President Dr Mohamed Waheed has today spoken of his concern that the “weakening faith” of Maldivians was allowing unspecified “foreign powers” to increase their influence over the country’s internal affairs.
Despite the number of differing political beliefs currently held by Maldivians, president Waheed called on the public to ensure that Islam and “national interest” were always their foremost priorities.
“Our national anthem, national flag, and national colours that symbolize the country should come first,” read an official statement quoting Dr Waheed that was posted on the President’s Office website today.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile questioned President Waheed’s religious convictions, accusing him of being “double-faced” by trying to appeal to Islamists in the country for political gain, while claiming his comments more resembled the words of a “dictator”.
President Waheed made the comments today as he visited the island of Alifushi in North Maalhosmadulu Atoll as part of a tour to survey and break ground on a number of development projects in the area such as school and hospital constructions.
Speaking to local people on the island, President Waheed said that foreign powers would always seek to try and influence the country during times of conflict and instability.
Stressing the need for unity at both a national and community level, he therefore urged the public to try to prevent political views from coming between families.
President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad, who had not travelled with the president to Alifushi today, said he was not aware of the nature of the president’s comments when contacted this afternoon. Masood was not responding to calls for further clarification at time of press.
Unifying force
Meanwhile, MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor today rejected suggestions that President Waheed stood as a unifying force for Islam in the Maldives, accusing him of politicising the nation’s faith for his own gain.
“It is the mark of his total weakness in politics that [President Waheed] has put himself in this position,” he said. “There is no currency among the public in what he says.”
Hamid claimed that many Maldivians were aware that the president had sought to “play Islam” for political gain since he took office following the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.
President Waheed, who served as vice president under the former government, came to power after the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed following a mutiny by sections of the police and military.
Nasheed later alleged he had resigned under duress in what both himself and the MDP contend was a “coup d’etat”, despite a Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) later concluding that President Waheed had come to power constitutionally.
Hamid alleged that President Waheed remained a “coup leader”, who had been backed by key businessmen in the country linked to its lucrative tourism industry.
“What is most bizarre is that it was certain tourism oligarchs who brought him to power.”
Coalition agreement
Just last month, President Waheed announced he would be forming a coalition between his Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) and the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) ahead of presidential elections scheduled for later this year.
The AP, one of five parties in the country meeting a recently approved regulation requiring any registered political body to have 10,000 registered members, is part of the coalition government of President Waheed following last year’s change in government.
Both Adhalaath and GIP do not presently have any elected members in parliament.
The religious conservative party was previously a coalition partner in the government of former President Nasheed, later leaving the government citing concerns at what it alleged were the irreligious practices of the administration.
This led the AP in December 2011 to join then fellow opposition parties – now members of Waheed’s unity government – and a number of NGOs to gather in Male’ with thousands of people to “defend Islam”.
During the same day, Nasheed’s MDP held their own rally held at the artificial beach area in Male’ claiming his government would continue to practice a “tolerant form” of Islam, reminding listeners that Islam in the Maldives has traditionally been tolerant.
“We can’t achieve development by going backwards to the Stone Age or being ignorant,” Nasheed said at the time.
Shortly after coming to power in February 2012, flanked by members of the new government’s coalition, President Waheed gave a speech calling on supporters to “Be courageous; today you are all mujaheddin”.
“Extremism” fears
Earlier this week, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, former Foreign Minister under both the governments of former Presidents Nasheed and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, alleged that anti-semitism, racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance were “deeply entrenched” in political parties currently opposed to the MDP.
Dr Shaheed’s comments followed reports in local media summarising US Embassy cables first published by Wikileaks in 2009, and discussed during the then-opposition parliament’s efforts to impeach the foreign minister.
In particular, the Maldivian government’s engagement with Israel was the subject of a parliamentary debate November 9, 2009, in which Shaheed narrowly avoided impeachment following a no-confidence motion.
Opposition to the Maldives’ recognition of Israel was seized by then opposition groups in December 2011 as a sign of the Nasheed government’s “anti-Islamic” policies.
However, Dr Shaheed claimed that “Growing extremism hurts the Maldives rather than anybody else, because whenever a state is unable to deliver what is in the public interest due to intimidation from others, it is the state that suffers.”
Meanwhile, a recent report on extremism in the Maldives published in US West Point military academy’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) Sentinel has warned that growing religious extremism and political uncertainty in the country risk negatively affecting the country’s tourism industry.
“Despite its reputation as an idyllic paradise popular among Western tourists, political and religious developments in the Maldives should be monitored closely,” the report concluded.
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Waheed - another Islamist in a suit trying to mix nationalism and religion while leaning on the mullah brigade. It's funny how he speaks of weak faith when his own daughter is getting help for her energy issues from the Hindu goddess Kali and his son proudly proclaims to the American First Lady that his mother doesn't wear a veil. Such hypocrisy is ofcourse expected from Muhammaden leaders who want the best of both the sacred and the secular. During mullah Mamon's timee it might have been easy to get away with shouting Islamofascist slogans at islanders while fooling the international community with promises of pluralism. Such taqiyya doesn't work these days though. Especially with the Wahhabis calling out such hypocrisy left and right and exposing themselves for the intolerant, hateful, mindless terrorists they really are.
You would not be a very good dictator if ou did not use religion. That is how the game works!!
It is common in hopeless people to blame others for their failures. We don’t see any forign power who is meddling with these fishy folks. This moron is simply making unsubstantiated claims of foreign involvements with the Fishy people. The only foreign influence we see is due to Maldives is a member of international community and Maldives pledges allegiance to international covenants like human rights. They are simply asking to respect these covenants. Respect human rights, constrain Islamic fundamentalism because it is an ideology that enslaves human brains. They are asking to change your attitude if you want to be part of global community, you can’t call this to be foreign influence
You must change from your old way of life if you want bring changes to your life; you have to leave your comfort zone in order to prosper. You can’t behave like average man if you want be leader who wants to bring changes to his people. Lets vote for Anni who seems the only person who has different approach to develop Maldivians.
weakening faith...inevitable.
Increase faith among your own children, then talk about us citizens of this country. Waheed has brought political hypocricy to a new level.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm0xuP5AGkk
Its true . President waheed is hundred times better than the Fili Nasheed and he has much better quality of leadership than Fili Nasheed.
Fili Nasheed is the traitor and dictator and he is the man behind most of the recent corruption and violence.
No leader in Maldives have ever openly called for violence except Fili Nasheed.
Nasheed is using democracy as a tool to spread his communist principles.
Maybe it could be small things like for example dishonest sociopaths called Neil merret, and a guy called JJ robinson and a bunch of foreigners spinning news to their liking to achieve a political affect based on whatever the hell their agenda is.
exaggerating events in a developing democracy to cause hysteria and for sensationalist journalism, may be what it seems on the surface, but wont be surprised if its the old colonialist mentality of forcing 'civilization' down the throats of simple minded islanders, and polarizing and dividing a nation, and giving the power to a handfull,
hope you burn in hell
No doubt, those who genuinely want a stricter Islam are also cycnical of Waheed's motives for appearing the Great Defender of the Faith. Surely it is not possible that they could be naive enough to buy into the constant stream of Holy babble pouring out of the mouths of politicians.
Never the less, the strict Muslims patronize Waheed's rhetoric despite being fully aware that Waheed will never attempt to implement a stricter version of Shariah Law. Waheed does not believe it to be good for the development of the Maldives to do so.
It seems clear that the Mullah's are waiting patiently for their opportunity to use Waheed's own statements as a leverage against him when he fails to fight for Shariah Law as they desire it. You see, the more extravegent Waheed's Islamic rhetoric is, the more of a hypocrite he will appear to be when/if he becomes the next Maldivian President.
Perhaps it IS true that you have to play the religious card to some extent to be elected President of the Maldives (observe the 'perhaps...') But I think it is detrimental to the longterm stability of the Maldives to overplay the religious card the way Waheed does.
As I have said on may occassions, shattered hope is more provocative than hope never awakened.
Dr. Dhah badey aa usmin thaka kah aran fashaifi.
Waheed is a faithless character.
And he is so shameless to talk about the faith of others.
Very true @GIP on Fri, 12th Apr 2013 1:44 PM.
He has to clear his own back yard before anything else!
@ Ben Plewright
I like your use of the word "stability" Ben. You see 'destability' (is there such a word?) and 'depression' are equally important concepts in understanding the social ills of this society. This includes intravenous drugs as well I would presume..... people are asking to be saved from all this you see..
The problem is all the money of this country is locked up in International Banks (being held by super-humans')...
What we need to do is clear. Please do continue to contribute your views.
And it is obvious clear that Waheed has no future in the politics of this country. It is Mohamed Nasheed who can save us... I believe (my faith in God has been strengthened because of Anni, not the other way round)!....
It is interesting to see that Waheed is concerned about saving our souls. Is it not ironic that he sold his, a year ago, for the highest bidder?
“Our national anthem, national flag, and national colours that symbolize the country should come first,”...
Does this guy know that a Sri Lankan composed our national "anthem"? Colours are universal and nothing to with nationality or nations! This guy couldn't organise a bonfire in hell. No wonder he's the puppet to make all puppets go to sleep.
Well, there's not long to go before we see the last of him. Come elections, Mr Waheed will go into oblivion sooner than you can say "oblivion"...
Minivan, I like how you let personal attacks against your staff to be published, but when I post a comment which perfectly fits your guidelines, you either have to edit them or not publish them at all. Well done.
Also, I hear Waheed couldn't even recite some of the shortest surahs while leading prayers in a local mosque. He must be one pious muslim.
Nasheed is the man to save this country ?
How the hell this idiot can save and he had proven himself of being corrupt and self centered and dictatorial behavior in his 3 years of power.
He had managed to sell most country's most valueable assets which are earnings over millions for few thousands just because the deal was able to get millions to his own pocket.
The guy who could not managed the pour economy , is going to save the country. what a joke?
If any one checks real finical status of the country, you will see the economy was in a big mess when Waheed took his office. But in the last one and half years , our economy has stabilize and our feds reserve has increased and country totals assets value had gone high over 20%.
These are things that really matter not just bull****ter like Nasheed who had proven himself to be useless in his economic policies.
Weakening faith in humanity, yes, when a despicable tub of lard shamelessly exploits the weak and the gullible by pandering to their faith in religion. Especially disgusting when this sorry excuse of a human being knows first hand what happens when religious bigotry takes hold of a society.
They certainly work you hard, Kuribee
Nobody is weakening their faith. Faith weakens on it's own when the populus gets a clue. And they are realising islam is bullshit used to control people. A religion where everyone is a slave to the religion. I certainly didn't want to be part of that.
Rise up people. Get a clue, end the barbarism and don't let adhaatlath taste any power. Learn something from egypt. Don't elect islamists or those colluding with them if you want to be truly free.
@Kuribee, also under Waheed we are in multiple arbitration cases and could throw the country into complete trouble. Our best medical connection has also weakened. job well done eh?
Dear Dr.B.Waheed. which religion are you referring to. Is it the one that Fidhaa Waheed is talking about.
The illegal occupational government is a a clear and present danger against ALL Maldivians, regardless of age, opinion, political ideology or family.
Foreign countries are much better to Maldivians than this baaghee government. Foreign countries give us education, the chance to improve our lives and improve our outlook on lives. What did this coup regime give us? Inflated taxes, public service destruction, corruption and cronyism!
People like Kuribe would rather us live like slaves and peons while they become rich at our expenses!.
Couples of week ago it rained fish,literally, to a small isolated town in Australia. Now this is a natural phenomenon that has been occurring since time immemorial, oblivious to the desert dwelling Bedouins of the 7th Century. How it happens is; a whirl wind scrapes of the surface of the sea with extraordinary force and pulls fish or whatever along with the whirl and dumps it somewhere else.
One such event during biblical times was the "Manna and Salva" (Apparently, a bird that tasted like chicken) that came down from "heavens" for the people of "Bani Israel". Apparently, the jews (Bani Israelites) got bored of eating "Manna and Salva" and complaint to Prophet Moses that they wanted to eat Onions and Garlic!! Since they couldn't get it, they went on strike, apparently the first ever!
I am wondering if similar events have analogies for the inquiring mind. If I question about those events, would I be considered as a heretic or being blasphemous?
So called "Godmen" have used such natural phenomenon to instill fear in the faint-hearted and weak minds for eons. Shouldn't one be cautious and conscious of the dogma that is forced into our throats?? Is it being weak in our faith or being strong enough in establishing the veracity of such dogmas?
If you don't believe please Google:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1254812/Hundreds-fish-fall-sky-remote-Australian-town-Lajamanu.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/433111
There are other instances where strange objects have fallen out of sky.
1794: French soldiers stationed in Lalain, near Lille, reported toads falling from the sky during heavy rain.
1857: Sugar crystals as big as quarter of an inch in diameter fell over the course of two days in Lake County, California.
1876: A woman in Kentucky reported meat flakes raining from the sky. Tests found the meat was venison.
1902: Dust whipped up in Illinois caused muddy rain to fall over many north-eastern U.S. states.
1940: A tornado in Russia brought a shower of coins from the 16th Century.
1969: Golf balls fell from the sky on Punta Gorda in Florida.
1976: In San Luis Opisbo in California, blackbirds and pigeons rained from the sky for two days.
@ Ahra Mazda
And Ahra Mazda is one damn scientist to know what happens after death. Probably experienced death in her time machine which could bring dead people to life!!??
She must have lived with Moses(PBUH)and saw the manaa salva coming from the sky!??
oh no! Ahra Mazda is a ghost from the past!!???
http://duncanlong.com/science-fiction-fantasy-short-stories/evolut.html
That said the truth is slowly coming out. A few scientists are speaking out or noting that this or another assumption behind evolution must be false.
One good example of this is the work done by Dr. Michael Denton.(16) Although Denton is not a creationist, he has been speaking out against many of the assumptions of traditional evolution, making his points from a biochemical standpoint that shows amino acid sequences from species spanning the entire biological world do not support the theory of progressive evolution from one species into another. Denton also disproves the theory of punctuated equilibrium.
Denton maintains that the Theory of Evolution will crumble from the shear weight of evidence against it.
@ Mazda.
Kaafir insecure anglophiles can see things only if it happened to "white man" or "white country". Here in Maldives also fish rain.
That is huge schools of flying fish just fly in to our islands every year. I remember one particular occasion when i was younger, that the fish was so much that we cannot collect all of them and after 2 days there was terrible stench in one side of our island because of the rotting of the uncollected fish.
blessings like rain and fish are not novelty to us muslims alhamdhulilla, but maybe so for the worhtless kaafir worms who constantly read Ali Sina firmly shut in their holes. these are the people who have eyes which doesn't see, ears which doesn't hear.
Number of biologists that believe we magically formed out of clay and rib: zero. Lol.
@Ahura Maza that must be how buraq, queen sheba's throne and solomon travelled. Lol.
Look, shim-shim, you can believe in your magic fairy tales but don't impose it on the rest of us, k?
@Shimy
It is heartening to know that someone is, at least, reading and trying to figure out for herself what the truth is. Shimy, there is ample evidence to substantiate the theory of evolution. You and I were connected at one point in time, including the keyboard I am using to type this comment! Of course, at a subatomic level, 13.2 billion years ago. Even if my keyboard is molded in a particular shape, there are "vibrating strings" deep inside the material used for the keyboard and hence, there is "life" in it.
Jelly fish (firu aunu mudhaa or Ginnoahi, as some people call it) is definitely an animate object, but it does NOT have a brain nor does it have a nervous system. Yet, it does not depart, even for a moment, from its predatory behaviour. Keep on wondering as to how it happens?
With the passage of time, my keyboard gets worn-off and of course, with the expiry of the cells' life, the jelly fish also gets worn-off.
Shimy, apparently this process could be reversed, like the way you re-charge normal batteries. If the shedding of the cells in animate objects could be halted, theoretically, it can live for eternity. Apparently, at the speed of light, the pace at which cells degenerate at subatomic level slows down. The renowned scientist Einstein proved (through his famous equation E=MC^2)that if a person were to travel into space at the speed of light and were to return back to earth after 60 years, the person's twin brother would have aged 60 years, but not the person who went to space! Apparently, if you have the wherewithal to remain at the edge of a black hole, without yielding yourself into its extraordinary force, the sub atomic particles in your physical body would not degenerate and as such, you can live for eternity!!
Talking of faith, Shimy, did you actually choose your faith? Most probably NOT. Had your parents been either, a Christian, Jew, Hindu or a Zorastrian, you would probably be one of them. Because, over 95% of the world's population do not change the faith that they were born into. If that is the case, do you mean to say that over 83% (out of the 7 billion in the world, there are 1.2 billion who follow Prophet Mohamed's faith)so called "infidels" would be burning in "Hell" fire for eternity? Do you think that the "MAKER" would so cruel to do that?
Think of the word "Allah". The etymology of the Arabic word shows that it is a derivative of the word "Ilaah" which was used by the pagans for their God(s)hundred of years before the advent of Islam. At the time, in Hijaz, the word was used quite commonly in naming children. What was the name of Prophet Muhmmad's (PBUH)father? AbduLLAH right? What was his uncle's name?
The point I am alluding is that, these faiths are introduced by good people to alter the behaviour people of the time. During the time of "Prophets" people used to bury their children alive, slaughter human beings to please and revere the God(s) that they believed in, as a means of atonement. Think for a moment. Do you think God would want to establish someone's unwavering allegiance to Him by using a small kid as a scapegoat? Do you think God would be so mean and cruel to subject a little kid to severe psychological trauma. Apparently, a Prophet (Prophet Abraham PBUH)saw a dream and God commanded him to take his little kid to the outskirts of the city and slit his throat!! And just as he was about to execute God's command, all of a sudden the sword turned blunt and a sheep fell-off from the sky and it was used as the "sacrificial lamb"! Since that day, the followers of him stopped sacrificing human-beings for their God!
A wise noble man had thought of an ingenious way, of stopping a barbaric act.
The concept of Heaven and Hell are used as drivers for altering people's "unacceptable/unethical" (emphasis added, because it is relative) behaviour. The parallel in modern day management is the "Carrot and Stick" approach. If you perform at work, you are rewarded with pay increments, promotions etc. If you don't, you get reprimanded, demoted etc.The Carrots are the 70 virgin super models (either male or female, depending on ones fetish, fantasies)and the Stick, of course, is the Hell fire!! The belief is that, peoples' "unethical" behaviour could be changed through coercion and threats and presumably, instill "moral" values in them. For some odd reason, it had worked for the lizard eating, dessert dwelling Bedouins of the 7th Century. However, it is a tough sell for those who wants to know the truth!
Ahra,
Very interesting thoughts, but alas, you have attempted to use logic to explain your hypotheses. You must be new to Minivan comment forums.
But in any case I enjoyed reading your comments. Thank you.
As peasant says, my dear Persian God, the mullah minions have an aversion to long reads (except their Koran). They will stop at your name and throw a tantrum or an ad hominem and will dance around triumphantly. Such is the state of the brainwashed Mohammaden. 🙂