Comment & Analysis: From the rising sea into the crossfire

Jihadwatch is watching the Maldives. Jihadwatch, set up by the David Horowitz Freedom Center in the United States after the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York, is run by prominent rightwing American conservatives convinced that Western civilization is in danger of being annihilated by ‘Islamic terrorism’.

The chief aim of Jihadwatch is that of ‘correcting popular misconceptions about the role of Jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts’.

This has meant reducing the inherent complexities of the Islamic concept of Jihad to a singular understanding of the term: Jihad is a Muslim Holy War against the West. Some of the contributors to Jihadwatch are among those who have made the most prolific contributions towards cementing the dangerous theory of a clash between Islam and Western civilization.

With the announcement by President Nasheed on 21 November 2009 that he was seeking advice on whether or not the Maldives should ban places of worship for other religions, the Maldives provided Jihadwatch with just the kind of material to spread their message of Islam as an enemy of human freedom and civilization. The article itself, and the comments left by visitors, make interesting reading for the government, and for the purported religious readers that currently seem to hold sway over what happens in the country.

Clash of civilisations

The issue here is not that the Maldivian government should let its policy be informed by the output of a website such as Jihadwatch. After all, it is such advice and thinking that informed the policies of the previous U.S. administration that led the world into the disastrous ‘War on Terror’.

No, the reason why being watched by Jihadwatch should be of concern to the Maldivian government is because it raises the question of how the Maldives ended up being involved in this ‘Islam versus West’ debate at all.

If President Nasheed is seeking ‘advice from religious scholars on Islam’s position on allowing non-Muslims to worship in an Islamic community’, he would also do well to seek advice on how to deal with the dangerous issues that the country will have to face once it finds itself well and truly caught up in the so-called ‘clash of civilisations’ debate.

The most pressing issue here is that the Maldivian government should realize the direction in which these ‘religious leaders’, with their proposals for introducing intolerance into Maldivian laws, is taking the country.

If the government fails to recognize the implications of allowing them to lead the Maldives into the maelstrom of the dangerous Islam versus the West debate, the nation will soon find itself in deeper waters than those that threaten to force it under rising sea-levels.

Imported

For centuries the Maldivians have been Muslims. Its constitution has always dictated that to be a Maldivian citizen, one has to be a Muslim. Yet, until now, it has managed to avoid being predominantly identified as an ‘Islamic state’ – extremist or otherwise – in western security discourse. Even in the immediate aftermath of 11 September 2001, the Maldives escaped from being grouped into either of the two camps into which the former US administration divided the world: ‘either you are with us [the West], or you with the terrorists’.

This is no small achievement, for a nation of 300,000 people who have been Muslims by law since 1153 AD. How did the country manage to distance itself from being typecast in this crude manner?

By practicing Islam peacefully. By being Muslims who were not dictated to by the diktats of sects and factions within Islam. By adhering to the tenets of Islam that make it a religion of peace. By being united in their faith in a manner that was uniquely Maldivian.

The Maldives has escaped war, ethnic conflict and civil strife in this war-torn world precisely because its people have been united in their belief and practise of Islam in a manner that has been unique to their own cultural and social identity.

In the last eight years or so, however, a particular brand of Islam has been imported into the country by persons whose underlying motives the government has failed to question and whose activities the government has left unchecked. The number of ‘learned clerics’ whose methods and sources of learning no one knows, have mushroomed with breathtaking rapidity.

The Muslims of the Maldives and their unique identity have been marauded by the force of the dubious religious rhetoric that now reverberates in its parliament and its public sphere.

Thought-revolution

There has been a thought-revolution in the Maldives the force of which has affected the Maldivian people as profoundly as Mao’s Cultural Revolution affected the people of China.

The government needs to question how this silent yet so starkly visible revolution happened without protest, how a people’s identity has been taken away so completely, how they have been so easily persuaded into leaving centuries of cultural norms and ingrained ways of practicing their faith for methods and practices that have been imported en masse from other cultures, from certain sects within Islam.

The last government and the barriers it had set up against intellectual development is just one of many reasons. But there is more, and the government needs to ask the right questions and find the answers, if it is to halt the relentless regression towards disaster that the Maldives is currently caught up in.

If the Maldives continues along this path of radical change, it is going to come under more than just the watchful eye of those trying to blame Islam and its teachings for all the woes of the world. The saddest development of all is that a country such as the Maldives, which until now has been a shining example of peace, among Muslim nations is now providing ammunition for those who are perpetrating the belief that Islam is engaged in a war against the West.

President Nasheed fought long and hard for a democratic government in the Maldives, and made personal sacrifices to achieve the goal. He has been busy attempting to bring about much needed reforms.

But, he is showing himself to be extremely weak in facing up to the forces that are impeding his progress. It is time for President Nasheed and his government to realize that if he fails to stand up to these agents of conflict and intolerance, the loss will not only be to his political ambitions but to the nation that he has promised deliverance from dictatorship.

It is laudable to try and save the nation from going under when the sea levels rise; but the ability to hold cabinet meetings underwater is not going to help stop the nation from sinking into troubled waters once it gets caught in the crossfire of the ‘War on Terror’ and the advocates of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West.

Munirah Moosa is a journalism and international relations graduate. She is currently engaged in research into the ‘radicalisation’ of Muslim communities and its impact on international security.

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

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MoU signed for wind farm in Northern Province

Northern Utilities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday with Swedish company Madsen Consulting to set up a wind farm in the Northern Province, helping the Maldives move closer to achieving carbon neutrality.

Abdul Matheen, managing director of Northern Utilities, said Madsen Consulting would install a single 75kw turbine in Lhaviyani atoll Hinnavaru early next year to carry out a feasibility study for the region.

“We will collect real data from the turbine and after we will decide how many wind turbines to install on how many islands,” said Matheen, adding that the study would last between four and six months.

He explained the project would be built, owned and operated by Madsen Consulting while Northern Utilities would distribute the energy to the islands.

In March, President Mohamed Nasheed unveiled ambitious plans to make the Indian Ocean archipelago the first carbon neutral country in the world by switching from diesel to renewable energy and offsetting carbon emissions.

Matheen said that previous studies revealed the Northern Province was the best in the country in terms of potential for capturing wind energy.

On why the utilities company had kept the signing from the media, he said, “We sign so many MoUs…people aren’t interested to hear that anymore. But hopefully it’s the beginning of a larger project.”

Hinnavaru Councillor Adam Yoosef said he was pleased with the possibility of a wind farm on his island.”It’s very good because it will reduce the cost of electricity. It will be affordable to the people,” he said.

Adam said he believed going carbon neutral was a positive step as the Maldives as a low-lying country was vulnerable to climate change.

“In which case it’s the best thing we can do, and if we do it other countries might do the same,” he said.

In 2007, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted rising sea levels of up to 59cm would submerge many of the Maldives’ 1,192 coral islands.

Earlier this month, the Maldives signed two MoUs for feasibility tests for wind farms elsewhere in the country.

The first was with British company Falcon Energy to carry out a feasibility study for a 75 megawatt wind farm in Gaafaru in North Malé Atoll, with the test to be conducted by GE Energy over a period of one year.

If successful, the wind farm could potentially supply energy to the whole atoll including the capital Malé, Hulhulé International Airport and 24 resorts as well as supply 40 per cent of its electricity.

At the ceremony, President Mohamed Nasheed said he believed the Maldives would achieve its goal of going carbon neutral by 2020, earlier than expected.

The second MoU was with Indian company Suzlon, Asia’s largest wind turbine producer, to conduct a feasibility study for a 25 megawatt wind project in Addu atoll.

At a the Vulnerable Climate Forum this month, the Maldives and ten other countries vulnerable to climate change adopted a declaration vowing to green their economies ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in December.

The declaration further called upon other countries to voluntarily commit to going carbon neutral.

Next month, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen at the UN talks to thrash out a successful to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

Discussions have so far stalled with many pessimistic about reaching a legally binding treaty until next year.

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STO opens up sale of shares

The State Trading Organisation (STO) has begun the sale of over 100,000 shares to the public today under the government’s privatisation policy.

Speaking at a press conference, Aishath Shaffana Rasheed, secretary general, said 138,472 shares will be up for sale from today to 10 January 2010.

When the sale of shares is complete, the share of the public in the company will increase from 7.71 per cent to 20 per cent and the government’s share in the company will be reduced from 92.29 per cent to 80 per cent,” she said.

She added the company aimed to eventually reduce the government’s share to 50 per cent.

The price of a share is Rf400 (US$31) with a face value of Rf50 (US$3.8) and an individual can buy a minimum of five shares, she said, while foreign investment companies will not be eligible.

Although a maximum amount has not been set, she added, under company regulations, an individual cannot own more than five per cent of the company’s shares.

Forms for the purchase of shares will be available from the STO head office and has to be submitted at the Bank of Maldives or its designated branches and mobile teams.

The purpose of selling STO shares is to reduce the government’s share and implement the government’s privatisation policy, she said.

Last year, STO handed out Rf65 (US$5) in dividends.

Shahid Ali, STO managing director, said the pro rata [in proportion] allotment of shares would ensure that all persons who apply for shares will be able to purchase even if the applications exceed the number of shares available for sale.

Mobile teams will visit the islands without bank branches to allow people to purchase shares, he said.

Farooq Umar, chairman of the STO board, said the five per cent ceiling will be a safeguard against companies purchasing more shares than the general public.

STO was established in 1964 to import essential food items, but has since diversified into areas such as energy and trade in consumer electronics.

The provisional income statement for the quarter that ended on 30 September shows that the company made a gross profit of Rf120.1 million (US$15.6 million) in the third quarter and Rf352 million (US$27.3 million) so far this year.

STO was registered in the Maldivian stock exchange in 2001.

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Rf11.9 billion budget proposed to parliament

A Rf11.9 billion (US$926 million) projected mid-term budget for 2010 with a Rf4 billion (US$357 million) deficit was proposed to parliament by Finance Minister Ali Hashim today.

Presenting the budget, Hashim said unlike previous budgets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confidence that next year’s budget could be implemented.

With government revenue projected at Rf7.3 billion (US$568 million), he said, the deficit for 2010 will be Rf4.6 billion (US$357 million).

“To plug this deficit, we have proposed estimated foreign aid of Rf1 billion (US$77 million) for the various projects in the budget, an estimated Rf384 million (US$29 million) from foreign loan assistance, an estimated Rf1.3 billion (US$101 million) from privatising government companies and an estimated Rf1.9 billion (US$147 million) from selling treasury bills through the MMA [Maldives Monetary Authority],” he said.

Revenue and expenditure

Rf11.9 billion budget proposed to parliament

Measures to increase government revenue included the introduction of corporate taxation in 2010, he said, urging MPs to pass the taxation legislation before the end of the year.

Further, a GST (goods and services tax) will be imposed on tourist resorts and hotels in the final quarter of 2010, he said, which is expected to bring in Rf358 million (US$27 million) in revenue.

Hashim said introducing taxation was important to stop the “ad hoc” means of raising revenue.

He added the IMF, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had repeatedly urged the government to institute sustainable sources of revenue.

Expenditure on travel, capital and recurrent costs has been reduced in the budget, he said.

He added expenditure on salaries for state employees was also reduced and revenue had to be increased beyond Rf7 billion to review the reduced salaries of civil servants.

The policy of creating “a small government” will be implemented in 2010, Hashim said, and funds for redundancy packages for laid off employees was included in the budget.

Further, a loan programme with assistance from the World Bank will begin in early 2010 to provide education and business loans for dismissed staff.

Surplus

By the IMF government finance statistics measure, the deficit for 2009 was 26.1 per cent.

But, said Hashim, if the mid-term budget was implemented, it would decline to 14.8 per cent in 2010, 2.4 per cent in 2011 and reach a surplus in 2012.

The structure of the budget was agreed upon after consultations with the IMF, he said, and included recommendations by the IMF, ADB and World Bank to solve structural problems in the economy.

The recommendations include reducing expenditure and size of the government, introducing targeted subsidies and transferring debt with the MMA to government bonds.

Further, he said, the IMF will provide a balance of payments loan to maintain foreign currency reserves, while the ADB and World Bank will provide loans for budget support.

Tourism

“In 2009, the Maldivian economy, especially the tourism industry, was severely affected by the global economic recession that began in the middle of 2008,” he said. “However, we have started seeing signs that the downturn is coming to an end.”

While tourist arrivals were expected to decline by 11 per cent in 2009, he said, arrivals picked up during the middle of the year.

The revised forecast for about 643,000 tourist arrivals in 2009 would be 5.9 per cent lower than the previous year, but 5.1 per cent better than the previous forecast.

The growth rate of the tourism industry slowed by 4.8 per cent in 2009, he said.

But, he added, since the industry has showed signs of improvement towards the end of the year the projected growth rate for 2010 is six per cent.

Further, it is expected to expand by 8.7 per cent in 2011 and 9.1 per cent in 2012.

Construction

As a result of the declining tourist arrivals, the dollar shortage and decreased capital investment, the construction industry was projected to contract by 16.8 per cent in 2009.

But, said Hashim, with the healthy forecast for the tourism industry and development of islands leased in 2004 expected to begin next year, the construction industry is projected to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2010.

Fisheries

Fisheries began to decline in 2006, with a 22 per cent contraction in 2007 and 7.7 per cent in 2008.

“In 2009, fishing is now expected to decline by 26.7 per cent. However, as the price of oil has fallen in 2009, it is now estimated that fisheries will improve in 2010,” said Hashim. “In 2010, the growth of the industry is expected to be maintained at 10 per cent.”

Balance of payments

Hashim said the balance of payments current account deficit was expected to be 25 per cent of GDP for 2009, compared to 51 per cent in 2008.

But, with imports expected to increase in 2010, the deficit is projected to widen to 28 per cent.

Export earnings in 2010 are projected to rise by 18 per cent with higher earnings expected from oil re-exports and new fisheries products.

The gross reserve was expected to climb to US$299.1 million in 2009, including the sale of US$100 worth of government bonds.

With tourism revenue expected to rise along with proceeds from privatisation and foreign assistance, Hashim said, the gross reserve was projected to be US$331.6 million at the end of 2010.

Deficit spending

The revised total expenditure for 2009 was Rf12.1 billion (US$941 million), the finance minister said, of which Rf6.2 billion (US$482 million) was government revenue and foreign aid.

Expenditure exceeded revenue by Rf5.9 billion (US$459 million), which was to be plugged by Rf1.1 billion (US$85 million) in foreign loans, Rf637 million (US$49 million) in loan assistance and Rf4.1 billion (US$319) expected from the sale of treasury bills and bonds.

At today’s sitting, a 15-member ad hoc committee was approved to evaluate the budget and present a report.

The budget debate will take place on 1 December.

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Government submits right to information bill

A right to information bill was submitted to parliament this week to ensure the government conducts its activities in a transparent and accountable manner, according to the president’s office.

Deputy Attorney General Abdulla Muizza told Minivan News today the bill was “very similar” to the current right to information regulations, noting the right was enshrined in the constitution.

Article 29 of the constitution stipulates that everyone has the freedom to acquire and impart knowledge, information and learning.

While the right to information regulations exist, Muizzu said an Act would be “more effective” and have “more weight”, adding that regulations have to be reviewed every year.

“Regulations can also be changed at any time by a three-member panel in parliament but an Act requires all of parliament to be changed,” he said.

Ali Shamaan, the editor of Hafta weekly, said the bill will compel government offices to provide information.

“Legal action can be taken against those who refuse, whereas under the regulations, there was no legal recourse,” he said.

The right to information regulations were adopted by presidential decree last year after a bill on the issue was rejected by parliament in 2007.

Shamaan said the 2007 bill had “serious flaws” as it was proposed by a “30-year-old dictatorship” that did not have any intention of providing information.

“But in the last few years of the Maumoon government, a circular was sent to all government offices asking them to provide information to media,” he said.

He added that the incumbent government had told offices to make information available and was confidence MPs would vote for the bill.

The right to information regulations came into effect in May but have been severely criticised by journalists, who have argued they hamper rather than ease access to information.

Under the regulations, all information must be provided within 30 days, which the Maldives Journalism Association (MJA) has argued should be shortened to 21 days.

The MJA further criticised provisions in the regulations which allow government institutions to extend the period from 30 to 60 days on a number of grounds such as if the information is not considered ready for publication.

The regulations have also been criticised for their numerous exceptions. Information can be withheld if, for example, it relates “to a third party, is a trade secret or goes against a prior agreement”.

In a UNESCO sponsored report published last month, Toby Mendel, senior legal counsel at Article 19, an international organisation that advocates for freedom of expression, said the regulations did not, appear to be implemented in practice or used by either citizens or civil society as a means of accessing information.

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Letter on sentenced paedophile

Dear Editor,
A man arrested and convicted of sexually exploiting Maldivian children and also forcibly destroying the minds of these children got only six years in prison?
What a joke. It’s as if he got caught smuggling some opium – that’s how light the sentence was. In six years (or even faster, if the parole system is anything to go by, if he gets out of prison alive), he’ll be back on the streets again – and the vaunted “justice” that was served for his victims will be just a memory.
Whatever that unnamed NGO who said such a weak sentence was a “promising future” is either wearing rose-tinted glasses, snorting cocaine or just foolish to realise that six years is not enough to help the exploited children to heal, or to keep a convicted race-killer penned in.
25 years and no parole is more fitting; it will give his victims the peace of mind to develop and heal – and will increase the chances of his summary execution in prison.
I have lost all faith in the judiciary system of Maldives. As the father of two children, I am willing go above and beyond the so-called law to protect them from criminals like Hussain Fazeel.
Regards,
Anonymous

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DQP accuses municipality of illegally promoting MDP

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) filed a case with the Election Commission (EC) yesterday, claiming that Male’ Municipality violated political party regulations by using government resources to build decorative Eid columns promoting the ruling party.

The columns, painted with Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid) as well as the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party’s logo of flowers, have been placed along Majeedhee Magu, one of the capital’s busiest shopping districts.

“The party believes that the objects kept on Majeedhee Magu wishing Eid Mubarak by the Male’ Municipality…was in violation of the spirit of the constitution…as it was done using government property to promote a particular party,” reads the DQP letter to the EC.

The party further alleged that the columns were made by the municipality’s road construction section during working hours by municipality employees.

In their letter, the DQP said the actions of senior officials of the municipality to promote the ruling party was “worrying” and contravened section 34 of the political party regulations, which prohibits the use of government property for personal benefit.

“The temple flower is the symbol of the MDP’s presidential candidate and yellow is the colour that symbolises the party. Since this was done to promote MDP in the name of wishing Eid Mubarak and is in violation of section 34 of the political parties regulation, we request that you investigate the matter,” it reads.

Male’ Municipality President “Sarangu” Adam Manik denied the allegations to Minivan News today, claiming the funds for the columns were raised by the Municipality Employees’ Association – a group of employees which carried out community work in Male’.

“They collect contributions from the general public…All institutions like Male’ Municipality have organisations that promote the well-being of staff and support such activities,” said Sarangu, adding that the columns were made with resources and assistance from “well-wishers” such as Vimla Construction. 

But DQP said it was unconvinced by the authenticity of the Municipality Employees’ Association, which was unknown to many of the staff at the municipality and, the party claims, was created a week ago with the sole objective of erecting the columns.

An employee at the municipality, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he did not know anyone in the association and had not heard of it until it was mentioned in the news.

On the inclusion of MDP’s logo on the columns, Sarangu said the columns had been built for the government’s one-year anniversary on 11 November, but were not erected due to rain. The columns were then re-used to mark the Eid celebrations, he said.

“Hassan Saeed is playing a very dangerous political game when someone is trying to do something for the betterment of the country,” said Sarangu. “The problem with the opposition is that they don’t know how to be the opposition and now society is getting more and more polarised.”

Although once a member of the coalition government, the DQP went into opposition in October, citing the government’s failure to bring the change promised during last year’s presidential election.

“What Hassan Saeed should do is come over to the ministry and see how I am managing the municipality, how I am cleaning the garbage on the roads, how I am doing community work and try and improve it through criticism or recommendations,” said Sarangu.

Mohamed Tholal, director general of the Elections Commission, said the commission was looking into the complaint but would most likely pass the case over to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

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Letter on mandatory veil in schools

Dear Editor,
It is sad and disheartening to read your article on the aforementioned topic, but I commend the efforts of the Minivan News team for bringing these kinds of controversial cases to our attention.
I feel as if we are moving backwards, engulfed in the biggest mistake the current government has made in separating the religious component from the Executive. The Islamic Ministry has become a nationwide pest now, trying to take away one freedom after another.
If we do not take action now it will be too late, for they are brainwashing this moderate liberal community and trying to make our beautiful country one that reflects the dry deadly deserts of Arabia.
In today’s time and state, every women should have the access to education and healthcare. They should have a right to choose what they wear, whom they marry and what kind of people they will be.
I was watching the Miss Maldives Beauty Pageant of 1953 on Youtube today and wishing for such a glorious time for Maldivian women again. I ask every reader of this letter to exercise your freedom of expression and try to get some common sense back into our people, for that is the least we can do as individuals.
Regards,
Anonymous

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Letter on alcohol on inhabited islands

Dear Editor,
The excellent article by Munirah Moosa on this subject gives a foreigner a great insight into some of the problems confronting the movement for reform in the Maldives, and I hope it is equally enlightening for Maldivians.
As an Irishman in the wake of the Ryan Report into sexual abuse by state ignored, if not actually endorsed, clerics, I am painfully aware of the dangers of equating Church with State, and would strongly advise any country to steer well away from such troubled waters.
As your columnist points out (without resource to cliché), you can lead a horse to water but it is up to the horse whether or not he avails of the facilities when he gets there. If anything, this is even more true of intelligent human beings following the dictates of an informed conscience, no matter which religion that conscience is informed by.
Regards,
Philip Cummings

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