Police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer uniform regulations have been amended to allow the growing of beards.
Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz informed local media that the police management board had decided to allow officers to grow beards as officers had been requesting it.
Riyaz said the regulations had been amended and sent to the Home Ministry to be forwarded to the President’s Office, for publication in the government gazette on June 1.
According to the new amendment, police will be allowed to grow their beards up to two centimetres in length.
Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim has also confirmed the uniform regulations for MNDF officers will be amended, and published in the government gazette.
Nazim told local newspapers that the decision was made after requests from MNDF officers, on the grounds of religion and human rights.
The growing of beards by the armed forces was permitted in many other countries, Nazim said.
In May 2012, the Islamic Ministry requested amendments to the uniform code of the security services to authorise army and police officers to grow facial hair.
A media official from the ministry told Minivan News at the time that a letter was sent to the President’s Office officially requesting the policy change “to give permission to police and army officers to grow beards as in other Islamic countries, since our constitution is based on Islamic principles.”
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Many keep them, but how many have overruled existing bans to please Islamist parties? Only fanatical states like Dhivehistan. The 2 cm limit must have been a hard compromise to swallow. But not to worry. This is the beginning of the Islamic Guards of Dhivehistan. I expect the 2 cm limit to be removed andd black tents for women to be included in the regulations soon.
I cannot understand why Islamic Guards of Dhivehistan do not like gay people like me.
@Mr.Homo
Getting all worked up??and ya thank you for calling us Dhivehi izstan- we are v proud of our great language,but how will you ever understand cox the only thing on ur mind is ..............
So effing what?
Dhivehistanis believe that a beardless Arab dressed as a girl fought off a sea monster and brought Islam to them.
One of the national heros who waged a "jihad" against the Portugeuse is also portrayed as beardless by the Islamists.
Funny isn't it that fighting off infidels suddenly require a beard? Foreign mullahs have enforced the beard before (Sayyid Shamsuddin the Islamic missionary kicked out by Sultan Iskandhar I) but it never caught on. Now because of aggressive lobbying by foreign-educated mullahs the legacy of mullah Sayyid Shamsuddin has been revived. Arab Imperialism at it's best.
It is usually the case around the world that facial hair is not allowed in the military for safety reasons, i.e. unable to wear breathing apparatus or if it interferes with the uniform. But traditionally a lot of militaries have at one point or the other have allowed men to grow beards, even mandatory in some units.
In modern times, it can become a religious and human rights issue. For example, the UK military and the Canadian military, among a number of other services, allows for growing of full beard sets if it is for religious reasons but are always trimmed to certain standards. Under these circumstances an exception is usually made to the uniform regulations.
So, growing a beard while in the military does not necessarily mean radicalization, and it would be wrong to assume that just because a person in uniform is sporting a beard, that person is a Islamic radical. On the contrary banning it could be akin to something like the French 'veil ban' which Amnesty International condemned as a violation of Freedom of Expression and Religion in July 2010.
I am rather afraid that this can be one dangerous way politicized members in the forces can use their beards as a perfect disguise!
A Muslim behaving like a Muslim and being in the force with a beard can be acceptable.
But if these beards can be switched on and off; I am afraid it will be dangerous!
Though the majority of this country cannot come to think that on the streets of Male' and in the islands, there can be people with extreme thinking, taught guerrilla warfare and many things they can do to terrorize an unaware population like ours! Believe it or not!
Be aware!
It's all about personal choice. If someone wants a beard, let them have a beard. If someone forces YOU to have a beard, there's a problem.
The end.
great. now start whining about some grown men having facial hair. Big deal.
Next minivan headlines: armed forces do not trim nails, Former president declares it "security risk"
(yep with the quotations, you morons)
In the current Dhivehistani context, a beard is a sign of radicalization. When it has been lobbied by the Islamists and when it is kept to conform to Arab doctrine and when it is not a remnant of a history/culture, then it is a sign of radicalization. Dhivehistanis are obviously blind to this radicalization. I can't wait for the army to divide along sectarian lines and start fighting each other. This beard rule now makes the fanatics more visible... 🙂
oh dead
@Damn you snatched the words right out of my mouth.
----
@Homo, I trust you'd be able to twist and turn almost any deed or concept into one that's related to radicalisation of some form or another. Esp Islamic radicalisation since Islam-bashing seems to be your thang.
I say almost coz you'll do it with anything that does not align well with your personal pseudo-biological preference of entering faeco-exits. 🙂
----
Back in 2004,5,6 when the first MDP movement began, it was an establishment that stood for something. Mr Latheef and a few other dedicated, intelligent, articulate and brave men wrote to give birth to a force to be reckoned with - because it was based on truth and integrity. And now that man Nasheed has destroyed everything MDP stood for, all its values, and ruined its culture and most of all its reputation. I remember Mr Latheef's (better known as Gogo Latheef) articles were so beauttifully and was more so powerful. All that has been reduced to this - Minivan News.
Utterly disappointing.
@Joke. WTF does this have to do with MDP??
This is nothing but a political stunt to get more votes. Also, homosexual, although I agree with you on many things, I don't think islamic radicalization exists. Islam by itself, is already a radical fascist ideology. If anybody comes off as 'radicalized', then they are truly following the 'religion'.
Individual freedom is not a problem, Beard, Buruga, munundu, pray five times a day, no one is against it , But the problem starts when people believe these are divine laws and everybody has to believe them from the same angle.
I don’t think there will be anyone who will write anything against Islam, If Dhiveistanis stop believing that the Islam is the whole purpose of universe, and stop simplifying such complex biodiversity merely to 07th century worldview. We have no doubt that even there is God it is not what these Mullas think, The world is not that simple and we know beyond any reasonable doubt that human being did not come from Adam and Eve and the human being are not epicenter of the world we are simply part of it. When we know that theological view about origin of Human life is false, the rest of theological philosophy is questionable and fallen part.
If Dhivehistani want to live the same way their ancestor lived, you have the rights to do so but not with the kind of egoists and prejudice way that the rest of the world or any Dhivehistani who is intelligent enough to understand the universe are Kuffar. And you have to stop thinking that Islamic morals and ethics are superior to any other civilization. There are many religion who are very much fine tuned in morals and ethics. Buddhists have Karma and Christianity has, treat your neighbors’ as you have wished to be treated to get salvation. You can fight to uphold your religion as your tradition but not by condemning others to Hell. You may ask others to respect the religion to respect ancients who also tried to unfold the mystery of the universe, that mystery is still a mystery and obviously ancient people have not solved that and even we have not done that as well. When Dhivestanies can understand this simple logic the problem of extremist mullahs will be solved, and the politics and religion will be separated. Thos who want beard, buruga, they have freedom to do, but not at expenses of public domain. If you want Beard don’t go to work with the police or military or any institution that has strict uniform policy.
A big relief for mndf guys , now they don't have to give 10, for an unshaven facial hair.
Wives, yes it's a political stunt. This is what Adhaalath is getting in return for keeping quiet about SOFA -- 2 centimeters of military beard. But blind Arabophilic Dhivehistanis will see even this trimmed version of the Mohammad's tradition as Adhaalath's piety and rush to vote for AP. Muhammad didn't approve cutting the beard but I guess it's ok if it would bring Adhaalath to power. That's religion - you make it up as you go along.