Sonee Hardware has announced Ahmed Infas Shafeeu of M.Lumboamaage as the winner of its 40th anniversary logo design competition.
Shafeeu was presented with a Rf 20,000 cash prize and a certificate, following a nationwide competition that attracted 1,500 entries from all over the Maldives.
“We are extremely happy to highlight the excellent participation of our customers and the public in general,” Assistant General Manager Hassan Hameez said,.
“The logos submitted had creative tastes from all across the nation, making the contest really competitive at the selection stage. Thank you very much for all those who participated and played a key role in making this event a success.”
this achievement.” Said Ahmed Infas, winner of the competition.
The competition was open to general public, individuals, creative agencies, private companies, schools and educational institutions.
The Islamic Foundation has called for self-declared apostate Mohamed Nazim to be stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to death if he does not repent and return to Islam.
Nazim claimed he was “Maldivian and not a Muslim” during a public question-and-answer session with Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik, the first time a Maldivian has publicly announced he is not a Muslim.
According to the Maldivian constitution all citizens are required to be Muslim, and the country is always described as a “100 percent” Muslim country.
The 37 year-old angered many in the approximately 11,000-strong crowd with his statement during Dr Naik’s ‘Misconceptions about Islam’ lecture on Friday.
Dr Naik responded that Nazim had read the wrong books and “deviated from Islam”, and requested him “to read correct books on Islam, and Inshallah, you’ll come back to Islam.”
However Nazim did not relinquish the microphone and pressed Naik to clarify the penalty for apostasy.
“In Islam, there are many cases, it doesn’t mean death penalty,” Dr Naik explained. “But if the person who reverts who was a Muslim then converts to and becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his faith and speaks against Islam, and if it’s Islamic rule, then the person should be put to death. But just because a person who is a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim, death penalty is not the ruling.”
Nazim was escorted from the venue by police for his own protection, after members of the audience attempted to attack him.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said two men who tried to attack Nazim were arrested after they attacked the police officers protecting him. Nazim himself “was not injured because police protected him,” Shiyam said.
He was taken to a police building where a crowd of protesters had gathered, calling for him to be punished. Shiyam confirmed that Nazim is now being held in an undisclosed location for five days while police investigate “in consultation with the Islamic Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s office.”
Today the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives issued a press statement calling on judges to give Nazim the opportunity to repent “and if he does not, then sentence him to death as Islamic law and Maldivian law agree.”
“The Islamic Foundation believes that the person who announces apostasy should be punished according to Islamic laws,” the NGO said, warning that Nazim represented “a disturbance to the religious views and the religious bonds that exist with Maldivians.”
“Hereby if this man does not do his penance and come back to the Islamic religion, the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives calls to take the citizenship away from this man as mentioned in the Maldivian constitution.”
If case crossed into areas not covered by the laws of the country, “then the judges should rely on Islamic law,” the NGO stated, as per article 142 of constitution which says judiciary shall look into Islamic shar’ia on matters not covered in law, and sentence accordingly.
“So it is requested that the commissioner of police run the legal research on this man and take this to the Prosecutor General’s office. We also request the Prosecutor General to go through this matter and to take this man to the criminal court for trial,” the Islamic Foundation said.
A government official involved in the legal process, who requested that his name and department be kept anonymous, said he was “really worried” and described the case as “a very sensitive subject”.
“Police are investigating the case,” he said. “My understanding is that the court authorities will give [Nazim] opportunities to change his mind. I think he will be given every opportunity to think about his decision.”
Minister for Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari told Minivan News that Ministry officials had acted quickly to remove Nazim from the venue “for his own protection”, and had now handed the matter over to the legal system.
“I don’t know if there is a penalty for apostasy according to Maldivian law,” he said.
The Adhaalath Party issued a press statement claiming that the act violated the constitution of the Maldives and called on the government “to strengthen Islam and protect the constitution.”
Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf declined to comment on the matter during a press conference held today on another matter, however NGO Jamiyyathul Musliheen expressed “concern and regret” over the incident.
”Not a few number of Maldivian youths are moving further from the religion, and many of them are going renegade,” the NGO said in a press statement, adding that “it is a responsibility of the government to strengthen Islam in the country.”
President of the Human Rights Commission to the Maldives (HRCM), Ahmed Saleem, said “what happened was really unfortunate.”
“I think the best thing will be to talk to him and to make him understand the situation and the repercussions, talks which HRCM will welcome,” Saleem said.
He said he was unsure how the Maldivian government would handle the incident.
“I’m afraid of the reaction from the international community should we resort to harsh action,” he said. “I don’t think it would be in our interest – we have just been given a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. This is something we need to think seriously about before we start using harsh language.”
Minivan News contacted several local human rights NGOs however they had not responded at time of press.
A senior government source, who requested anonymity, said he felt the case “will be a real test of how the government will abide by its international commitments.”
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair was on medical leave and unable to comment.
Minivan News was unable to reach Nazim himself for comment, however a person close to the matter described him as “a very sensible guy who will think of the people around him. But he will not give up on calling for people to be more honest about themselves. I think he will become a genuine refugee if he refuses to take back his words,” she said.
A transcript Dr Naik’s response to Nazim is available here.
Minister of Education Dr Mustafa Luthfy and Deputy Trade Minister Ahmed Inaz yesterday left the Gaumy Ihthihaadh Party (GIP) to join the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Last week the MDP National Council announced it was tearing up its coalition agreement with GIP, and requested President Mohamed Nasheed remove all GIP ministers from public office. Economic Minister Mohamed Rasheed was sacked several weeks ago amid ongoing tension between the two parties.
Dr Luthfy, who was deputy leader of GIP, said he joined MDP not because he had been influenced or under threat of losing his job, but because he felt that it was “the best way to continue serving the people.”
”I discussed it with GIP Leader Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik before taking the decision,” Dr Luthfy said. ”He said it was sad, but said to do as I wished.”
Dr Luthfy said he did not condone criticising the government while he was a member of it.
”I do not know whether GIP might join the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP),” Dr Luthfy said, ”but I noticed that during a recent GIP rally held at Giyasudeen School, a lot of DRP members attended.”
He said that there was no split between the government and GIP, and that the tensions were rather between the two parties.
”The President told me I could stay in the position as an a individual,” he said, ”but I preferred to join MDP of my own wish.”
He said that MDP had invited him to join the party on several different occasions.
Vice President of the Maldives Dr Waheed Hassan Manik, who is also a key figure in GIP, said the decision by Luthfy and Inaz was their own and he had nothing to say.
He said their decision would not affect GIP and that he was not sad about it.
”[Luthfy and Inaz] discussed it with me,” he said. ”I told them to do as they wished.”
MDP Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem said both the Education Minister and Deputy Trade Minister had been serving the party unofficially long ago, in different ways.
”Now have they returned to where they belong,” Haleem said. ”It will be a progress for them.”
He claimed that GIP was now “close to joining DRP”.
”In my political experience I can say that it is very likely to happen,” he suggested.
Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has hit back at feminist movement Rehendhi and the ‘Enough is Enough’ group after they called on sponsors to withdraw support from the upcoming Salaf-hosted event, ‘The Call’.
At a press conference today, Salaf said it did not consider the voice of an unregistered, underground NGO “as an official complaint”.
Mohamed Sobah, Secretary General of Salaf who spoke on behalf of the NGO, said that “all NGOs and all Maldivians support the event”, which will feature talks and lectures from visiting Islamic scholar Dr Bilal Philips.
”There might be a few people who are concerned that a professional western scholar is to arrive to the Maldivies,” Sobah said.
Sobah said that as Salaf was a registered NGO, it did not have to deal with “unlawful, unregistered and underground” groups.
”No one has officially complained about the event,” Sobah said. ”It is surprising that they fear to face us, and it is confusing because they use the internet to raise their voice while we are accessible easily anytime.”
Sobah said that the two visiting scholars, Dr Bilal Phillips and Dr Abdul Raheem Green, would deliver seven lectures on different topics.
”We are working to enhance the security and solving some other technical problems,” he said. ”We hope this event will be a very successful event.”
On May 5 Salaf has announced it would host ‘The Call’, a series of religious sermons to which it expects more than 10,000 people to attend.
Dr Bilal Philips was brought to the Maldives by Salaf last year. Many people attended the sermon and reportedly more than 100,000 people watched it via media.
The Maldives’ self-styled ‘underground feminist movement’ Rehendhi last week announced joint letter writing campaign with the ‘Enough is Enough’ group in protest against Sonee Company’s intention to sponsor the lecture.
They issued a press statement condemning Dr Philips’ preaching at last years’ Call, accusing him of “preaching that it is Islamic to marry off young girls as soon as they reached puberty, irrespective of their age.”
Sonee Company, reported by Rehendhi as one of the targets of the campaign, said it did not wish to comment on the matter at this time.
Correction: The original press statement from the Rehendhi group referred to ‘Sonee Company’, not ‘Sonee Hardware’ as previously stated in this article. Minivan News apologises for any confusion caused.
When one says Maths, fun and recreational are not the first words to come to mind.
However the recently held Mathmania contest by Lale International School provided just that to 1000 students from 11 schools, with a substantial prize money for the top three spots making it a very rewarding experience for the participants.
The prize ceremony took place at Holiday Inn last night. Students clad in traditional sarong shirt for boys and girls clad in libas greeted the invitees and participants at the entrance.
The ceremony started with the recitation of the Quran, after which the host for the ceremony, the head of English Department of Lale, Cheyne Webster took the stage.
Going into a brief description of how Mathmania took place early this year in participating schools like Ghiyasudeen, Majeediya, Imaadudeen, Hiriya among others, he said maths was used to “interest, engage, excite students”.
He alluded briefly to troubles faced by the school, saying that “2010 sees the school in a gradually accepting society” and went on to say that “in the face of adversity comes change. The storm clouds have passed and positive change is coming.”
Webster said that Lale was “a good school, with committed students and teachers.”
That commitment was evident through the ceremony, stretching to almost two hours, but nevertheless engaging and smooth, with a slide show of the official opening of Lale International school one year back, as well as photos of various activities.
The spacious classroom, colourful kindergarten playrooms and outdoor garden looks appealing. The students engaged in various activities, doing experiments in laboratory, field trips to resorts and islands, a visit to Fatih University.
Deputy Principal Latheefa Abdul Latheef said that “2010 is a year full of challenges” and that her role was “especially demanding.” She went on to say that “a bright future awaits Lale with the support of community, students and teachers.”
Deputy Minister for Education, Shifa Mohamed, thanked Lale for taking the initiative for holding Mathmania and inviting other schools to join.
She went on to note that it was evident that “Lale is trying hard to introduce an all round education”, and that this was the vision of the Education Ministry for other schools as well.
“We would like to see students that not only excel academically but are skillful and go on to be beneficial citizens of the country,” she said.
She spoke for a generation of Maldivians when she said during her study years she was not good at maths and “didn’t think it was interesting.”
She said she hoped that different teaching methods would now show students that it was quite an interesting subject.
For those who participated but didn’t win, she said “the fact that you were nominated from your school shows that you are quite good.”
Guiter in hand, grade eight student Nabeel was next on stage. Initially looking a bit shy, he morphed into a true performer once the song started.
While the school’s music teacher accompanying offstage, Nabeel enthralled the audience with a beautiful ballad, written by a fellow student.
Slides of the mathmania event in various schools followed. The classrooms and uniforms might have changed and also but the students looked engrossed in each photo.
The awards for the first 20 in the primary section of mathmania were next. Invitees from Education ministry, PTA members and Lale teachers were among those who gave away the prizes.
Before the first three spots was announced, grade seven student Toga came on stage.
Clad in a colourful traditional ‘hedhun buri’ with the veil incorporated into it, Toga hit all the right notes when she sang “There’s a Hero.”
A beaming Harvey Hassan from Jamaludeen School received the award for 3rd place, while Mismaah Abdulla of Iskandhar school and Malha Mohamed walked away with the second and first place, respectively.
The next batch of slides took away the breath of all those present. In an Olympiad which had 34 countries participating with 94 projects, student Mohamed Anas had his project selected.
A bio-fueled stirling engine was his submission. A video clip of how the engine worked using bio-waste, in this case sawdust, was briefly projected on the screen. The slide finished by asking for good luck wishes for the project which is going to be presented in Amsterdam this year.
In the secondary category five students from Muhyiddin, Imaadudeen, and Ghazee school jointly shared the 20th position prize.
The top three places went to students of Imadudeen. Yusra Waheed, Riham Abdulla and Aishath Janaan took first, second and third place.
After participatory certificates were given out to the schools who participated, the ceremony ended with a colourful performance by students.
Traditionally attired, students danced to a mix of old and new Dhivehi songs with the old poetry form ‘Raivaru’ thrown in for good effect.
If the mathmania and the ceremony is any indication, Lale International school does seem on the right path to putting the past behind and carving a bright future for itself.
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