Police have completed investigating the case of Mohamed Nazim and have submitted the matter to the Prosecutor General’s office.
Nazim publicly claimed he was “Maldivian and not a Muslim” during a question-and-answer session with Islamic speaker Zakir NaikNaik in March, angering many in the 11,000-strong crowd and forcing police and Islamic Ministry officials to escort him from the venue for his own protection.
After two days of religious counselling while in police custody, Nazim appeared before television cameras at an Islamic Ministry press conference and gave Shahada – the Muslim testimony of belief – and apologised for causing “agony for the Maldivian people” and requested that the community accept him back into society.
Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameen confirmed the PG’s office had received the case from police, but had not yet taken the decision to submit it to the Criminal Court.
According to the Maldivian constitution all citizens are required to be Muslim, and the country is always described as a ‘100 percent’ Muslim country.
Minister for Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari told Minivan News at the time that he was unsure if Maldivian law had a penalty for apostasy. Where the country’s laws do not cover such a case, Maldivian courts default to sharia law.
Apostasy is considered a grave sin under Islam, although scholarly opinion varies as to its punishment: in response to Nazim’s question, Dr Naik clarified that the penalty was only death “if the person becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his faith and speaks against Islam. Just because a person who is a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim, death penalty is not the ruling.”
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“Speaking your mind in matters of religion”
Ahmed Aliased is too naive to believe that religious strife is the main reason for most of the warfare in the world, not eating during Ramazan.
So the HEAVIEST fine or PENALTY should be on people who try to create religious discord in Maldives and rigth now the culprits are evidently, fanatics or fundos of ATHEISM!
Is this enough to stir your silly “mirth”?
@meekaaku
"Do not each individual deserve justice?"
We all do BUT it all depends on what type of "justice" is sought.
Did it ever occur to you at the end of this all, the type of justice demanded will include "Same-sex marriage"?
That according to some is the new found evolutionary step forward, and we Muslims are refusing to EVOLVE??!
How on earth can we call that "justice"?
Look at the court cases all around the world? Don't you think that's where we are headed?
The day we have that kind of justice we might as well die of SHAME!
@mekaaku
"Do not each individual deserve justice?"
We all do. What type of justice do you want?
@heck on Thu, 2nd Sep 2010 2:45 PM
"What type of justice do you want?"
Good question. But you have opened a can of worms. The question of what is justice is century old debate, and it is not over in the realm of political philosophy.
But the basic premise is i think fairness and equality before the law. Laws should be such that a person will not be treated differently depending on his/her social status, wealth, colour, gender, clan, family, ethnicity, faith etc.
Do you suppose that one should be deprived of his rights and property (let alone life) just because he has a different faith? Or ethnicity? or gender?
History has shown that people with power has enforced their own pet peeves, be it religious, ethnic, economic. The results has been the death of thousands of people.
@meekaaku
"Do you suppose that one should be deprived of his rights and property (let alone life) just because he has a different faith?"
I talk to people of "different faith" every day. It never came to my mind during my interactions with them that THEY should be killed for their faith!? Funny stuff.
What are you TRYING to say?
Are you talking about "faith" that involves an ALMIGHTY BEING the LIGHT of which can never be extinguished, or "faith" that is governed by fleshy NEEDS of human beings, that can EITHER be quelled or inflamed?
If it's the latter, then, ONE is in a dangerous situation. If the REAL LIGHT out of mercy, passes a ray towards him, they either take heed and try to follow the ray towards the SOURCE or ignore the ray and be submerged into more darkness. Darkness UPON darkness, until the layers of darkness accumulate and build up on him.
If it's the former, ONE should find the LIGHT that is able to lead him out of darkness and avoid PEOPLE who are dazzled by their own light, NEITHER allowing themselves to see the REAL light, NOR leading other people out of darkness.
So tell me again, what "faith" are you talking about?
heck:
"So the HEAVIEST fine or PENALTY should be on people who try to create religious discord in Maldives and rigth now the culprits are evidently, fanatics or fundos of ATHEISM!"
I wonder just how speaking your mind can create what you call religious discord. Or is it that Maldivians are that insecure about their faith?