Month: April 2010

President Nasheed informs South Korean industries on investment in the Maldives

As part of his visit to South Korea President Mohamed Nasheed met with executives of the country’s business sector, fisheries industry and the media.

In his meeting with representative from the business sector held at the Intercontinetal Hotel in Seoul on Friday, the president informed them of the business and investment opportunities in the Maldives.

President Nasheed spoke of the potential investment opportunities in green energy and housing projects in the Maldives.

He noted South Korea was a growing market for the Maldivian tourism industry and an important partner in the fisheries sector.

The president also met with the president of Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Hwan-eik Cho at the KOTRA Centre to discuss investment in the Maldives, especially in the fisheries, energy and housing sectors.

According to the President’s Office, a number of South Korean companies expressed interest in investing in the Maldives.

He then met with the Director General of Distant Water Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Korea, Lee Cheol Woo, and the Chariman of Korean Overseas Fisheries Association, Kyung-Nam Chang.

Present at the meeting were also representatives from Sajo Industries and Dongwon Industries, two South Korean companies working in the fisheries and business secotr.

President Nasheed spoke of the challenges faced by the Maldivian fishing industry, and said the government wanted to expand the overseas market for fish products so foreign companies could buy fish directly from Maldivian fishermen.

After his meetings, the president met with South Korean press and spoke mostly on the environmental challenges faced by the Maldives and his commitment to bring the issues of climate change to the international stage.

President Nasheed concluded his visit to South Korea on Friday.

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Police arrest man with illegal drugs

A man was apprehended by police yesterday afternoon for being allegedly involved in selling and using illegal drugs.

The man was caught by Seenu, Gan police with seven packets of illegal drugs while he was waiting near Maradhoo Harbour waiting for his motorcycle. Police were searching for two people reported to have gone to Maradhoo to sell drugs.

Police found Rf12,945 in cash in the man’s pocket as well as the packets of drugs.

Police in Gan, along with the Drug Enforcement Department of Maldives Police Service are investigating the case.

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President Nasheed speaks at South Korean university

President Mohamed Nasheed spoke at the Hanseo University of South Korea last Friday, where he said no attempt by climate deniers had altered the evidence that climate change is real.

The president called for climate deniers to visit the Maldives and see the effects of climate change, noting that in the Maldives, climate change was not an abstract or distant phenomenon.

President Nasheed noted the importance of bridging the divide between developed and developing countries in order to assure a stronger commitment to fight climate change at the next UN summit due to take place in Mexico later this year.

He also spoke of the Maldives efforts to become carbon neutral by 2020.

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President Nasheed meets his South Korean counterpart

President Mohamed Nasheed met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak last Thursday as part of his visit to Seoul for the B4E Summit.

President Nasheed and President Lee discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and spoke of ways to strengthen mutual cooperation.

President Nasheed said South Korea and the Maldives could work together especially in the areas of fisheries and the environment.

He also spoke of business and investment opportunities in the Maldives.

President Lee commended the Maldivian president for his efforts to bring the issue of climate change to a global platform and for his role in bringing democracy to the Maldives.

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Cargo carrier overturns, two crew members drown

Police have reported a cargo carrier travelling from Noonu Atoll to Malé overturned  near N. Manadhoo and lost two of its passengers.

The carrier was travelling with seven crew, one of whom swam ashore to Maafaru, Noonu Atoll, and reported the incident. Another passenger was rescued by police, and three others swam ashore to Maafaaru.

Police from Noonu, Baa, Raa and Lhaviyani Atolls were searching for the two crew missing members, until Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) found the two bodies 24 metres below the surface yesterday afternoon.

The carrier was transporting two excavators, a tractor and a steel oil tank.

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Maldives to introduce study of comparative religion, says State Islamic Minister

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed is advocating the study of ‘comparative religion’ in the Maldives.

“It is important for both Muslims and non-Muslims to compare their religions and cultures, and to compare philosophies,” Shaheem told Minivan News, explaining that subject was taught in many Islamic universities across the world, including academic institutions in Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Visiting Islamic lecturer Zakir Naik is a well-known proponent of comparative religion, and frequently quotes verses of other religious texts to support his arguments.

The religions to be studied in the Maldives course would include “all those in the world: Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and the other religions,” Shaheem said.

In the lead up to the launch of the course, Shaheem explained that the Islamic Ministry was drafting regulations legalising possession of books concerning other religions, such as the bible, “for educational and research purposes”.

Permitting the study of comparative religion did not mean permitting the worship of other religions in the Maldives, a 100 percent Muslim nation, Shaheem emphasised.

“The subject is comparative religion,” he said. “It will compare between Islam with other religions – such as Christianity and Judaism. At the end of study, students will know the differences and the similarities. When you study other religions, that doesn’t mean you convert to other religions – it is my belief that by the end of this people should know that Islam is the truth.”

Shaheem said the course would only be taught from an undergraduate degree level, and not secondary level “because [students’] minds are not prepared to deal with these philosophies. They are ready for it at university level,” he said.

An understanding of comparative religion would strength Islamic faith in the Maldives, Shaheem said, “because when Muslims study this subject they learn how to deal with other philosophies – they learn about what others believe, the differences between us and them, and what is the right side.”

He said he did not anticipate any objections to the new course, but noted that “the interpretation of Shar’ia has to develop from period to period. The island has become a country, the country has become a region, the region has become a world. Muslims have to be aware of these philosophies in order to deal with others in the world.”

At the same time, Shaheem said, it was necessary for other cultures to learn about Islamic culture.

“They must learn that Islam is not a religion of terrorism and extremism, or an uncivilised religion. Islam is a civilised system, because it provides all the needs of a human being – for example, in Christianity and Judaism philosophies there is no democratic political system, there is no family law, there is no economic system; we have a penal code, code, family law, economic law, even an Islamic banking system. This is why Islam is among the fastest growing religions in Europe, America and the rest of the Western world – Islam is everywhere.”

Shaheem noted that many scholars in the Maldives had studied the subject, including himself, and put himself forward as a potential teacher.

“I have studied this subject in Saudi Arabia, and I am very interested in comparative religion,” he said. “I am sure that when people study these things, at the end of the story they will agree that Islam is the truth.”

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DRP drafting bill on domestic violence

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) is drafting a bill on domestic violence, hoping to create more comprehensive legislation for victims and perpetrators of violence in the home.

DRP MP Rozaina Adams said the bill would encompass legislation on both physical and sexual violence against women and children.

She said most people are not willing to talk about these issues, and “women are not sure they can get help through the system, so they stay quiet.”

The bill also aims to improve how people who report these cases are dealt with, and to give more security and assistance to anyone affected by domestic violence.

Rozaina said Independent MP for Kulhudhuffushi-South Mohamed Nasheed was assisting the DRP in drafting the bill.

“He was going to present the bill himself, but because we have a women’s wing he said he would help us,” Rozaina added.

She said they are working to see if they can present the bill at the next parliamentary session.

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said the bill was being drafted on a previous model. “There was a legislative framework considered by the previous government,” he said.

He explained the bill was being drafted to ensure “the protection of women and children according to international standards.”

He said the DRP “will forward it to the Majlis in due time.”

In early March this year, former president and former leader of the DRP, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,  expressed his concerns over “false information” being spread by the Islamic Ministry on women’s rights according to Islam.

He said he provided rights for women under his government, especially by giving them equal opportunity in politics, and criticised the current government for not making legislation to minimise violence against women.

Gayoom’s daughter and leader of the DRP’s Women’s Wing, Dhunya Maumoon, announced the drafting of the bill.

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President Nasheed calls for a global price on carbon

Speaking at the Business for Environment Global Summit (B4E), President Mohamed Nasheed said the price of carbon should be global because we live in a global economy.

President Nasheed said stating a price on carbon would “unleash tremendous change” and develop a market for cleaner technologies.

“Some countries are still arguing development means becoming dirtier and dirtier as they become richer and richer,” the president said, noting that the goal for carbon-neutrality “will soon need to be done everywhere else.”

President Nasheed said although becoming carbon neutral and combating climate change was urgent, he had faith that human ingenuity would “allow us to flourish indefinitely.”

He said in this time of change there would be uncomfortable uncertainties as well as new opportunities, and urged the world to “leave behind the dirty economy of the 20th century.”

President Nasheed and the First Lady Laila Ali are currently in Seoul, in the Republic of South Korea, for the B4E Summit.

President Nasheed has been awarded the UN’s ‘Champion of the Earth Award’ for his work to combat climate change and will receive his trophy tonight in Seoul.

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Salaf sents letter to Islamic ministry to clarify concerned issues

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has sent a letter to the Islamic Ministry seeking to clarify issues concerning the Islamic Ministry and the  implementation of Shari’ah law in the Maldives.

The letter was sent to the ministry last Tuesday and was to the addressed to the Minster of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Baary.

There were more than 15 issues the NGO appealed the ministry to clarify, including:

  • Details of how the Islamic Ministry acted on the issue of appointing females as judges and president
  • The issue of massage parlours and how they are being dealt with
  • How the ministry is acting against people who form isolated congregations
  • Details of the conversation had with the residents of Himandhoo, after they formed an isolated congregation, and the result of that conversation
  • How much freedom [the ministry] has given the Imams to worship according to the Sunnah.
  • To clarify if the ministry had information that someone had tried or was trying to build a church in the country

Vice president of Jamiyyathul Salaf Sheikh Hussein Moosa Fikry said that the letter was signed by the President of Salaf on behalf of the NGO.

”The objective of the letter was to clarify some doubts we have concerning the ministry and the government,” Fikry said.

”We have noticed that the government including the Adhaalath Party and the Maldivian Democratic Party had approved some laws contrary to the Islamic Shari’ah.”

Fikry said that there were also some recent issues Salaf wanted the ministry to clarify.

”We have included many issues, such as we do not know what happened to the issue of the Quran translation,” he said. ”We also want find out if the ministry is trying to re-build the Arabiyya school building.”

He said that the NGO had noticed that some unIslamic news articles were also sometimes circulated and claimed the ministry was not taking any action.

The Minister for Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Baari said that he had no information about the letter sent by Salaf.

”I do not know whether if they sent a letter,” he said, ”I don’t know about it.”

Spokesperson for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadulla also said he also had no information concerning receipt of the letter.

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