Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair has said that Islam permits the use of narcotics under exceptional circumstances, such as in the treatment of drug addicts.
Speaking at a ceremony last night marking International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, prominent religious scholar Sheikh Ilyas Hussein said that even a small amount of drugs were not allowed in Islam, and claimed that illegal drugs “are no cure”.
‘’These religious scholars lack information on the topic, they don’t really have adequate information on drug abuse treatment,’’ Zuhair said. ‘’Scholars have to collect more information before they preach.’’
Zuhair explained that opiates were commonly used as pain killers, and questioned why illegal drugs would be disallowed under Islam if it permitted opiates to be injected into the body prior to painful operations.
‘’The government’s aim is to reduce the amount of new drug users, and we have seen progress,’’ he said. ‘’Police statistics show a 50 percent reduction in new drug users last year compared to previous years.’’
Zuhair credited the government’s decision to combine three sessions of school a day into one session with reducing the number of young people on the streets with nothing to do, placing them at risk of drugs and gang involvement.
‘’Formerly when we had three sessions, children studying in the first session would finish school at midday and go home. His mother and father would not be around and he had a lot of free time without anything to do,’’ Zuhair explained. ‘’Then he goes out and join the gangs and starts doing drugs.’’
Zuhair also said penalties and treatments for hard drugs and soft drugs in the Maldives were different in other countries, but said that in the Maldives users of both hard and soft drugs received the same penalties and treatment.
He signaled the government’s intention to seek amendment to these laws, but said this would depend on the level of public awareness and understanding of the issues.
Sheikh Ilyas in his speech last night said that is was impossible to combat the drug issue by administering drugs in increasingly small doses.
He said that the penalty for taking drugs was 40 lashes if it was the first time and more for second time, with harsher penalties also permitted under Islam.
A former drug addict told Minivan News that he agreed with Sheikh Ilyas and that the best method was “stopping it at once”.
‘’I myself tried to recover taking it little by little, and it did not work for me,’’ he said. ‘’There are some others who tried that method and succeeded, but most of the time it is successful only if you try to stop it at once.’’
He said the most important thing for addicts seeking to stop taking drugs was the support from people around him or her, “especially friends and family.”
‘’He has to understand that he is suffering the consequences of his own actions and has to go through the pain [or withdrawal], understanding that it does not last forever and that taking drugs again as a temporary cure is not a permanent solution,’’ he said.
He described the rehabilitation facilities in the Maldives as “useless places.”
“Firstly, the government needs to bring major amendments to the laws, categorising drugs and bringing in other changes to overcome the drug issue,’’ he said.
Society needed to be more aware of illegal drugs and how to cure addiction, he suggested.
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It is not Sheikh Ilyas who says that drug is not allowed for even treatments. It is the word of Allah. And previously we had two sessions, not three sessions at primary and secondary government schools. I agree it is good to change it to one session. But Zuhair please do not speak against Allah. Think of judgment day before you open your mouth. Whether opiates are used or not, is not the matter. But Allah's word is Allahs word "masthuvaa echeh thiyabaimeehunge machah shifa eh kamugai thiman raskalaange nulavvameve" Salaam.
Near the end, I doubted that I was reading Minivan, so I scrolled up and lo, behold! It was minivan O.o 😛 *sarcasm*
I wonder since when our good press secretary Zuhair was appointed a mufti? This is at least his second fatwa in less than a month.
What a load of crap! Zuhair, seriously. Have you tried heroin? I have been a heroin addict, and I have got out of it all by myself. No low doses of the f*** up. What the addict needs is lots and lots of patience and to cut off all that links to heroin use. You just got to hold yourself high and never slip again. Mark the days of the calender. That's it. Yeah, there is no pain like it. But hey, that's where the patience comes in handy!
Zuhair! I dub you a 'Fadeelatush-Shaykh'!
zuhair should practice what he preaches, and refrain from issuing religous rulings. this gvt is looking more and more foolish by the hour.....with zuhairu, or mustafa talking through their arses......
Now this Mullah claims that proven scientific methods of are of no use to cure drug addicts.
Sure, I do agree with him to certain extent; maybe he should request his counterparts in Afghanistan and Pakistan not to grow the opium and also not sell the drugs to buy weapons for jihad!
ROFL, zuhairu is NOT an authority on either islam or drug rehabilitation. someone should advice him to shut his gob!
y is he embarrassing himself by talking about something which he has no knowledge of..dumbo....
here is lesson 1 for him
even a small amount of an in toxic stuff is HARAM
Lesson 2
There is no "shifa" in any HARAM thing
lesson 3
never open ur mouth to talk about something u dnt know and then end up swallowing ur own waste
lesson 4
Islam is the way of life and has been perfected by ALLAH..so next time if u have doubt in anything refer the Qur'an and Sunnah
even kids in primary schools are more knowledgeable than u when it comes to Islam, it seems
In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from Taariq ibn Suwayd al-Ju’fi that he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about alcohol and he forbade him or told him not to make it. He said: “But I make it as a remedy.” He said: “It is not a remedy, it is a disease.”
It is ...worth pointing out that when Allaah enjoins something, it is either because it is purely good or its goodness outweighs its evil. And when He forbids something it is either because it is purely bad or because its evil outweighs its goodness. Allaah is All Wise and All Knowing. If the sick person imagines that his sickness can only be cured by using drugs, this is an illusion.
You cannot explain Zuhair because as a prover goes...He who knows not and knows not he knows not: he is a fool... I dont think that zuhair knows the doesnt know
The vast majority of Islamic scholars agree that medicines like cough syrup (which contains significant quantities of narcotic drugs) are not haraam and may be used for treatment.
When Ilyas talks of giving 'small bits' of narcotics for treatment, it betrays his ignorance of modern methods of drug treatment, which are based on substitution and harm reduction. On this issue, Zuhair and President Nasheed appear to be better informed than Ilyas.
MINX
I totally agree with u...thank u so much for commenting on the important issue that some of us trying to keep people in the dark
Zuhair, this is too much...
Why did allpowerful allah let humans make drugs?
H guys, Zuhaid is not Islam, he did not anything about Islam. Only he needs money and big job.
Any guys who saw what they are doing president office, may be they use these there that why he did not blame it.
@Alif: Every statement referred to the secretary is a response to a question posed to him..Should he be asked about a Mullah referring in a hate speech directly to him saying Juha this n Juha that, without him having uttered a word as yet..he is naturally not bound to ask the journalist to refer back to the same Sheikh or the likes of them...
So if a drug addict cant stop his addiction, its because his will is not strong enough. He is not strong enough as his faith in God is weak.Therefore, all drug addicts are not proper muslims (!!?)
Addiction therapy is tested method with a good success rate, if the Mullahs way is better then prove it.He cant as all he has is words. Mullahs can preach but they have no evidence to back their claim at all other than their version of Islam. If someone succeeds in fighting addiction he has faith and God by his side, if does not succeed, he is not a good Muslim. You can keep saying this in the face of all the scientific evidence saying the real factors that assist are detox, counselling and support. Yes, faith in God does help a lot too.
Silly people.
It's not Illiyaas(pbuh)'s words. It is clearly Allah's words being dictated through his medium.
Anything Illiyaas says must be put on an equal footing with the Prophet himself - and the hundreds of thousands of OTHER Islamic preachers around the world who disagree are just planted there by the Jews.
Also, if Zuhair is right about the opiates, then we must ban all medicines for "true Muslims".
There is no 'shifa' in it, why bother?
True, Zuhair knows more info on drugs than any Sheikh Ilyas. After all he was the sentenced for using them.
Zuhair, stop embarrassing yourself. So that nickname 'Juhaa' means something huh!
Zuhair needs to preach to his audience. When the audience comprises of half wits and numb nuts, then he must bring ideas to their level.
He should have stated that he advocates a new "medicine" to wean addicts off drugs, that should have worked.
Stating the active ingredients of narcotics and the correlation between opium and opiates we risk a new Jihad against pharmaceuticals.
Caffeine is an psychoactive substance works the same as Cocaine; the fact that it's less lethal must not stops us from burning down Coffee shops as God orders us to do so.......
Gosh these kinds of craps is and has already destroyed OUR NATION
preaching is designed to modify the thought process. so is drugs. so which is more potent? look at world hisgtory and see how much was accompolished by preaching vs how much was accompolished by drugging ppl? not saying anything about any particular religion.
PPL,our beloved nation needs a cure not only for drug users but also from those who disagrees with Allah's revelations.
May All Mighty Allah Shower His blessings upon our nation for now and ever more.
Wankers! Ilyas and Zuhair included.
i want know from where mr. zuhair study islam. I know that Sheikh ilyas has graduated from islamic university ofmedina... this is what our prophet said 1400 years ago.. without knowledge people are talking about islam.. ( roanu adhurun ginavun) zuhair aharenge beybe akeeves hes kiyaafa hakuru bu e meeheh akamaku eyna ah athi athi kolhun dheegen nuhuhttun huhttunee sheikh ilyas edhey nasheyhah adu ahaa a ah amal kurumun.. zuhair kaleymennaa hadhi ah noon grug use kuraa limit madhu v kee..nikan magumahchah nikumefa balaa.. grug ahkoh huhttaali konme meehakeee fasvaguthu namaadhu kuraa meeheh gina meehun thibeneeves suhnnathah thunbulhi bahahttaafa...akan kaleymenah hajam nukurevigen thiulhenee...kaley beykaaru anga naaruvaa rangalhah balaaa .. dhen keehkuran kuhverin maithi nuvegen nasheyhah dheyn sheikhun gendhan v kee
Any Fatwa on drugs (for or against), is based on Qiyas (analogy), as the word drugs itself is not in Qur'an and Sunnah.
Why do so many assume the Hanbali style creation of Law is Islamically correct.
I just thought of something. When Zuhair needs to bring religion into the picture to justify his position on something, MDP are going backwards.
I once saw a heavy religious question fired at President Nasheed. 'Anni' humbly responded by adknowledging he was not an Alim and therefore did not feel adequate to comment. It was apparent that he would have had an opinion, and that he knows more about Islam than what most people know he does. But as an intelligent thinker, I think, he can see the danger when a President takes the role of religious authority, and chooses to feign ignorance in this area unless he has to offer an opinion.
I think this is Hikmah, (wisdom) because:
Religious freedom must be introduced into the Maldives in order to save Islam from being degraded.
When a politician must appear to be religious to win respect because the Constitution demands he or she be of a particular religion, religion becomes shallow, meaningful only as a way to win respect.
The competition to appear the most religious in religious-political societies has always involved lies, blackmail, bribery, torture.
Just stating all Maldivians must be Sunni Muslim does not mean the constitution protects Maldives' religious unity, as was claimed.
Social repression of such nature creates resistance, tyranny, disunity.
Islam itself can be used as a force for disunity just as easily.
If a group wanted to break away from the mainstream government, they could say their separatist cause is an Islamic Jihad. An example? Maumoon was accused of not being a Muslim, therefore, according to very radical militant Hanbali style Zahiri, he and the NSS, if they defended him, were legitimate targets for Jihad.
For Islam to be imposed for unity, it must be controlled and defined by an elite so that contradictory understandings are oppressed. This amounts to putting a mental straitjacket on society, which will provoke a violent resistance from those who have a different understanding of Islam.
I have met Maldivians who detest preachers of Islam because they had been sexually abused by clerics as children. They associate the Qur'an with hypocrisy, oppression and sexual abuse.
Imposing religion via the Constitution and having Islam controlled by headstrong literalists is sure to provoke a sense of violent betrayal and anger against Nasheed's government.
Imposing religion will divide Maldives, not unify it, as many will rebel, if not openly at least in their hearts. The only way to invite back such people to Islam is to demonstrate that Allah is gentle, Allah is not into forcing himself on people via the Constitution.
This aggressive controlling of human minds and hearts creates frustration, hate, resentment and militant Islam.
Allah is locked in a perpetual, raging power struggle against false representations of himself.
All Maldivians are deeply grateful for the sacrifice of the martyr. But some see their sacrifice as being for the freedom of Maldivians from oppression.
At that time the will to freedom, the strength for dignity was expressed through Islam. But to use Islam now as a force for oppression is against the reason the martyr died.
The dignity and sovereignty of the Dhivehin, for which Thakurufaanu died, has as much to do with pre-Islamic Fanditha type culture as it does Islam.
Fanditha culture is as Maldivian as fishing and family, yet "orthodox" Islam is opposed to Fanditha culture.
Nearly 50 per cent of Maldivian tradition, which most Maldivians call "Islamic", would be considered unorthodox or bida' (innovation) by the Adhaalaath brothers i.e. Islamic fundamentalism is against Dhivehi culture.
This may seem paradoxical, but freedom of religion improves morality in a society. Religious freedom was fought for in Europe by those who wanted to improve morality, not abandon it.
On the surface the USA looks like the most immoral society on Earth, but dig deeper into Al Mamlaka Al Arabiyya Al Sauddiya and the other religious societies (Vatican, Taliban-led Afghanistan etc...) and you will see these places are morally much worse than America.
I studied Saudi history and I tremble to even think of the activity that goes on there regarding child prostitution amongst the Sheikhs.
When religion does not depend on the state for funding and is not controlled by the state, the religious are free to act as a check and balance against government corruption without fear of retribution or without being silenced.
Majid may be less obliged to remain silent about certain more serious issues than discos and graveyards if he had not climbed to power through the support of some questionable figures.
Religion should not compromise its own values for power.
When religion is not imposed through a constitution, the religious have to work harder to win people over through inspiration rather than through intimidation, as a consequence, their moral standards are elevated and they inspire others moral standards.
I knew a guy who used to refuse to come to discos as he loved the closeness to Allah he felt in the Mosques and this eventually inspired me to follow him.
If he had tried to threaten me into following him, I would have partied at the disco ten times longer.
Furthermore, to get power, even if it's power to do good, as politicians will begrudgingly concede during rare moments of honesty, a compromise of moral values occurs.
Politicians often think that the few lies and crooked deals will be worth all the good they'll do once in power, but if a religious leader does it, this sets a bad example.
It says the end justifies the means. People don't strive to be as moral as possible as a consequence of the 'amorality' of their role models.