Visiting Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik clarified during a question and answer session this morning that profits generated from the sale of alcohol are haram (prohibited), and urged the Maldives to encourage investment in halal (permitted) tourism.
“In Islamic finance, you cannot involve in any business as the owner of that business if it is even one percent a haram activity,” Dr Naik said.
“As a main partner you cannot be involved. If you are investing as a pool and you are a small partner, then a little bit is permitted, but as a 100% owner I cannot say ‘fine, I will have a hotel that will allow alcohol, and that money I will give to charity.’ You cannot say that. Because you are involved in haram activity.”
It was permitted, Dr Naik explained, to invest in part in a mutual fund where a haram activity might be a small percentage of the investment, as “then I can give the small amount to charity, because I have no major say in the business. But if I am a bigger shareholder, I cannot allow even 0.1% of haram activity to take place.”
Under Islam the use, handling and sale of alcohol are considered haram to Muslims, a tenet that led to vigorous opposition against the government’s attempt in February to legalise the sale of alcohol to non-Muslims on inhabited islands. Critics of the regulations claimed they were unconstitutional, as Article 10(b) of the Maldives’ Constitution states that ‘no law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted in the Maldives..
However the country depends heavily on tourism for its economy, particularly resorts which profit from the sale of alcohol, many of which are owned by local businessmen.
Dr Naik, who is speaking tonight and tomorrow at Maafaanu Stadium, after being invited by the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, questioned why the Maldives had no resorts that were “100 percent halal.”
“Your country is so beautiful. I have visited many countries in the world and I have to profess, the islands in Maldives are par excellence. I’ve been to many parts of the world, been to many top resorts in the world, but the one where I am staying in the Maldives is par excellence. Allah has blessed you with such beauty, scenery and natural resources,” he said.
“I put forward the proposal that why don’t we have an Islamic resort? I’m aware the Maldives prohibits alcohol for citizens, but those people who come from outside the Maldives can have access to these things which are haram for Muslims.”
Such resorts, he suggested, should be “exclusively halal, free of pork and alcohol, and with proper segregation and dress code – it will be a benefit.”
Similar segregated, alcohol and pork free hotels in other parts of the world had proven very successful, he explained, “with revenue far more than other hotels. The same thing can be done here.”
“The income for people investing in such Islamic resorts will be much higher,” he suggested. “I have spoken to government officials about it, and they say Inshallah, they look forward to it. Believe me it will attract more tourists very soon, in the next couple of years, with better revenue and a better profit.”
State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has similarly argued for promotion of Islamic “cultural tourism” within the Maldives, noting that “a lot of hotels, such as the Intercontinental in Medina, are without alcohol. What about developing alcohol-free resorts; Islamic tourism, just like Islamic banking?”
Dr Zakir Naik is speaking at an event at Maafannu stadium tonight and tomorrow, at 8:45pm.
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I wonder who will visit these Halal Resorts? Citizens of which country? The most rich muslims in the world are the arabs, but even they prefer to travel to europe and do shopping in Harrods. After them (Arabs) there arent really muslims who can afford to spend a holiday because they are so poor and struggling with their own lives. So Mr Zair, do you think your halal tourism will help our economy. The location of the island resort also matters. Had we been in the middle of the Europe, this would have worked because people would travel and visit us just for the sake of entering the European Territory. But if Maldives Tourism goes Halal, I dont think it will work. So dont talk this thing. The alcohol and the pork in the resorts are there for only the foreigners who come to eat them. We have got nothing to do with it.
But it's OK to stay in Boduhithi and enjoy the hospitality of a bunch of alcohol sellers? Hypocrite!
The heading is totally misleading! He didn't say "Profits from resorts.. are Haram". He said the portion of profit that comes from Sale of Alcohol is Haram. He was referring to a specific portion!
How does he know?
Making a Business out of Religion is Haram...
Advertising your business in the name of Religion is Haram
Doing acts of people converting to Islam on the spot is Haram
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=34d_1200360298
Haram Haram Haram
I have a question to Dr Nakir Naik - can someone in Male ask him this and then post his reply?
Is it ok if we outsource the business of alcohol to non-Muslims? We will subcontract the beverages unit of the resort to non-muslim companies for a fixed fee.
Would we them have to make sure that no alcohol is sold by the non-muslims in your resort? If this is the case then surely the resort owners also have to monitor all haram activities not just alcohol. They must make sure tourists do not engage in extra merital sex for example or the tourists do not bath in semi-nude clothing.
But then this might be more comlicated because I don't know if there is such a concept as 'haram' for non-muslims. So do we really have to monitor the 'haram' activities of non-believers? If not then let them sell alcohol within their beverages division.
I see this as a way to make alcohol available in resorts but local Muslim resort owners to make their profits halal. I would really find out what Dr Naik would say to this.
Good luck with "Islamic Resorts". No one will visit them.
Why do these cash rich fellows from the Middle East turn up in the rivieras of southern Europe and such places as Las Vegas? Because they offer pork/alcohol free segregated zones? Don't make us laugh.
I have seen with my very own eyes how they prefer certain not-so-Halal drinks and food!
according to the consititution if any one does something haraam the person should be prosecuted. will be nice to see all the resort owners, drp leaders, mdp leaders, in jail.
ha ha
Zakir Naik's arguement that a majority share in a haram activity is not permitted while a minority is permitted, does not make sense.
These people are crazy! People go to Madina, Mecca for a totally different reason. What is here for them to come? In the whole Dubai, they have just one Alcohol/pork free hotel. Why?
Whoops, there goes Baree's source of wealth.
I think Majeed should listen to Dr Naik and make his resort alcohol free to be an example to others. Let's see if it works.
And why just stop at segregation at resorts? Why not have men-only and women-only resorts? Perhaps the Gay and Lesbian communities in Europe may prefer that and may actually visit. Oops! But that is haram activity too. So that will not be allowed as well? In that case should we also check the marriage certificates of all the non-muslim couples visiting the Maldives?
Zakir Naik just go home and stop being jealous of us Maldivians and our growing tourism industry. hypocrite!
I too have some questions for Dr Naik.
Can someone in Male' ask him these questions, please?
1. Did God create Adam in the form of a human being? Or does the 'quintessence of clay' bit refer to evolution?
2. If Adam was created in the form of a human being, how do you explain the universal blueprint of DNA that we have in all eukaryote life forms? Why is the genome of a chimpanzee, for example, so similar to that of human beings?
3. Do we, Muslims, believe in Darwin's Theory of evolution?
Thanks in advance.
In school I learnt that "Gina minvareh boegen masthuvaa echegge zarre ge minvaruves buimakee haraam kamekeve" (I don't remember the Surah or Aayah). My point is that the same principle should apply to businesses as there shouldnt be any contradictions in a perfect book.
Zakir naik is in a religion of his own. What a joke!
There are no Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu resorts. Why have Islamic resorts? If a hotel does not sell alcohol or pork it is not a muslim or of any other religion's hotel. It is just a hotel. We should not label properties and businesses in religious terms. If the profit from selling pork or alcohol is haram then it is haram. There cannot be small percentage halal. I wonder from which Hadith he had seen this halal percentage thing. In the Koran there is no mention of a halal percent. And where are the statistics to prove that this so called Islamic resorts and hotels make more money than non Islamic hotels. There are none. If such a thing is real then all big hotel chains would have been Islamic hotels long ago. By bringing people like Zakir Naik, the Islamic Ministry is creating discord among the people.
wonder why the government of a 100% muslim country allows people like this to make fun of our religion??
this is shameful!
How many hotels in Jeddah are alcohol free? It's pointless comparing Mecca and Medina to a Maldivian tourist resort! Very cleverly for the natives of these cities, all Muslims are obliged to visit at least one of them! Obligatory tourism dollars thanks to religion!
If Dr Naik can release a fatwa saying all Muslims must visit the Maldives at least once during their lifetime (to see Paradise on Earth), then we may have a fighting chance at Halal Tourism! What a joker...
What i heard from his lectures are:
A) what he is doing (da'wa) is the holiest thing a person can do in this world and
B) His business channel Peace TV is the only halal business that is accepted by god and
C) he has the best school and its expensive.
one highly regarded human with tickets to heaven.. and some intellectually simulating questions from audience with questions about 3D modeling and our education system. when is the utopia going to be....
Rich, comming from someone who is staying in a resort. if he feels so strongly about it, why not stay in an alcohol free hotel in Male.
This guy is a bloody joke. He is a Tevangalist making money talking crap.. Keep him out of Maldives for our future. lets not turn Maldives back to dark ages.
What was this 'great' preacher, who no one knows in India or give any importance in Maldives. I believe he spent time at the five-star resort in Bodu Hiti. And if the grapevine is to be believed, 2 Russian guests were also invited from Colombo to serve him. Please do not entertain such 'hypocrites' in Maldives.
No problem, just give the profits to me, I can use it!!!
oh man..Sheikh Majeed Bari..Why did you keep him at Bodu Hithi and help him make you and your family richer in a business that involves alcohol selling.
The industry of Islam has grown so big and profitable that foreign mullahs are moving in.
Next Dr. Bilal Philips is on the way to Maldivians with knowledge of True Islam.
Few people always criticize instead of taking a challenge to go and have ask Zakir Naik questions themselves, face to face.. Its always easy to talk behind peoples back.. (aka - backbiting}.
So pls do your expert research and during question time, try to asking your un-defeatable questions. If your argument is strong, I'm sure there is nothing to be shy about.. or scared of.
What a brilliant Idea!! Zakir Naik, I fully support your vision and foresight.
May I also recommend that we start growing poppy crops in the Maldives? Surely, the profits of such an enterprise would seem to be put into good use elsewhere in the Muslim world?!
Dr. Zakir Naik, the Doctor, The Preacher, The Cleric and now proven to be an expert in something he calls Islamic Tourism 😛
you couldn't even dare to ask Dr.Zakir your ridiculous questions, u are just a bunch of losers who would benefit neither from this world nor the hereafter.
I think what he means is that if you are a minority shareholder you don't have the authority to decide if you will sell alcohol or not. So if the majority decides then there is nothing that the minority shareholder can do about it. So in that case he is not responsible for that.
Even if we go with this argument I still feel that the minority shareholder has a choice to use the money from the sale of alcohol or not.
Thats why he says that the minority shareholders profits from sale of alcohol should be donated to a charity.
I hope my point is clear.
I dont think he has said such a radical remark. He mentioned that it would be a good idea to invent such an islamic resort concept in Maldives. He never mentioned to dictate it.
Ahem...why are we making a big deal out of it? everyone in Maldives know profit from alcohol is haram. yet we have done so for the past 30 years.
Just because one nutcase says it, its news? minivan editor, this is not news...
i thought it always agreed while it is haram, it was for the best of this country's economy.
If we consume a small percentage of Haram profits, a leg may fall to the Hell while the rest of the body is in Haven. Is that what you are saying doctor. and using the same principal can we have extra marital sex using several layers of condoms and consider our activities partially halal?
Wow... Finally its Zakir in the Maldives. My question is "How could a single person like Zakir posses so many professions? He is a "Medical Doctor" "Preacher of Islam" and now an "Economist". He claims Maldives would benefit from alcohol free resorts according to his belief. I am sure he has taken interest on developing a resort in the Maldives with the help of Islamic Ministry. WOW... what a cool way of approaching...
oh losers of so-proclaimed HEAVEN ....DAMNIT MALDIVIANS....
U crooks ...i know ur islands r sinking into indian ocean every 3cm per year..
hahahahahaha thats becoz of ur SATANIC HOTELS...and un-islamic practices..
if u want to drink alcohol,eat pork go join christianity or more like jewsih creed..
DONT FILTH ISLAM OKK....u dont want an islamic resort..!! then u DONT DESERVE TO BE IN ISLAM AT ALL...!!! LOSERS know it...once Prophet Muhammad SAW prohibited it...u ,bein Muslim have no right to rectify it...
Dr., Zakir Naik is Mashallah the best iconic Muslim...
THERE IS SOMETHING THAT CHRISTIANS ,BUDHISTS,HINDUS SEE IN HIM AND CONVERT WILLFULLY TO ISLAM ....NOT YOU..!!!HE IS PREACHING THE DEEN AND REMOVING MISCONCEPTIONS AT HIS BEST
I ASK U WAT R U DOING FOR THE SAFETY OF DEEN-E-ISLAM????
AHH U EVEN UR MALDIVIAN FATHERS WOULDNT BE ABLE TO DO A BIT...COZ THEY ENJOYD ON SUNNY BEACHES SITTING NAKED WITH WOMEN, DRINKING ALCOHOL EATING PORK ..
THATS WAT UR FORETHERS DID....AND U DO MALDIVIANS
AND IN THE LONG RUN ALLAH ALMIGHTY WILL MAKE U SIT ON FIRE BEACHES, SIT NAKED ON FIRE, DRINK AND EAT FIRE....!!!
I PITY FOR YOU GUYS..!! MAY ALLAH GIVE U HIDAYA..!!
Excellent idea. We should have diversity in our tourism sector. I fully support this idea.
Today Malaysia is leading in the Islamic Banking sector and making tonnes of money. Even non-muslim countries like UK and Australia are now in to this business and also actively doing research in this field in their universities When idea of islamic banking was first floated a decade ago, I saw similar comments to what posted here. So, yes, islamic tourism is an excellent idea and we should explore this option.
Alcohol and poppy crops cannot be compared in this context. The simple reason is that selling alcohol is legal by law in Maldives and the other is not.
The reality is that we are cowards and we don't have the guts to personally confront him and present arguments logically.
Thats the reason why we hide ourselves and express our views in sites like these.
Naazim from Salaam school thought that hes very smart. I feel sad for the humiliation tonight cause I personally know him. Even his younger brother is following the same path as him and is in a chronic drug addiction.
If hes so smart could have known that even the missionaries and priests are no match for debates with Zakir and could have saved face..
When freedom is denied, questions are asked. When unclear information is forced onto people without question, suspicion rises. If Dr. Zakir and the Islamic Ministry wanted to enlighten the youth and bring them closer to understanding islam, why then did they deviate from facing vital questions on basic misconceptions in life? Less than 10% of any Maldivian would be interested in misconceptions about Jihad or Terrorism as we are well educated to know them. The youth in Maldives have failed to understand the religion as no one has guided them genuinely. Its a shame and a let down for the youth to be denied the platform to find out the truth. Dr. Zakir, why did'nt you give the opportunity to the youth?
History was written tonight...and am sorry to say its a beginning of uncertainty in a country whose future is on the brink.....politicians on the left, atheists on the right, religious fanatics on the rare and the few real Muslims too far a head to be reached. Dr. Zakir, it is unfortunate you have a misconception of Maldives,a mistake from your invitees, I beg you to spend one night in Male, have a coffee at Seahouse and talk openly to the youth and you get genuine facts why people are deviating from being true muslims, although we are born muslims.
Dr. Zakir, 65% of the population of Maldives is youth, and at least 70% of this crowd has no guidance or knowledge about islam.
If you want to help Maldives, spend one day and meet the youth and set them free to ask the burning questions, whatever the subject.
The girl who asked you about lipstic or the one about child abuse as early marriage is just an example of many youth who are misled or dont have the basic guidance, so many simple but good questions were dismissed. Listening at you live is more effective than reading your website. MEET THE YOUTH
Zakir Naik is no authority on Islam and should be banned from the Maldives. He is a threat to our unity and our economy.
The problem here is that because of the local politics and their behavior of local scholars there is mistrust towards them. Ideally it should have been locals who should do the job of guiding the youth.
Zakirs visit is just for few days and I feel that hes expecting to guide the Maldivians not on the basics of Islam. ( Not to talk about lipstick or beard )Hes been focusing to clarify his view on many critical issues by which the west is misleading Muslims.
Respected Moderate Islamic Scholars from Maldives should reach these youths and provide correct information and materials to them.
just wanted to say.. thank you to all these foreigners at Minivannews who dedicate so much of their time and money so selflessly to cover independent and completely unbiased news in Maldives to bring harmony and unity for all of us Dhivehin.
There is Allah, there is the Prophet and there is Peace TV.
Ahmed Moosa (Sappe') you are no authority on Maldives you should be banned from being a Maldivian citizen. You are threat to our country and prosperity.
All hail Peace TV for dividing Maldivians.
Everything good about Maldives have evaporated into nothing but politics and religion. I sense, a wind of change indeed. A new breed of Maldivians crawling out of absolute chaos and turmoil within our ONCE great nation.
One deviates from religion when it is imposed upon them.
And Adhaalath party is just adding oil to the fire, by acting almighty when it comes to religion. Harder they try, the further people (specially youth) would drift away from Islam.
One only need to glance at the past 30 years to realize this fact! For 30 long years Maldivians lived as moderate Muslims.
G'day
@Shutter
Put your name on yoru mouth fro the time being.
Being ignorant about Islam cannot be defined as being 'MODERATE' muslims, GOT THAT?
@Shutter
Put your name on your mouth for the time being.
Being ignorant about Islam cannot be defined as being 'MODERATE' muslims, GOT THAT?
@SAPPE
Then who in your view should be the AUTHORITY in Islam, YOU or DANEIL PIPES?
@Halal sex
My dear, that is why Zakir Naik proposed to have 100% Islamic resorts in Maldives, and he never said it was Halal to work in a bar.
You just cant ask those Maldivians in the resorts to all of sudden GO HOME and be unemployed, it has to be a gradual process of making Maldives tourism a Halal tourism. OK?