Society & Culture – Page 303 – Minivan News

Next SAARC summit to be held in Addu

President Mohamed Nasheed has announced the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit will be held next year in the South Province.

During his weekly radio address last Friday on the Voice of Maldives, the president said the summit could take place in both Addu and Fuahmulah Atolls.

President Nasheed acknowledged it would take a lot of work and preparation to hold the summit in Maldives, but said he was “confident a successful summit could be held in the South Province.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuahir, confirmed the summit will be held in the Maldives next year, but said a final date has not been set yet. “We are looking at April 2011.”

He said there would be “huge development” in the Southern Province, noting there was already “road building projects” underway in the islands. He said a new conference centre would be built for the summit, as well as other facilities such as indoor halls.

Zuhair added the development projects for the summit will cost “upward of US$10 million.” He said the money will be partly donated by other SAARC countries and partly sponsored by the Maldivian government.

“It’s the first time a SAARC summit is being held south of the Equator,” Zuhair said, “and it will highlight the Southern Province and give us a very good name.”

Maldives was meant to hold this year’s summit, “but due to economic recession” among other things, it was cancelled and held in Thimphu, Bhutan.

“As a member country, it is also our responsibility [to hold the summit],” he said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, said holding the summit in the Southern Province “symbolises unity in the country.”

He said “there are quite a lot of people living in the Southern Province and not everything has to be held in Malé.”

He added there is already a lot of infrastructure in the province, so the cost will be feasible for the government.

Maldives was meant to hold this year’s summit, he noted, but it was cancelled due to “some difficulties.”

“It’s a regional thing,” he said, “every [SAARC] country holds the summit.”

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MP pushes no-confidence motion against Education Minister

MP for Fares-Maathodaa Ibrahim Muttalib has announced that he will file a no-confidence motion against Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfy over the ministry’s steering committee’s recommendation to make Islam and Dhivehi optional subjects for grades 11 and 12.

Appearing on Television Maldives’ ‘Q&A with Miqdad’ programme last night, the independent MP argued that the decision would undermine respect for religion and language among youth.

Muttalib claimed that Luthfy told him that students of Arabbiya School, which was shut down after a wall collapsed, would be transferred to other schools.

“We now believe that national education matters will not go well because of the attitude and thinking of the Education Ministry, especially Mustafa Luthfy,” he said. “So [Luthfy] should either make amends or resign.”

Muttalib, former treasurer of the religious conservative Adhaalath party, said he had drafted the motion and hoped to secure 10 signatures from MPs needed to submit a motion of no-confidence.

The decision

“Now the education minister is saying it was not his decision to change the two subjects to optional,” Muthalib said today. ”I want the minister to tell us whose idea was it then.”

Muthalib claimed that Luthfy told him last week that there was “no way” the decision could be reversed.

”If the education system implements a curriculum like this, students would be moved away from religion and mother tongue,” he said. ”I would not support such a curriculum that discourages the use of our own culture and language.”

While he could not predict how MPs would vote on the motion, Muttalib said “there are many MPs who respect religion.”

Curriculum

Luthfy told Minivan News today that while he had watched the TVM programme, he did not think Muttalib “was serious.”

He added that he did not want to comment on the no-confidence motion.

“It’s not true that I said in a meeting last week that there was no way the decision could be changed,” he said.”It’s not my decision. It’s only a suggestion by the ministry’s steering committee.”

Luthfy has stressed that the decision of making Dhivehi and Islam subjects elective has not been finalised.

A Curriculum Team at the Education Development Centre is currently at work on revising the national curriculum for the first time since 1984.

“Political coffin”

The Adhaalath party yesterday condemned the Education Ministry’s decision, characterising it as Luthfy putting “the final nails in his political coffin.”

An angry crowd protested outside the minister’s house on Tuesday night following the Adhaalath press release.

Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Ahmed, president of Adhaalath party, said today that did not wish to comment on the no-confidence motion.

”It is not our concern,” he said. “Our problem is that Education Minister is misbehaving.”

The State Minister for Home Affairs said the party had discussed the issue with Luthfy on several occasions.

“This is a national issue.” he said. “He cannot solve a national issue on his own. He has to discuss with the cabinet, parliamentarians and senior government officials.”

Senior officials at the Education Ministry has stressed that the steering committee’s recommendation would only be implemented following cabinet deliberations.

Main parties

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom told Minivan News today that it was imperative that Maldivians “try to save their identity.”

“The school curriculum should also be designed in a way that would help save the country’s identity, which is religion and language,” Mausoom said. ”Dhivehi and Islam are both very important subjects.”

He added that the state had a responsibility to preserve and protect national identity and culture.

“The main reason why I do not like this government is that they never prefer to discuss any issue -and even if they did [want to] they rarely they do it- but they never would accept the recommendations and suggestions,” he said.

The MP for Kelaa said that the DRP parliamentary group will discuss the issue and decide its stance.

Meanwhile, ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy said the time had not yet come to take up the issue at parliament.

”It would be a very big issue if they were removing the two subjects from the school curriculum,” Alhan said. “But if it is optional that means any student who wishes to study it can study it. Students have the opportunity. I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

Alhan said the issue was being blown out of proportion to serve political purposes, adding that the MDP parliamentary group had not officially discussed the matter yet.

Statistics of the Education Ministry show that of the 7,137 students who sat for the GCE O’Level examinations last year, only 32 per cent passed in five subjects, while 2,284 students qualified for higher secondary education.

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New NGO ’39’ hopes to promote traditional Maldivian culture

The inauguration of new NGO Thirees Nuvaeh (‘thirty nine’), dedicated to promoting traditional Maldivian culture, has been postponed until next week because of rain in Male’.

The name ‘39′ is a reference to Article 39 of the Constitution, which states that all citizens will “participate in the cultural life of the nation.”

The organisation claims it will work towards “strengthening and consolidating democratic principles, human rights, gender equality and social justice; and, to lobby the government, the parliament, the judiciary, political parties, independent commissions, private agencies and individuals.”

One of the founding members of 39, Mohamed Nazim, said “we are losing cultural activities, because some groups and political parties are trying to push other ways of life.”

He said the purpose of the NGO was to bring back traditional Maldivian culture, and things people are no longer doing “because of political and other reasons.”

These include to traditional activities like thara jehun and bandiya jehun, traditional music and dance, both of which will be part of the inauguration ceremony tomorrow night.

Nazim said women in particular had stopped taking part in these activities “because they are not allowed or have been convinced it’s not good for them.”

“We are trying to tell people, ‘keep your eyes open, we are losing something valuable to us,’” Nazim said.

He noted they had approached most political parties, who have “indicated assistance and support” for the organisation.

Nazim said since “party politics are the main show of the town,” it was good to have close ties to the parties, but that while “we will take advice”, the NGO will not be a political organisation.

“We are trying to stay out of politics,” he said, adding that 39 has “members of all political parties” already signed up to the organisation.

Nazim said the NGO was founded after a group of 32 young Maldivians approached the president earlier this year to talk about Maldivian culture and moderate Islam.

He said there were currently no civil groups advocating for the strengthening of culture in the country, and “there was nothing they or the government could do.”

So they decided to found the NGO and lobby for cultural activities to be a more prominent part of Maldivian life.

“We want to bring these issues to the public,” he said.

The NGO will offer “seminars, functions and training sessions” to the public, and will bring professionals from overseas to help with the material.

“They will help us on how we’re going to survive and keep our rich culture growing,” he said.

Additionally, 39 has been contacted by many local NGOs from the islands and by foreign organisations who wish to assist them. The group said it hoped to work local organisations who are “like-minded” and promote their ideas.

Nazim explained that many of the local NGOs have “great ideas and objectives” and could do a lot for the country if they had better funding.

“Many NGOs are still not functioning because of lack of funding,” he said, noting that they already had pledges for funding from different people.

There are twelve founding members in Thirees Nuvaeh, but no full membership as of yet, “as we only received our registration from the Home Ministry yesterday,” Nazim said.

The inauguration was scheduled begin at 8.45pm on Friday night, but has been postponed due to the weather. Details about the new date will be available next week.

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Comment: Such is this mob rule called ‘democracy’

The freedom to think, which we Maldivians claimed for ourselves by ousting a dictatorial government and replacing it with a ‘democratic’ one, appears to have rendered us incapable of rational thought.

There appears not a single principle that is not up for auction in the market of ‘public opinion’. Everything from our faith to our humanity carry with them a political price tag. At the helm is a government which oscillates so wildly between the political right and the left that any keen observer would suffer more repetitive strain injury to the neck than a spectator at a Wimbledon tennis final.

Take for instance the decisions by the Youth Ministry first to maybe-allow, then to disallow and then to definitely-allow, the Muslim televangelist, Dr Zakir Naik, to provide Maldivians with The Biggest Event of their lifetimes.

The latest decision, perhaps by no means the last, must have been arrived at after much soul-searching and in-depth analysis. It must, no doubt, have taken into account the experience of another country where sports grounds were taken over for ‘religious activities’. The Taliban turned Kabul’s main stadium into a hub for ‘religious devotion’, treating their masses to spectacles of execution, death by stoning, hanging and amputations. No doubt the audience departed much enlightened about ‘true Islam’.

Public opinion is a tricky idol at the altar of which to worship. The government must be perplexed at the opposition to its agreement with the United States to relocate some of the ‘Enemy Combatants’ or ‘Illegal Detainees’ from Guantanamo Bay to the Maldives. Why is a society that is so eager to stress its Islamic purity, and promotes its ‘100 percent Muslim’ status with the same zeal as a restaurant promoting a coveted Michelin star, opposed to relocating to their lands these people who have been so utterly wronged by the United States? Did not the eminent Dr Naik himself assert that the 11 September 2001 attacks were an ‘inside job’? By this very learned logic alone, these detainees can be nothing but innocent.

The opposition, however, is not willing to pay any heed – either to the venerable Dr Naik or to empirical evidence. Hosting these ‘convicts’, they cry, would make our country ‘a target’.

No thought is spared to consider:

(a) for a person to be labelled a ‘convict’, they need to first be convicted of an offence defined by law. Most of the detainees have never been charged with a crime let alone convicted of one.

(b) If they were ‘terrorists’, why would then a terrorist organisation attack us for sheltering them? Should they not, by the same logic, then be beholden to us?

(c) No country, other than the United States, has ever attacked another for ‘harbouring terrorists’. And, in light of the disaster that has been the ‘War on Terror’, no government is likely to disregard (or be allowed to disregard) international law again – at least in living memory – to the extent that the neo-conservative Bush government did.

Now the new US government is seeking to relocate these victims of one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in modern history. We are hardly going to be top of President Obama’s list of countries to attack next by ‘harbouring’ them.

“Even a country like the United States would not take them,” cries the opposition.

Even a country like the United States? Is this the extent of our liberalism? That we assume that any Western democracy is right, no matter how obviously wrong it is?

‘Public opinion’ – yes, that old chestnut again – and a highly right wing and conservative establishment are preventing President Obama’s government from closing the atrocity that is Guantanamo Bay. The ignorance of a vast majority of the American public, whose fears the Bush administration played like a maestro does an orchestra and are held aloft at a crescendo by Fox News, that bastion of balanced journalism, are now being uncannily echoed in the national theatre of Maldivian ‘public opinion’.

“We have not been told anything! We don’t know why they are in prison!” The opposition is hysterical, claiming to have been left “totally in the dark”.

It is hardly the government’s business to plug the gaping holes of ignorance in the opposition’s knowledge. Over 700 of the 50,000 ‘Enemy Combatants’ that the US apprehended in their War on Terror have been held in Guantanamo Bay. A vast majority of them are innocent. Information on how they were treated in US captivity is widely and easily available in the global public domain from the legal memos that deprived the Detainees of the Geneva Convention to those that redefined ‘torture’ as ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ to detailed prison logs that demonstrate what these innocent victims were put through in the name of ‘intelligence gathering’.

Profiles of over 500 detainees held at Guantanamo, diligently compiled by law professor and counsel to two detainees, Mark Denbeaux of Seton Law Hall, are also available for public perusal should one care to concern oneself with such minor details, in addition to the profiles compiled by Cage prisoners.

Given that the number of detainees currently being held at Guantanamo is 181, this information would contain within it details relating to the unfortunate souls destined for the Maldives to find ‘sanctuary’ among their ‘100 percent Muslim’ brothers and sisters.

Deliberate ignorance does not justify selling our humanity for the dubious pleasures of political gainsaying.

It is well and good for the government to advise those agitating against these dogmatic opinions and beliefs to organise themselves and form a viable alternative to the blatant evangelism of the religious right. This, however, becomes near impossible if the government remains unclear where it stands, and vacillates from one end of the political spectrum to the other in any given week.

There is a reason why liberal Maldivians cannot form a coherent whole in their own country – the space in which their ideas can flourish diminishes by the day as the government gives in inch by inch, and the extreme religious right takes mile after mile.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Maldivian man arrested for rape of 13-year-old girl

A 53-year-old man suspected of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in Addu Atoll Hithadhoo was arrested today.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that the suspect was taken into custody after the case was reported to the police.

Shiyam declined to divulge further information regarding the case.

Local daily Haveeru reported today that the girl had a mental disorder.

Ahmed Mohamed, head of Hithadhoo Regional Hospital, also confirmed the incident occurred, ”but we do not have further information on the case,” he said.

Both the health ministry’s child and family protection unit and the Hithadhoo councillor also declined to provide any information.

Meanwhile, an employee at the hospital confirmed that the girl was brought to the hospital to get a medical report.

The hospital staff member claimed the suspect was an employee at the hospital.

”He is a man from Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll,” he said. ”It happened in another district so we also do not know much about the case.”

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Religious unity regulations on hold

The new regulations under the Religious Unity Act of 1994 drafted by the Islamic Ministry will be reviewed and amended by the Attorney General’s office before publication in the government gazette, the cabinet decided yesterday.

While the regulations were completed last month, its publication was delayed due to “ambiguities and policy issues”, according to Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary.

Zuhair told Minivan News at the time that the president’s office received complaints from individuals and religious NGOs regarding some of the provisions.

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said today he was “very happy” with the cabinet deliberations.

“They actually raised some good points. They’re not really policy issues,” he said. “I believe the recommendations and suggestions that were made could improve and strengthen the regulations so that they will be more beneficial to society.”

Shaheem said the changes recommended to the draft regulations were “minor” and to “a few provisions.”

“We are working together with the attorney general’s office and Insha Allah it will be published soon,” he said.

He added that he will reveal the specific amendments or changes at a later date.

The Islamic Foundation of Maldives called on the government not to publish the regulations yesterday as it had identified five issues that could be problematic.

On the criteria for issuing preaching licenses, the Foundation argues that requiring scholars to be at least 25 years of age was both unconstitutional and not specified in Islam.

Article 27 of the constitution states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought and the freedom to communicate opinions and expressions in a manner that is not contrary to any tenet of Islam.

The association “strongly condemns” sub-clause four of provision 16(b), which would disqualify anyone convicted under the Religious Unity Act, as the law was used to imprison religious scholars by the former government.

Religious scholars arrested under the former regime reportedly had their beards shaven with chili sauce.

Moreover, the Foundation argues, a provision that requires foreign preachers to be mindful of Maldivian culture and traditions was unnecessary as scholars should have the opportunity as long as the sermons were in accordance with the tenets of Islam.

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Education Minister has “put the final nails in his political coffin”, says Adhaalath

The religiously conservative Adhaalath Party has condemned a decision by the Education Ministry to make Dhivehi and Islam optional subjects for A-level students, sparking protests outside Minister Musthafa Luthfy’s home last night.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that one police officer was injured during last night’s demonstration.

”Somebody from the crowed punched a police officer in the mouth,” Shiyam said. ”He was taken to hospital last night but has now been discharged.”

The Adhaalath Party yesterday issued a press release ordering its branches to protest against the ”incumbent Education Minister’s decision to make Islam and Dhivehi optional subjects.”

”It appears that in his zeal to secularise the education of this Muslim nation, he has put the final nails in his political coffin,” the press release said.

The party claimed that Luthfy had told Adhaalath officials in a meeting that he would take the issue to cabinet or parliament before taking a decision.

”Mr Luthfy should have learned a lesson or two from the recent controversy created by the Youth Ministry regarding the venue of Dr Zakir’s lecture,” the party said, “or the controversy about selling alcohol in inhabited islands. But obviously our Education Minister is a slow learner.”

”One wonders what is wrong with these people. They seem to be obsessed with creating one controversy after another,” it added.

Last night a group of people gathered near the minister’s house at around 10:30pm. Riot police arrived and dispersed the crowd after almost an hour.

Luthfy told Minivan News that the controversial decision of making the Dhivehi and Islam subjects elective was not finalised.

”It was a suggestion proposed by the Ministry’s steering committee,” Luthfy said. “It is not even a decision that has been approved.”

Luthfy added that it was not the responsibility of a political party to decide which subjects should be compulsory.

”I accept the expression of opinion in a civilised way that respects the rights of others, others,” Luthfy said. ”In my house there are many people who have no connection with the matter at all, and it is not fair to disturb them.”

Deputy Education Minister Dr Abdulla Nazeer noted that last year 10,000 students sat for their O-level exams, but only 1500 continued with their A-levels. Many others had continued their education outside the formal system, he noted, where subjects were not compulsory, he explained.

The Ministry would ensure the Islam and Dhivehi subjects “are available at every school where students are willing to take the subjects,” Dr Nazeer said.

President of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Hussein Rasheed did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Youth Ministry concedes football ground for Zakir Naik event

Minister for Human Resources and Youth, Hassan Latheef, has agreed to release the Maafaanu football grounds to the Islamic Ministry to host visiting Islamic scholar Zakir Naiks’s sermon.

The decision comes after Latheef said yesterday that the venue requested was ”only for football’,’ and would dishearten the youth who practice football there every day.

Latheef said that the decision was made yesterday ”despite the difficulties.”

”It was very, very difficult to release the land for any purpose other than sport and music,” Latheef said, ”but we have decided to give that land as the Islamic Ministry has requested.”

Latheef said the football ground will be given to the Islamic Ministry for three days.

”This type of land belongs to the Youth Ministry,” he noted. ”We have drafted a law that determines which place can be used for what purpose.”

Spokesperson for the Islamic Ministry, Sheikh Ahmadulla, said that the ministry was writing a letter to the Youth Ministry to confirm the decision.

”We also heard the Youth Minister saying that in a television programme,” Sheikh Ahmadulla said, adding ”we will send a letter to the Youth Ministry asking for the confirmation.”

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, said that the land was used by youth to play football every day and the minister was concerned about social issues that might be raised due to the restriction of the grounds during the days of the lectures.

”But now they decided to give the land because the Islamic Ministry, after checking several venues, said that the requested football ground was the best,” Zuhair said.

”This is a time where all the Islamic NGO’s are acting in a very competitive spirit, with one NGO trying to hold a bigger event than the other,” Zuhair said. ”It will be very difficult if everyone starts requesting such land for other purposes.”

Zuhair said that there is now another request by a religious NGO to use the Galolhu National Stadium.

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Religious unity regulations contradict freedom of expression: Islamic Foundation

Religious NGO Foundation of the Maldives has called on the government to amend the new Religious Unity regulations, saying it opposes several articles that are contrary to the ”freedom of expression” given under the article 27 of the constitution.

Other articles could potentially be used as a political tool, the NGO warned in a press release issued today.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair has similarly expressed concern over the new regulations, claiming they contain ambiguities and policy issues.

The Islamic Foundation NGO highlighted several articles in the regulations it believed should be amended prior to publication of the regulations in the government’s gazette, such as the criteria for issuance of preaching licenses.

The Islamic Foundation noted that under the regulations, the preaching license requirement that a person be older than 25 years of age was not a criteria required under the tenets of Islam, and furthermore claimed it was contrary to article 27 of the constitution guaranteeing freedom of expression.

The NGO also raised concern over Article(16)(b)(4), which claims preachers must not have been found guilty in a Sharia Court of having violated any clause of Law 6/94 of Religious Unity Act.

It condemned the articles as ”many religious scholars have been given several punishments under the religious unity Act in recent years for political purposes,” and added that that article 27 of the constitution did not restrict a person’s right to express their opinion even though he had been found guilty in a court of law.

The NGO also expressed concern over Article(19) requiring foreign preachers to respect local norms, claiming it was not necessary for all foreign preachers to understand the traditions and culture of the Maldives.

Article(27), which governs illegal actions while preaching or giving sermons, was also concerning, the Foundation claimed. In particular point (2), which prohibits encouraging violence; inciting people to disputes, hatred and resentment; and any talk that aims to degrade a certain sex and gender in violation of Islamic tenets, and the telecasting and broadcasting of such speeches, could be interpreted in different ways and “used for political purposes”, it said.

The Foundation also criticised Article(27)(4), which bans the promotion of any opinion contrary to religious ruling as unanimously agreed upon by the Fiqh Academy of Maldives, claiming that the Fiqh Academy “was not a committee based on independent scholars.”

”We believe that there should be the freedom for a scholar to express how he thinks on a specific doubtful issue,” the press release said.

On Article(38), concerning punishment as prescribed in Law 6/94 of the existing Religious Unity Act, the Foundation claimed the law narrowed freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution and said was “not acceptable.”

Moreover, it referred to the constitutions article number 63, article 64 and article 268 and called on the government to amend the mentioned articles of the new religious unity act.

State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed however stated that while the Ministry respected opinions and comments on the new regulations, it had been drafted with the assistance of 11 reputable scholars and widely approved by both government and police.

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