Day: April 26, 2010

Licenses of false scholars will be revoked, warns Islamic Ministry

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has claimed it will be taking action against religious scholars who spread ‘false information’ about Islam, in a bid to tackle rising concerns over fundamentalism in the country.

State Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said this action would extend to revoking the licenses of these scholars once the requisite regulation in the Religious Unity Act was returned from the Attorney General’s office this week.

“We will investigate these matters and in the future an advisory board will be appointed to make these decisions,” Shaheem explained.

The first scholar to likely have his license cancelled under the new regulations will be Sheikh Nasrulla, Shaheem said, after the Islamic Ministry received complaints about the Sheikh from the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

In a letter to the ministry dated last October, HRCM reported that during a Ramadan sermon to teachers in Gaafu Alifu Villingili, Sheikh Nasrulla encouraged people “to get their daughters married when they are nine years old.”

“We have information that he said ‘my daughter was also married when she was 9 years old’,” HRCM said in the letter, stating that this practice conflicted with human rights.

The commission also noted that “while it is not prohibited to get married at such a young age in Islam, when scholars speak and spread information like this, children’s studies are ruined and they are forced to marry when they are psychologically and physically unprepared for it.”

“We respectfully request [the Islamic Ministry] stop these acts as it confuses people about the Islamic religion and brings intense hatred towards it.”

President of HRCM Ahmed Saleem said today that the Islamic Ministry’s decision to take concrete action against scholars preaching such practices was “very encouraging.”

“I think the ministry has been quietly trying to do things in the background, but it hasn’t been working and they seem to have decided to go public,” Saleem said. “A lot of people have been shifting blame on the Ministry.”

HRCM sent the letter to the Islamic Ministry last year following complaints from the community that young girls were being married, and asked the ministry to investigate the matter.

“I don’t think Nasrulla is the only one preaching it; just taking action against Nasrulla is not enough,” Saleem said.

He agreed that there was “to some extent” conflict between human rights and certain interpretations of Islam present in the Maldives.

“My sense is that people understand human rights as a western concept, but that is not the case,” Saleem said.

“If you talk to some scholars human rights is very much part of Islam – Islam itself preaches human rights.”

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Vice President voices concerns about government at GIP rally

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed once again spoke out publicly against the government at a Gaumee Itthihaad Party (GIP) rally on Saturday, where he reiterated his opinion that the government’s coalition platform, which won them the 2008 presidential elections, is not being put into practice.

Dr Waheed appeared on the new VTV programme Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) earlier this month, where he voiced his concerns that the government was not employing the multi-party system they based their 2008 campaign on. He also said President Mohamed Nasheed did not consult with him enough, and he did not want to be a Vice President who “slept for five years.”

The vice president told Minivan News at the time he was “not completely satisfied” with his job and felt it was time for him to speak out without being afraid. “It’s my responsibility to express my feelings,” he said.

At Saturday’s GIP rally, the vice president once again spoke out against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members who were acting as though MDP was the only party in the government, and said the Maldives would soon be “colour coded.”

According to reports, toward the end of the rally more than half the audience walked out in protest when Deputy Minister for Economic Development and GIP member, Ahmed Inaz, spoke of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, reiterated Dr Waheed was speaking as the head of a political party and not as the vice president at Saturday’s rally.

“I believe he has identified a need to strengthen his own party. New political party regulations require a party to have 3000 members, otherwise the party will be dissolved,” he said.

Zuhair added “another factor may be the local government elections in June, and he feels he needs to be seen as active. All this has nothing to do with the government.”

He noted the president and vice president “get on well at the office” and everything is running normally.

Zuhair said Dr Waheed’s comments on “colour coding” were taken out of context by the media. “I don’t believe this is correct,” he said. “The government does not favour any one party, which I believe is a compliment to the government.”

He said “the vice president accepted the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) manifesto. He is raising these problems with the government but he is part of it, so perhaps he should be more proactive in solving them.”

Zuhair added the opposition would surely try to use this to drive a wedge into the government, saying “it’s already happening.”

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said he believes there have been “some misunderstandings between the president and vice president.”

He said he doesn’t see anything wrong with the vice president making his comments public, as he “wasn’t criticising the government.”

Shareef said many people, both in the government and general population, were “blowing it out of proportion” making many people think there is disunity in the government.

He added Dr Waheed was asked difficult questions, and “I believe the vice president has answered correctly. Everybody knows it to be the truth.”

He said the government’s problem was they were “trying to change things for the sake of change” and had “so far failed to deliver anything concrete.”

Shareef said “people’s lives are becoming very difficult”, especially for those in the civil service, and noted that even if the government could not deliver on anything concrete, people were still expecting it from them.

“It’s only been a year and a half,” he said, “but some decisions are very hasty and not thought out properly.”

Spokesperson for MDP Ahmed Haleem said he thought the vice president “wants to get more sheets for the local elections [to be held in June]” and “wants to show he is still alive.”

“Seventy-five percent of the people reject this vice president,” Haleem said, adding the Vice President’s recent comments were not injuring the image of the government or the MDP, but were injuring Dr Waheed himself.

Haleem said there is “no more coalition” in the government, since most parties withdrew from the coalition. But noted the GIP was “very supportive of us” and are supportive of democracy, too.

According to GIP’s website, the party joined the MDP to “create a platform for those individuals who wish to present new ideas, who value honest leadership that cares about the Maldivian people.”

The GIP promises to “bring new ideas on health care, education, housing and other development to better improve our country and give our citizens something we’ve never had – a truly representational government.”

As of last week, the GIP has 3,508 members according to the Elections Commission.

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Cases filed with ACC against councilor who led funeral prayers

A man in Thaa Atoll Dhiyamigili has filed a case with the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) against the island councilor Adnan Ali, for reportedly leading a funeral prayer.

An official at the Island Office confirmed an islander had filed two cases against the councilor. The funeral prayer was a Salaat-ul-Janazah bil Ghaib [Funeral Prayer in the absence of the dead body] which is disputed among the scholars.

An official at the island office told Minivan News that the councilor was not certified to lead the funeral prayer.

”Funeral prayers are always led by the Imam or island chiefs who are certified by the Islamic Ministry,” he said. ”I swear the councilor does not even know how to read and write Arabic well.”

He said the councilor led two funeral prayers for a pair of men who died in India.

”One of the men was a man of our Island and the other man was his friend from another island,” the official said. ”There were two island chiefs and an imam present on the island when he did that.”

He said that it would have been fine if all the certified people on the island were not present.

”The Islamic Ministry has said that it was all right for anyone to lead the funeral prayers,” he said. ”But why did they renew all the certificates of all the imams and island chiefs when they came to power and permitted only to certified people to do the Friday prayers? Why don’t they leave it for anyone to do?”

He said the man who filed the case called the ACC last week, who said they would be responding to him shortly.

Adnan Ali had recently ordered the island chief to stay at home while the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has claimed that councilors and ministers can’t take any action against civil servants.

Island councilor Adnan Ali told Minivan News that ”whether I did [lead the prayers] or not, I would not have to tell you,” adding that he did not wish to be advertised to everyone.

State minister for Islam Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that there was no certain regulation on the matter.

”If no certified person is available it is all right for anyone to do [lead funeral prayers],” Shaheem said. ”We have sent new rules and regulations to the Attorney General, which will include such issues.”

He said that scholars dispute the funeral prayer in the absence of the dead body.

”On both the sides they take the same incidence, the story of Najashi (the King of Ethiopia),” he said.

The ACC’s Vice President Muaaviz Rasheed and Director Umar Rasheed did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Maldivian scientist recognised for achievements in digital knowledge transfer

Maldivian Scientist Professor Hassan Ugail at University of Bradford in the UK has received the ‘Excellence in Knowledge Transfer Award’ for developing cutting-edge methods of defining and manipulating complex digital data.

Professor Hassan Ugail is the Chair of Visual Computing at the University, and has developed research ideas into a business in the UK and potentially into Europe and USA.

His two patents have led to his development spin-out company, Tangentix Ltd, which is currently developing technology for digital distribution of computer game content.

Tangentix is already growing rapidly in the region is predicted to grow rapidly over the next few months and create a significant number of new jobs.

The other shortlisted candidates for the award included Dr P B Anant, Reader in Development and Economic Studies, Professor Andrew Day, Automotive, Modelling and Optimisation Research Group Leader, School of Engineering, Design and Technology, Paul Edwards, Head of training and Practice Development, Dementia Studies, Dr. Qun Shao, China Programme Manager, Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation.

Secretary General for Maldives Science Society and founding member Ajmal Shaheed said the award received by Professor Ugail was “very valuable.”

Ajmal said that the science society and all the people of Maldives should be “very proud” that a Maldivian has received the most prestigious award.

”His achievement will would encourage those Maldivians who work in the field of science,” Ajmal said. ”Scientists are very few in our nation.”

He said Professor Ugail had done much work that had been recognised worldwide.

”He has designed a space shuttle for NASA, and he is trying to develop a facial recognition system, ” Ajmal said. ”We hope this will encourage Maldivian scientists to work in the research science field.”

He said most of the scientists in the Maldives were marine biologists, and that the number of scientists working in research fields was very few.

He said the MSS was discussing how to recognise Professor Ugail for “the beautiful name he has brought the country.”

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair said the government congratulated Professor Hassan Ugail for the success he had achieved.

”President Mohamed Nasheed also describes it as a very happy news for the country,” Zuhair said.

Zuhair said that the success of Hassan Ugail showed that Maldivians could achieve international awards if chose to go forward in the field of science.

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MNDF celebrates 118th anniversary with first-ever Commander-in-Chief’s Force and Fleet Review

President Mohamed Nasheed congratulated the valuable services of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) at the first-ever Commander-in-Chief’s Force and Fleet Review yesterday, held at Jumhooree Maidhan in celebration of the 118th anniversary of the MNDF.

President Nasheed said the MNDF have provided their services at every instance of national importance, and particularly noted their support in bringing democratic change to the country.

He said a national force that would act in unity and unconditionally, without political influence, and with the nation’s interest in mind, “did not exist for no reason.”

President Nasheed said to expand and modernise the military services, it was necessary to decentralise the forces. The MNDF has already divided its forces into four regional commands; one in Malé, and three more in the South, North and Central regions.

He added the MNDF was undergoing infrastructural development, resource modernisation, training and capacity building to modernise and expand the military.

As Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, President Nasheed inspected the MNDF Marine Corps and the Coast Guard fleet. There were displays of Air Wing and Special Forces.

President Nasheed presented the colours of the new MNDF Support Service Corps to Brigadier General Ahmed Nilam.

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President Nasheed returns to the Maldives

President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali have returned to the Maldives after their visit to South Korea for the B4E Business for Environment Summit.

They were greeted by members of the government and a large crowd of people who gathered at jetty number one to congratulate the president on the Champion of the Earth Award he received last week.

He said he was honoured to receive the prize and it was a testament to Maldivians’ efforts to bring the issue of climate change to the global stage.

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President Nasheed launches GEMS

President Mohamed Nasheed launched the Government E-Letter Management System (GEMS) at a ceremony held at the President’s Office yesterday.

President Nasheed said GEMS is part of the government policy to introduce the most advanced technologies and modern practices of administration to make government communication more efficient.

He noted GEMS would allow government offices to lower expenditure as well.

The system allows all communication between government offices to be exchanged electronically. It will allow for more “transparency” and “credibility” of government bureaucracy and will make management and administrative duties more efficient.

GEMS will be initially introduced to all government offices in Malé and the South Province.

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President Nasheed meets with Chinese delegation

President Mohamed Nasheed has met with the visiting Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) delegation at the President’s Office, reports Miadhu.

President Nasheed noted the Maldives and China enjoyed close and cordial relations, and said China was making important contributions to the social and economic growth of the Maldives.

He added that both countries share concerns such as climate change, and the two governments should collaborate more on the issue.

Vice Chairman of the CPPCC, Sun Jiazheng, assured the president that China would continue to cooperate with the Maldives, and added climate change is a great concern to his country.

Jiazheng briefed President Nasheed on China’s political system and the government’s efforts to further develop the country and bring prosperity to its people.

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20 year-old dies in speeding motorcycle accident

A 20 year-old man died yesterday afternoon when his speeding motorcycle crashed into a tree in Noonu Kendhikulhudhoo.

The attending doctor at Kendhikulhudhoo Health Centre said the man had died before reaching hospital.

Police reported the motorcycle was completely damaged and Manadhoo police are investigating the accident further.

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