A group of protesters on Wednesday night knocked over the SAARC monument designed by Pakistan, during a demonstration over that “idolatrous” carvings engraved on the monument.
The monument, which was erected at Hithadhoo in Addu City ahead of the SAARC Summit and features pagan symbols of ancient civilisation of Pakistan and a bust of the country’s founder Mohamed Ali Jinah, was removed by the Addu City Council on Tuesday night but placed back with a cover the next day ahead of today’s unveiling ceremony.
An eyewitness to Wednesday night’s incident told Minivan News that two men from the protesting group ran up to the monument near the Power Park in Hithadhoo and knocked it over.
One of the men was reportedly taken into custody. A police media official in Addu City however could not confirm the arrest but said the incident was being investigated.
The eyewitness claimed the group was led by an opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) member, who tried to restrain the protesters.
The group was protesting the engravings of pagan symbols, he explained, which they contended could be considered objects of worship and demanded its immediate removal.
He added that there were two police officers stationed at the monument when it was knocked over, who were later reinforced by riot police. The monument was placed back and covered shortly after the incident.
Opposition parties, including the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, have condemned the government for over the incident and accused the current administration of pursuing an agenda to introduce freedom of religion in the Maldives.
Meanwhile, two opposition MPs were arrested last night at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport while attempting to take down SAARC banners featuring allegedly Christian imagery.
The monument, designed and approved by the Pakistani government, was officially unveiled by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at 6pm today. A sizable crowd of Hithadhoo residents gathered at the area with Maldivians and Pakistani flags and took photographs after the event.
Monuments representing the culture and religion of the eight SAARC nations have been placed across Addu City for the summit, which were unveiled by the heads of state and government over the past two days.
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The current regimes plot to introduce Freedom of apostacy will not succeed in maldives.
"There is no compulsion in religion" we want Religious freedom for all.
Mr. President, about time you learned few lessons from the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, take the Adaalath beards to Doonidhoo, apply tomato catchup and shave the day light out of these ignorant Muslims.
Send these camel riders back to the deserts of Sauud
This is just silly when we talk about idols.
Why aren't these people raging when they walk down majeedhee magi or just about any other fashion retail store in male'.
aren't those manequinns so called idols or "budhu's"
why haven't maldivians converted to idol worshipers all this time then.
The actual fact that people have to disrespect and tear down such monuments is proof that those people have so much insecurity about their own belief in their own religion.
This adhaalath is the bane of this nation and its future.
In the rule of maumoon when an idol was brought to landagiraavaru resort, MDP, including nasheed came out shouting against it.
now we see history getting repeated.
for me this is enough proof that nasheed is a big hypocrite.
Not going to vote him for a second term.
com'on isn;t there better things to fight for like corruption than to chase petty things like monuments. Isn't piety come within us. crazy Maldivians
@ agog
There will be no freedom to convert to apostacy in Maldives.
If you want that, move to some place else.
And no matter how much you lust to see muslims being tortured and 'beards shaven' in Maldivian prision like before, it cant be done under our new constitution.
Are we living in medieval age?
What is wrong with Maldivian peasants? There are a lot of Buddha statues in Sri Lanka and India. Why is the brainless Maldivians visit these countries? The problem is that the present government is giving them freedom and the clowns are showing how barbaric they are. Shame on the dirty breaded Mullahs and their ignorant scoundrels
Agog and Magog, you're so merciful.
And maldivian, your new constitution is unislamic. Muslims should not follow unislamic laws. 😉
Since Rajapaksa was quoting the Buddhist script, now his security detail has to be increased.
You are right Hassan Ahmed.
We should have enforce freedom of religion by force, intimidation and arms.
Why that is the very basis of all freedoms no?
These damned peasants! Let's round them all up, chain them together and beat the living daylights out of them until they are all free to practice whatever religion they like.
Maumoon, Majeed who ever it doesn't matter the bloody damn reason here is the nation of Maldives is a backward nation, a failed state with people who are intolerant and xenophobic towards everything but themselves. No matter who or what is in power the country would not change unless the people with in it change..
Religious freedom is badly needed in this country.. and the ability for these backward people to live with other people and act as human beings in truly and usually needed
Down with Adhaalath Party and go Rainbow Maldives
I find the current leader of Adhaalath very narrow minded and untruthful, unlike Dr. Bari. I am convinced that religious scholars should not be in politics. I would not want these people to run this country!
why is that so many of minivan comments seem written by ppl with kaafaru medieval age mentality? In the medieval age there was a need for idols and statutes as people's perception about things was very basic. Right now in this age and time erecting statues and useless stone carvings in public places is an unjustifiable waste of resources. we have so much hunger and destitution in this SAARC region and yet we are so desperate to erect stone buddhas to please our worthless scumbag politicians???
Can't we think a little more progressive than this? what's wrong with you o ppl of kufr? I pity your ignorance and jaahilukan..
I really question how fragile is the faith of these flea beards, that a monument not religious symbols what so ever that gets their beards in a twist. Visit any country that is not ruled by the wahabist and see the statues and monuments. We do not see people that have gone crazy and started to worship them we do not see people chanting sacrificing at the foot of Nelson's status in heart of London.
Also i find it Hilarious that these people are toppling over monument that is dedicated to Pakistan who's madrasas brainwashed the so called "Sheiks" that preach hate in tolerances
Why the Maldivian are so furious about pagan symbols, most of Islamic rituals are pagan origin. Ignorance is so evil, that these scavengers can’t even think right. Circumambulation around black stone, fasting on the first moon to the last moon on a sacred month is just pagan rituals which was incorporated to Islam and was practiced by Pagan Arabs.
When can these brain damaged Maldivian will join the civilization
How weak and pathetic we all are. Are our beliefs really so uncertain we have to topple a statue for having a small picture of a pagan symbol on it? And when the statue is all about celebrating Pakistan moving from paganism to Islam?
How very pathetic and sad are some Maldivians. So weak in their faith. I think we should ban all Maldivians from going overseas... in case they see a church, or temple and they immediately renounce Islam.
Do these idiots really think, when we see a poster, we will immediately convert and bow down?
Or Do they think if we let the idols be placed here, God will unleash a Tsunami? I wonder why a a thunder bolt had not annihilated Srilanka, with so many Buddas on display? Would please a beardee answer?
Maldivians are so stupid ignorant and behave medieval, even God himself would give up on us.
This is exactly the reason why I will vote for MDP and Anni. Despite the blatant corruption, scandals, mismanagement. Anni is and would still be far better than the idiot bearded camels and the followers of DRP, PPM.
Any country in the world that forbids the Koran or mosques??? Other than North Korea I don't believe there is one! Think about it and look into today's world: Without tolerance and respect for each other (and that includes religious views of others) no country and their people will be able to survive! People need to be educated but not in the way of not tolerating others by simply forbidding things! But I guess that means to have faith in your people which would lead them to trust their politicians... good luck with that Maldivians...
Many Maldivians would be grieved if other Maldivians changed their religion or left Islam. It is NOT "democratic" in the Maldives to promote freedom of religion.
As TSK TSK explained, to allow freedom of religion would be a liberal dictatorship, the rights of the majority would be repressed to allow for the expression of the rights of the minority.
At this stage, I think, liberty, if understood in a Western context, is not compatible with democracy in the Maldives. Which in fact is the case everywehere, no pure democracy actually exists anywhere. God Forbid if we allways had a pure democracy in Australia, the Aboriginal rights and the rights of Asians would be repressed much more than they already are, we would still have a white Australia policy. So of course, I HATE pure democracy UNLESS the masses are civil.
So, how do we move away from a tyranny of the majority in the Maldives without ending up in a 'liberal dictatorship.'
I believe, it will take the followng steps...
A.) By spreading a more MERCIFUL presentation of Allah, explaining that so great is Allah's Mercy, (As Al-Fatiha reiterates using the words MOST Merciful twice) that Allah would not force someone into following Islam...
B.) By allowing economic growth to truly trickle down so that the Islamic extremist message does not have an audience (it feeds people's jealousy and hate and such jealousy and hate would not exist if social injustice existed) hence this is why I support taxation (Sadaqah is only JUSTICE as the word means...)
C.) By encouraging a Jihad Al-Naffs so that each would be encouraged to wage a struggle against their own souls...
D.) By having a no tolerance attitude towards the promotion, expression of violence or prejudice (by trying to counsel narcissists of their self righteouss attitude, the behaviour is rewarded... Even Freud would not offer psycho-analysis to psycho-paths on this basis.) Offenders need to be locked away.
E.)By promoting that the essence of Islam is love and Mercy for one another, and that, in Islam, one hurts when others hurt, one should not eat whilst his brother is hungry, humility and a sparing lifestyle is the way of faith...)
Oh, and I also believe, that Allah is so Merciful (as Al-Fatiha reiterates) that he would not punish someone for not beliving in him...
The word Ar0Rahman (Most merciful) as used twice in Al Fatiha is the heart of the Salat for the reason of promoting the depth of Allah's MERCY. This is even agreed upon by so called Zahir Ulema such as in the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir...
Now, please, do you know about that word Rahma, it actually comes from the word for a Mothers womb, THAT is how deep the Qur'an is trying to express Mercy! Of course, Allah is not a Mother or a father, it is not the Ijma of the Sahih Madhaba to state that the qualities of Allah are anything other than anthroporphic symbols...
However, think about it...
More Merciful than a Mothers womb! The MOST MERCIFUL!!!
I am not even a quarter of that Merciful, and I would never send someone to hellfire for rejecting me or not believing in me! I mean, so, if Allah is the MOST MERCIFUL, how much more Merciful would he be than I, and how much more would he be forgiving.
I believe, the aspects of the Qur'an and Sunnah which mentions hell were used to control ppl with fear in a social environment where only fear worked to stop people from killing their own children, but that, hell is metaphorical, NOT literal...
Therefore, in my honest opinion, a matured Islamic society would be above using the fear of hell, and, Inshallah when Maldives matures, the social control factor, the fear would not be so strong, and the Maldives could be fully democratic without being tyrannical, without the experience of grief when one disbelieves, without the social control which creates aggression, alienation, hate, etc...
Of course, this is all way to optimistic an ideal for any rational person to accept that it could become fully realized in reality, but, ideals MUST exist so we can move towards them! A society which strives for an ideal will still end up better than a society which does not, even though, no society will achieve its ideal fully!
I agree with Ahmed. We have plastic idols (some of them sometimes not clothed properly !) in the displays of most garment and clothing shops all over Maldives.
Take a walk around Male, majeedhee magu.
You'll see lots and lots of idols. Yet we dont see any Maldivians that are going over and bowing down to these plastic idols.
Why dont Adaalath party or any other concerned party first going around protesting against these idols first !
I think these people lack brains. I mean a six year old kid would know that the monument was not created with the intention of worship. Crazy people...
the monument was designed and submitted by pakistan, who are we to demolish their property! people should just learn to respect other peoples opinions and property, even if they are not in keeping with ones own beliefs. that is the true spirit of a muslim; to each his own
The main problem I find is the growing intolerance of Maldivians as a consequence of relentless work by religious fanatics and the importation extremist ideology. It was reported few days back that there exist a group of bearded men in Male', paid for by religious groups to remove or damage advertisements with women models. This kind of behavior reflects their insecurity and fragility of their Islamic faith. Such a strong faith as the Mullahs want to us to perceive, cannot come under threat a statuette of Jinah and few animal carvings.
Part of these anti social behaviors also stem from attention deficit where politicians and religious leaders want to be seen as defending a popular cause. their actions therefore are not related to their affection to God.
Hey guys. Please come to our event. Maldivians for freedom of religion, 2011.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=238191409577526
I say to remove this monument or change it some other Pakistani THING. What ever it is. NO idols! NO statues! If not we had to remove it by our self. It will not be nice.
"The monument, designed and approved by the Pakistani government" are they too not an Islamic government? and yet they themselves have approved it and placed hence they too are for religious freedom.
@Rihaakuru Dhon Kaleifaanu
Well it might be designed and approved by Pakistani government but we did not approve it. And for your information Pakistan is not a 100% Muslims country there are Hindu, christian, etc.
Sometimes politicians like to please outsiders by giving into their non-islamic way of life. It might be a small thing for those that do not understand their religion properly or has no background in Shariah law. But for those that have studied religion and loves Islam with their heart sincerely, this small tiny gesture given by the Government is seen as a big sin. The fact is, we do not need to look at the Arabs when it comes to these things because Arabs are the last people that practices their religion properly at this moment. For those that do not understand Islam properly, kindly try to think outside of the box for a minute or two. Muslims do not follow Arabs, Africans, Indonesians or even Maldivians as a race, people or culture. We follow the life and words of Rasurullah (pbuh). Again pls note, Rasurullah is referred to our prophet Muhahhamad (peace be upon him). So now that we have that point cleared out. If I was to decide on an issue, I would not look for or seek the advise of Tom, Dick, Harry or even an Ahmed or an Ibrahim from this generation or the previous one. I would solely seek it from the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). I do not worry about what the next Tom, Dick, Harry or Ahmed next to me would say of my decision because they are surely as a weak human just as I can be. So I only worry about if my Creator, Allah (swt) would think of me. Yeap its that simple for us. So all the time wasted by people against Islam really does not work much other than shows us the uneducated ones in religious affairs and the ones with strong knowledge in the subject.
Lastly, at the end of the day.. the ones that raises the words of Allah (swt) and keeps to the teachings of Rasurullah (pbuh) against idols, Israel or what ever issue it might be. We sleep better knowing that we atleast tried while many others did not raise a question on it. 🙂 Alhamdurillah! 🙂
@ex MDP, Just out of interest an you please post a picture or speech (without making up) of president Nasheed protesting about Landaa giraavaru incident.
I thought it was silly then and silly now to get so worked up with symbols of worship.
I've heard many a times Mulaas like Sheikh Shaheem say there's no other religion but Islam. If this is the case, then it's even sillier.
"Ben Plewright" Thanks for the positive, awesome comments, I have nothing else to write.
Ben are you crazy to translate Quran into whatever is in your dream. Don't try to deviate Maldivians....
You try to ban idols and monuments and consider them to be immoral while having intercourse with a 9 year old girl is allowed. In my opinion anyone who does that deserves guantanamo bay treatment.
@Athiest...
Hey buddy...You live in a cave? u don't know that girls are sexually active by 9?
Ok tell me this frankly..
Wha do u prefer? a 99 yr old dino? ha ha ha
@Ben Plewright
You are preaching common sense to the profoundly stupid. Don't you wish you were back in Perth sometimes? What made you give up your Australian life for the intolerant claptrap of Maldives? You hit your head against a pillar or something? Go back to Perth while you still have a chance my friend...........The mad mullahs of Maldives will drive you nuts.
109:6
"for you is your religion and for me is my religion"
6:109
"And abuse not those whom they call upon beside Allah, lest they, out of spite abuse Allah in their ignorance."
very clear, this whole drama, is unislamic, if we have no tolerance for others, they will not have any for us, if we dont let others practice their beliefs, its is most certain they will not let us practice ours. if we call other people kaffirs, what stops them from calling us the same.
stop letting people use you and your faith for their political gains, practice your own religious duties, read the quran, pray, do good deeds, forget about controlling other people.
That must have made Pakistani feel the "hospitality" of Maldives. So are Maldivians ready to have their monuments in other countries destroyed if they do not meet the host's expectations.
This is not a fighting issue between two countries. Rather, this is an inconsiderate position the government has no clue to resolve! Normally we expect the ppl to know if they are hurting their interests. But in this case the mdp led govt is clearly hurting their voter base by keeping these offending things in Addu. These statutes certainly will not earn them any more votes, but they sure will loose votes by enraging ppl.
Perhaps one mercy may be if global warming causes the sea level to rise and erases the Maldives. It will be a fitting end to such bigotry.
this is silly, we should condemn this sort of behavior, kaakutha mizamaanuga budhah alhukan kuran ulhenee......these lunatics have already destroyed quite a few of our own cultural heritage.......i say lock them up
@green.
mee sillee e noon. hama buddhi veri kame e kuranee... You know first they will fix these small monuments, then they will come later with real budhus of ppl like Anni, Maumoon, Nasir etc..
Do you want that to happen here also?
'Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance'...........yeah right. You see this intolerance toward other faiths in all muslim countries........saudi arabia, pakistan, egypt, iran. You must be so insecure in your faith...........oops there a hindu symbol on the pakistan monument and I must therefore convert to hinduism........or.......oops there is a picture of christ on the SAARC banner and I must therefore convert to christianity. You people are a joke.
@Dhon Kalo Pakistani gov is an Islamic gov and it was a gift to our people, so we don't need to approve anything... if someone gives you a gift you accept it, not condemn it.
if you and your fellow Muslims want to go and destroy idols then why not go to the national museum and get rid of all the idols there as well? the monument was and is a representation of the past and the different cultures and people of that country and not to be mistaken with something that's for worship, it is as pure and simple as that.