People’s Alliance (PA) Leader and MP Abdulla Yameen has claimed that the senior officials of the government are “not very religious”, during a rally to celebrate the day the Maldives embraced Islam.
Secretary General of the PA, Ahmed Shareef, also claimed the government was not interested in religion and had done “many things to weaken Islam in the country.”
”Last year during Ramadan the government allowed non-muslims to eat in day time,” Shareef said,”and they disbanded women’s mosques.”
He said the government had also dismissed many Imams from their position, “and gave away the land belonging to the Kulliyathu Dhiraasathul Islamiyya school,” he added, when it was brought under the Maldives College of Higher Education.
”They also discussed the building of temples in the country and selling alcohol on inhabited islands,” he said.
Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the claims were untrue.
”The government has done many things to strengthen and protect Islam in the country,” Zuhair said.
He said the government’s policy was to leave all the religious issues to Islamic scholars.
”As we are not religious scholars we always leave religious issues to the religious scholars,” he said, pointing to new freedoms given to scholars.
“Yameen is not a religious scholar,” he added.
Spokesperson for Maldivian Democratic Party MDP Ahmed Haleem said the government had always tried to protect Islam in the Maldives.
”It’s a fact that the government has never arrested a religious scholar, unlike the former government,” Haleem said.
Haleem claimed the former government arrested more than 20 religious scholars after their sermons.
”I never knew that Abdulla Yameen was so religious,” Haleem said. “Maybe in the future we will see him at the mosque with a long beard and short trousers.”
Sheikh Abdulla Jameel said in his view Islam in the Maldives “has become very strong”, particularly among young people “who are now very interested in Islam.”
”I have noted that the number of people going to the mosques has also raised,” he said.
He said he believed this had happening because the government’s efforts to promote the role of religion in people’s hearts.
”The new government allows scholars to give sermons as they wish,” he said.
President of Islamic NGO Jamiyyath-al-Salaf, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Ibrahim, said the group did not wish to comment on issue.
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This statement of Spokesperson for Maldivian Democratic Party MDP Ahmed Haleem shows just how religious those in senior positions of MDP are: ”I never knew that Abdulla Yameen was so religious,” Haleem said. “Maybe in the future we will see him at the mosque with a long beard and short trousers.”
Excuse me but why does one have to wear a long beard and short trousers in order to be religious??? Your attire has nothing to do with how religious (or not) you are!
actually its true, what yameen says.
It is exactly because of statements like those of PA that has allowed the fundamentalism to grow in Maldives. However it is not PA alone that tries to use religion as a political tool. All parties do it, with the result being that people become more xenophobic and intolerant.
Regarding the statement about allowing foreigners to eat during Ramazan, why is that against Islam? With tens of thousands of non-Muslims in Maldives, mostly laborers who do back breaking work during the heat in Ramazan, are we to deny them food and water? Where does it say that non-Muslims must be forced to fast during Ramazan? Religion aside where is basic decency and compassion? I am embarrassed to be a Maldivian with these kind of idiots as fellow countrymen!
Pot calling the kettle black...
Islam in the Maldives is like a football to be kicked whenever you can score a political goal. Play on!!
If those claims are true...........there is still hope for our country....
already the bearded barbarians seem to have more authority than our elected officials....
please do not mock the religon a muslim can be a very good muslim without "his long beared and the short trausers" in your status and where you are ... people expect to give better answers to such qustion.. or else just give leave you job..or better better man ....
i mean is be a better man ....in your job
In my view Yameen's statement is probably true for Politicians of all parties, including his own. Parliamentarians should be religious enough to honor their vows and defend the Constitution by completing the laws required to provide justice in this country.
I agree MDP nor PA majority is not religious. They are the generation given by Ustaz Maumoo Abdul Qayyoom, who preech Islam, practice Christianity,think like atheist. So what will you get from that generation. Now again some good people in Maldives have to give their time to rehab them. or try with the new generation. Anni may be little better than Yaameen where Islam is concern but cant trust them both on matters in Islam.
why do we need a Muslim country anyway?
I think what Ahmed Haleem said was very appropriate given that Yameen started talking about religion just after his wife and daughter started wearing burugaa.
What Yaameen said regarding religion has to be interpreted with the opposite meaning: This is government is more religious than the one before. People pray more with full house at mosques and during Maumoon’s reign mosques were abandoned!
Yaameen's strategy is becoming evident because he thinks that touching religion would win him votes. It is quite probable that he would claim to be a religious scholar himself by 2013.
So, will Adalat come to join PA?
I don't understand why this website is used as a platform to mock Islam and Muslims.Lets have respect to all.You can't transform a muslim society into a western model society.But whatwe can do is we can apply divide and rule policy that's to spread chaos and uncertainty in the society. West will never accept us even if all Maldivians adopt their way of living. What happened to Turkey? Where's EU membership? We are Maldivian nationals after all. Maldives will remain as a Muslim tolerant nation.
How come Yameen talk about Islamic Issue ?? He must repent first 🙂
Go Government with all your effort we are on your back
I want to see what Jeff says about this issue. He know Islam better than you guys. Dear Jeff, pls put your comments.
What has religion got to do with politics anyway... Who ever wants to come into power would start with the religion...
Look at Ilyas Hussain, Fareed, Anni (who used BA naseem), Maumoon and now Yameen (Who is backing all these kinky religious preachers like Ilyas Hussain and Fareed)...
What is wrong with our people.. Isn't there anything else than fear that can bring them to power.. How about just one day of honesty..
Ibra needs to come back... then again.. what the hell.. people rejected him big time... TWICE....
Agree with Thakurey that Yameen wants popularity. But we don't need any of them, we don't need a Ilyas Hussain, no Fareed, no Maumoon, no Yameen.
We just need strong women like Saudi Hissa Hilal: [...] In a 15-verse work, she railed against preachers who "sit in the position of power", "frightening" people with their religious edicts. [...] more here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-woman-poet-lashes-out-at-clerics-in-arabic-idol-1926176.html