalating violent crime rates of this country. I also agree that harsher penalties (including death sentence when appropriate) are needed to bring about civility to the society. The laws may well need sorting but the laws by themselves mean nothing until a reasonable bunch of judges start applying them.
The only concern about death penalty is that it would be abused. Perhaps we need to introduce it to get the country into shape and then revisit the issue when the memories or frequent violent crimes becomes only a distant one...
Writing here on the comments will do little to change their minds, fellow Maldivians.
We must once more gather to the streets in numbers and let these dumb asses know what we think of their outdated,horribly corruptible,biased Sharia'h law.
From the day they were elected to these chairs, this is the very first time that they have advocated anything for the sake of the public. Thanks for those MP’s. If you can pass this bill it will give a bit of berating space to all of us. This is something we should have implemented long time ago.
The message for those who advocate against capital punishment, there is reason why Allah Almighty has allowed Capital punishment in our religion which you closed mind will never understand. Do you know that even in USA, Capital punishment is allowed.
Once an eye for eye and ear for ear is implemented, other issues will settle by its own. Dear MP’s, please pass this bill at earliest possible and save us from this hell.
“saeed”
The sharí‘a is a complete way of life; no aspect of human life is outside its domain.
Islam expects a Muslim to follow its laws in every aspect of life: personal and familial, religious and social, moral and political, economic and business, etc.
After all, “Muslim” means one who submits to God. The Qur’ân says, “When Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, it is not for any believing man or believing woman to have a choice in their affairs. And whosoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger has gone astray into clear error.” (33:36)
As expected the MPs has as much insight into social problems of Maldives as the adhaalath parteys grasp of the sciences.
For once a majlis member raised a good issue. Although they are certain not to meet their actions with words..
And..
There is no need to spend lot of public money for years and years caring for serious criminals by keeping them in jail.
Reasons:
1. The criminals themselves will not love to live a half life behind bars all the time. Humans are designed to be free. So they will not enjoy life time in jail..
2. The public needs not pay for a crime they did not pay.
3. Criminality will decrease if the criminals understand they cannot take advantage of others. They will think twice before doing a serious crime if they know they will meet serious punishment.
4. The victim is entitled to a fair recompense. The essence of justice is being fair. If A stole 500rf from B then B is entitled that same amount, not less or more. So if the relatives of the dead person demand blood of the murderer and will not settle for anything else then the murderer shall be killed.
5. Even most advanced nations like the US understands that some human beings are simply not worth keeping... so they execute serious criminals.
MP are morons. Does it matter what punishment they receive if they don't receive it all?
Aminath are u comparing Saudi and Americans crime level, i suggest u to go have a research on this.. there is more crimes in the western countries than the Islamic countries..i support the MP;s..MP's go pass this bill. and give capital punishment.
what did MP waheed mean when he said people are at the beach sucking butts? i'm worried.
It's not the failure of the judges nor the failure of the law that's the problem. The problem is the failure of the Police investigations.
Now, let's say that in the case of the murder of the 81 year old man, the Police bring a sack load of money found buried in a house linked to the accused. Is that enough evidence to sentence him for murder? Of course not! Even though, there is a strong link, this is not enough to convict the man of murder and that's true under Islamic law as any other law.
First and foremost, train the IGNORANT Members of Parliament and the INCOMPETENT Police force.
To give capital punishment is very sensitive and it must be implemented in a proper judicial system furthermore even in Sharia law it is not easy to give capital punishment it has to be proven properly and this hard. Because of this reason many countries adopted life sentence even in countries like Singapore where sever punishment exist for crimes. First to reduce crimes we need sever punishment and then it must be implemented so that such crimes will be reduced. We have designed a judicial system like in many developed countries where rule of law and crime rate is low. however we all know that crime rate compared to population is high among us and is rising. we have not seen such acts before (20 yrs back). Most of the criminals are not sentenced or found guilty based on evidence it is only if such person agrees that he/she committed a crime then only the judge is able to convict. so our judiciary is not mature to our "criminal" society nor is able to implement such a system however all the benefits of such systems are provided while all loop wholes are inherited and society at large have to suffer this.
People always seem to want justice after a crime has been committed. Maybe, people should seek prevention by dealing with the root causes of crime like poverty, ignorance, and lack of education and opportunities instead. Even more, if people think they are above the law, they will challenge it over and over again. When people see that the law only applies to those that can't afford to buy their way out of trouble, or believe that the law only protects the powerful, then lawlessness ensues.
A famous author once said "if you want to understand a society, take a look at its prisons." This is because our prisons contain the results of all that is rotten in our societies. Lets begin by fixing the causes of crime and stop using death as a political tool to feel relevant.
Hello are we livving in the 21st century or the dark ages?
Has every one forgotten that the current government was elected on a human rights platform?
Do the MPs with their fat salaries and bank accounts realise the underlying causes for the increae in crime in the Maldives?
Most importantly, does anyone care??
FYI their is no capitol punishment for murder (cold blooded in nature) in Islamic law! Islamic law says it's the victim's family that will decide to revenge or claim for blood money or even forgive the murderers! however it's encouraged to be merciful to the guilty murderer! But according to law the murder will lose the right to inheritance!
Please stop sympathizing these criminals and talk more about the right of the victims! if you are claiming this which you call "barbaric" ruling in effective in controlling crimes let me let you a fact that harsh prison neither helps. infant it makes criminals even more aggressive! why waste people's money to keep them alive and well fed while victim family grieves on their loss?