Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has requested government authorities remove SAARC monuments that contradict Islam, placed in different areas around Addu City.
Dr Bari did not give further information about the matter to Minivan News, but confirmed that the media reports about the request he made were correct.
Local media have reported that Dr Bari has asked the President’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and Addu City Council to take down the offending SAARC monuments, although he did not specify which.
Speaking to Minivan News today, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the government will respect Dr Bari’s decision.
‘’All concerned authorities will respect the word of Dr Bari,” Zuhair said, but added that it was “very difficult for the government to return a monument gifted to the government, especially when it is handed to us by another Islamic country,’’ he said.‘’If you think of it diplomatically, it is very difficult.’’
Zuhair said the Islamic Minister’s request will be forwarded to the President, who will decide whether or not to remove the monuments as soon as he comes back to office after his post-SAARC vacation.
Former President of Adhaalath Party and current State Islamic Minister, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, today told Minivan News that he was not informed of the decision of the Islamic Minister.
‘’I do not know anything about it, nor did the Minister discuss anything like that with me,’’ Sheikh Rasheed said.
He said that the monuments “do not contradict the religion of Islam.”
‘’They were all given to us by member countries of SAARC, and represent their countries. The Pakistan monument showed how Pakistan became an Islamic country from its Buddhist origins,’’ he said. ‘’Although the monument does not contradict Islam, it should not be kept there if Maldivian citizens do not want it to be there.’’
The Pakistani monument was toppled during the SAARC Summit and subsequently set ablaze, and eventually stolen outright. The Sri Lankan monument, a statue of lion, was reported yesterday to have been coated in crude oil.
However Deputy Sri Lankan High Commissioner Shaanthi Sudusinghe told Minivan News today that she had been informed by the Addu City Mayor that the reports were a domestic political issue, Â and that the Sri Lankan monument had not been vandalised.
“He said the monument was made of carved stone and had black characteristics,” Sudusinghe said, “and that the monuments were being afforded full protection.”
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s political party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), this week hailed the vandals of the Pakistani monument to be “national heroes”, and vowed to fight for their release from police custody in court.
Yesterday, PPM filed a case with police against the Maldives Customs Department for allowing the monuments to be imported to the Maldives.
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minivan news, there is nothing else going in maldives other than these controversal stones. keep this story going as your top story for a year.
we have to burn those monuments
By the way, I suppose the Islamic Minister (moderate Mullah) have no authority to give such orders.
There is a site on Internet called the Bible society of Maldives. Anyone can read the Bible in Dhivehi and they are Maldivian girls singing Maldivian hymns.
Naturally the lousy Mullahs will not have such information because even if thy surf their sole purpose will be to visit and see pornographic site.
hassan ahmed i suppose you are one of those who sang for that site.
PPMs after the beards and the veils!. solid voter base. well played (rather unfortunate for the country though) it should be most entertaining to see how the president handles this. if he doesnt return these "idols" it might create further protests from the fanatics, their party leaders and the very shrewd gentlemen of PPM that champions "islamic rights" for now. if he does return them, that certainly wouldnt start world war 3 but it could be a rather humiliating diplomatic incident that would leave a black star on maldivian foreign policy for years to come. how so sad.
or is there a third way perhaps?
The Government's continual capitulation towards these conservative elements of our society has only encouraged them further.Now we are actually considering listening to these kinds of psychotic and nationally detrimental requests. It is time the government took a REAL stand against conservatism and put in place a religious institution that is actually in favor of national development and maintaining our international relations. If PPM wants to make this their big issue, then its time to mobilize the moderate and liberal communities.
Hey Dr.Baudha Bari, can you please explain or define idolatrous monuments or items do they include: Fire, Rats, Candles, Crescents, Stars as in you Party flag.
I don't think you can, all what you are trying to do is you are sucking up to the the Majlis members for you approval vote.
see how double stranded these people are? Baari why don't you see. 'Naked Buduh tah' in Male's shops. There are idols in National Museum. Do you see through one eye? After all Buduh is Buduh. there should be single ruling in both cases. If the people don't like it, goverment should take it and politely return it to the corrosponding countries. There should be some civilized way to deal with everything. And don't take everything politicaly.
I think If they erected a flag of each country in place of these scornful budhas, then this matter could be resolved peacefully. otherwise the lasting legacy of saarc summit at addu would be remembered for the violence it produced.
Truly Astonishing. Only when we get back to the stone age will these monkeys stop.
Obviously this is the most important issue we face as we journey into the 21st century. Let's forget SAARC the UN oh yes and the Commonwealth as we are so self sufficient.
Please open your eyes before these people destroy us altogether like a bearded tsunami.
Keep going, almost there.
@ Salim Waheed
"Now we are actually considering listening to these kinds of psychotic and nationally detrimental requests."
This statement from you only shows how poorly 'qualified' you are to be a Maldivian.
But its not surprising for me considering the amount of time you have lived here. I think you will need to live here for at least 10 years before you will even understand what I said.
Well done Dr Bari, you have taken your country back fifty years. What exciting and progressive plans do you have for the future I wonder?
1 Saudi style religious police?
2 Lowering of the marriage age for girls to nine?
3 Banning music, dancing, art and all activities that uplift the human spirit?
4 Banning the education of girls?
5 A fatwa of death to all non believers?
Dr Bari, why haven't you called upon the Government to remove all child abusers and rapists from the Country? Are you saying that these statues are more of a threat to our society than those who go around destroying the lives of our children and women?! Or are you saying that its Islamic to tolerate such violations? Don't our "national heroes" have a voice when it comes to these issues? Shame on all of you who are maligning our tolerant and peaceful religion of Islam, for your own political and selfish purposes and shame on you for being so weak in faith!
How deep do these sentiments run? How representative a position is it to (a) want monuments removed and (b) forcibly remove monuments? It certainly do not seem a simmering issue on the surface. Are we to ask the international community to understand we simply do not like to have such monuments displayed publicly? The Islamic Minister appears to be sucking up to a grass roots that did not produce a single MP! Are we to give in on an empty technicality? How relevant is the Adhaalath-PPM coalition on this issue?
I call upon a atheist jihad on all my atheist brothers...With this fatwa of mine, I urge all atheists to oppose Muslims as much as possible. We have superior weapons, plus we can use our brains. We will not be driven to the middle ages by these muslims. Fight for self defense
@MaldivianSkeptic
You need to update your reading skills! There is already a massive virulent campaign against islam all over the world. If you read all the comments in this story, you would know how sucessful you and your fellow athiests brethren have been in opposing islam. you indeed have superior weapons and you have been using your brain a lot. But we muslims expect a reward you do not. So let there be the fight. Ours will be in paradise and the kuffar will be in fire! Deal?
@ Barty
I totally agree with what you said.
Despite the massive campaign conducted all over the world, against Islam, Islam is the fastest growing religion.
Surely there must be a reason.
@ Barty & Rooster
If there is heaven and hell, it is here on this earth. If one is healthy, earning good salary, good looking spouse, healthy obdient children this is heaven. Any house where a member(s) suffer from disease, are uneducated, poor, addiction - this is hell.
It is the Fastest growing religion indeed.
Though Birth rates really aren't a miracle.
And non Muslim countries don't realy have laws forbidding conversion to Islam.
Just sayin....