The mother of a 22 year-old girl from Addu City who publicly declared her apostasy has launched an appeal in the local Maldivian media seeking the help of religious scholars to make her daughter repent.
“She’s been a bit odd ever since she was in the seventh grade, but at the time she did not say the things that she says now,” the 49 year-old mother told Minivan News.
“Every time I try to advise her she shouts at me and asks me what I was trying to make her believe, and says that she cannot believe the existence of Allah,” the mother said.
The mother said her daughter was currently being held under house arrest while being investigated for allegedly giving birth to a child out of wedlock.
“She has misbehaved since she was young, and is saying things that should not be said in front of the children. She has even been calling me balhu (dog).”
The mother said that whenever she tried to inform her daughter about death, the afterlife and the punishments for apostasy, her daughter would reply that it was “not a problem for her, and not to worry.”
“I admit that it was our negligence as well that allowed her to come this far. We knew about this a while ago and we could have been more careful then,’’ the mother said. “I have been asking around my neighbors and everyone about what to do, but all I can do is remain in this grief thinking about her.”
The mother said she “had no solution” to her grief.
“There’s still some good inside her. I know that because she has been advising her younger sisters not to be like her,’’ she said. ‘’It’s because she can believe that she is not going the right way.’’
The mother said there “was a reason why this had happened to [her daughter],” but said it was “a long story”.
President of Islamic Foundation of the Maldives, Ibrahim Fauzee said the organisation had heard of the appeal and that its local branch was looking into the matter.
“For sure, we will provide her assistance,’’ Fauzee said.
The Islamic Ministry said it had not received official notice of the matter.
The Maldivian Constitution states that the Maldives is a “100 percent” Sunni Muslim country, and the country maintains a reservation to article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom of religion.
The last Maldivian to publicly declare apostasy, Mohamed Nazim, did so in front of an 11,000-strong audience attending a lecture in May 2010 by well-known Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik.
Nazim was escorted from the venue by police for his own protection after members of the audience attempted to attack him, and was held in police custody. The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives subsequently issued a statement calling for Nazim to be stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to death if he failed to repent and return to Islam.
After two days of religious counseling in police custody, Nazim declared that his misconceptions had been clarified and gave Shahada – the Muslim testimony of belief – on national television during a press conference held at the Islamic Ministry.
In a later interview with Minivan News, Nazim said that he did not regret his actions.
“Somebody had to do it, it needed to be spoken about. The repression of thought, the lack of debate and a lack of a proper public sphere in which such discussion can take place, is dangerous,” he said.
The reaction, he said, was mixed – angry and supportive, superficial and profound. He lost 65 friends on Facebook, the social networking site to which almost every computer literate Maldivian subscribes. He did, however, gain 246 new ‘friends’.
His own friends and colleagues, he said, were uneasy talking about it, and very few actually discussed it with him. However, he told Minivan News he could feel the presence of the issue, “unspoken yet potent”, in every social interaction he had with another person.
In July 2010, 25 year-old air traffic controller Ismail Mohamed Didi hanged himself from the control tower of Male’ International Airport after seeking asylum in the UK for fear of persecution over his lack of religious belief.
Over two emails sent to an international humanitarian organisation on June 23 and 25, obtained by Minivan News, Ismail confessed he was an atheist and requested assistance for his asylum application, after claiming to have received several anonymous threats on June 22.
In the emails, he said he “foolishly admitted my stance on religion” to work colleagues, word of which had “spread like wildfire.”
“Maldivians are proud of their religious homogeneity and I am learning the hard way that there is no place for non-Muslim Maldivians in this society,” Ismail said, in one of his letters.
“I cannot bring myself to pretend to be something I am not, as I am a staunch believer in human rights. I am afraid for my life here and know no one inside the country who can help me.”
A colleague of Ismail’s told Minivan News that it appeared the 25 year-old had sought the early 3:00am shift and “came to work fully prepared to die.”
“His mother said she called him in the morning at 5:30am to tell him to pray, but there was no answer. They found his cigarette lighter on the balcony.”
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Maldives: I cry for you!!! - I think you got it: It could be considered "wasting time" to disprove God, and I don't think any person of reason will try to do so because it is ridiculous. As I mentioned before, it would be like trying to disprove the existence of the flying teapot in the orbit, the tooth fairy or the Spaghettimonster. The sheer absence of disprove doesn't make an object exist 😉
Your comparison with machines that have been "created" vs. the human "creation" is just as ridiculous. Machines like computers or airplanes are designed by humans, i.e. by US (of course they will do whatever we want!) - and this is only possible because evolved objects like brains are already in place and which came about only through gradual evolution. When creation occurs, it does not at the very beginning, but actually very late in the day.
@ naju, you are trying to convince me that Islam is only correct path by giving examples of freaks pop stars in England who have converted to Islam!
First you should understand that most of pop stars are drug addicts or alcoholics whose mind is not stable. These kinds’ mad guys change their religion and name frequently. Please read how many of this type people change their religion in Poona – India.
About a reverend father of Christian faith converting to Islam, this can happen too since human are weak by nature. Maybe the particular priest is week in his head!
nasheeds satement at the end of his comment "its time now.. time to let go off the ancient mythology as a religion you believe.." what is the difference between this and a moslem or a christian or someone else imposing their views on others or thinking others "need a wake up call"???
its quite amusing to c non believers pushing their agenda on everyone else while condemning other people when they do precisely the same.
its become trendy these days to deny ones faith. i am a muslim and i have no issues with anyone else not believing my faith or chosing to live in another faith or without one.
what i do object is the declaration that i am uneducated and stupid for my choices and the attempts by minivan to sensationalise such hearsay and create discord and disharmony amongst maldivians.
i also have no issues with maldivians fighting for freedom of any associations, but i do object to these foreign missionaries trying to infiltrerate our schools and creat fithna amongst us to try and control our islands, its wealth and terrirories and manipulate us in the global political stage.
Whatever a theory is, it possesses what the human mind can comprehend. To believe that the capacity of the human mind is enough to uncover all the secrets of the universe is stupid. Since there is no proof that we are the ultimate beings within this universe or elsewhere. And the possibility of the existence of a more brilliant mind is always open.
Atheists have the same conviction and faith in their beliefs as the religious people do in theirs.
There was a time when the greatest minds well and truly believed that the Earth was flat. Anyone who suggested to the contrary was ridiculed.
Whether one believes in Allah, Ram or the Big Bang Theory- faith plays a very important role in ones beliefs. There is nothing wrong with faith, we would not be human without faith. Falling in love, caring for children, helping a stranger all require faith more than cold hard evidence and strict rationality.
Atheists ridiculing religious people and vice versa are equally arrogant. Our universe exists in our minds, which is limited to the extent of our life experience.
It would be a much better world if we lived and let live.
There's a universe of proof to talk about God's existence & it will take an entire lifetime to elaborate on that...Only the fortunate of the people search& find God's existence,while the rest just blindly stumble ....simply because their minds are darkened by disbelief&in their hostile rejection they do not want to believe that like the rest of the universe,they too were created by God Almighty..
May we all find the light of God..Amen!
I am in no way affiliated with Minivan and I'm not a fan of every article or how their writers choose to cover some stories.
But all I want to say to people who have a problem with their content shit is that they need to stop complaining and write something, even if it is a comment. Send it to them. Get a proper constructive discussion running.
Otherwise you're not helping, you're just making childish noise. They welcome all sorts of comments (whether its dissenting or approving ones), I've seen them get published. So get your voice heard properly instead of writing unproductive sarcy comments.
Maldives: I cry for you!!! on Tue, 23rd Aug 2011 3:34 PM
you need to educate your self. I feel sorry for your tiny pea brain.
and if you are writing long paragraphs make it more readable by separating paragraphs.
@Aishath:
Now the question arises to me of how much you know about the scripture, the Qur'an, which is meant for the whole of mankind. Qur'an clearly says to think and ponder on its verses, the universe, the living things etc.
But without reading or understanding what is in the Qur'an we tend to make judgements about.
Since you do love science why dont you take the opportunity of reading this "old" book with an open mind and then let us know about it.
I am sure you are aware of the scientific discoveries that has been made so far. Compare them with what the Qur'an says. For your information there are more than 1000 verses in the Qur'an that talks about science.
But remember this is not a text book of science.
I hope you will come up with your findings and share them.
Maybe God is an idea , a survival instinct created within our mind by year of evolution. Basically it is the "believe in something", something stronger powerful than you.
A strong belief is a useful factor in sustaining a society. This is the very reason why our brain was formed by millions of years of evolution to create an idea, a believe in deity.
During harsh times our minds evolved in such complex ways that this idea of "God" manifested.
Curious about how that "one cell" formed which ultimately evolved to a complex thinking being that is able to ask the question ... who am i, where did i come from, and what is this all made up from?
Science can answer that question now - read some proper research material and take sometime to think about it.
Can we be sure that we are the only life form and the only intelligent thing in the universe?
Just because you haven't found it doesnt mean it aint there 😉 and just becuase you
13 Billion years of infusing hydron and Helium is more than enough time to create that first molecule which evolved into you and me.
4 billion years of phase changes in our solar system was more than enough to create arrays of complex creatures.
God and religion can be a consolation for you when you are in dire straits, survival insticts created by years of evolution baby .... 😉
kind of gives athiest a bad name now doesnt it. she is not behaving properly not because she does not believe in god. those who believe in god do that too. causation and coorelation issue i guess. plus this is not an intellectual apostasy i guess, she is probably very hurt, done wrong in her life and within our society she rebels to the way she was treated. and says things she knows ppl dont like hearing, whitout paying any attention with deep thought to it. there is a huge difference between real intellectual rejection of current theology and just plain stupid rebellion against society.
hussain,
I know that the Quran talks about science too, but what exactly is it that you want to impress me with?
The "scientific facts" about embryology, for example, which says that bones were made first, then covered in flesh... or that the embroyo develops from a congealed blood clot? That it develops in the same four stages that have already been - wrongly! - theorized 450 years before the Quran (see Galen's hypothesis and those preceeding him... Hippocrates, Aristotle). All of them were in error, and so was the Quran.
There is no similarity with true embryology at all (there's no blood whatsoever involved in the early stages of an embryo, nor is tissue formed after bone, instead simultaneously from the same embryonic layer, the mesoderm). If those people, on the other hand, have ever observed a miscarriage, they could have indeed thought that an embryo develops from a blood clot...
It was also interesting to read that the semen - the "droop emitted" - originates from between the backbone and the ribs, and not from the testicles!
Or that the earth was flat, spread out like a carpet - a common misconception 1400 years ago. Oh, but in some verses you can find it "egg-shaped" - what a scientific advance! I wonder how it transformed from a carpet to an egg.
I was also particularly impressed by the weird position of sun and moon to the earth, as well as the mountains with peg-like roots, which stabilize the earth and prevent it from shaking, haha. (the same misconception you can find in older scriptures than the Quran, i.e. in Hindu and Biblical).
The sky, of course, is like a canopy, held up by pillars (the Egyptians and Romans before the Arabs thought like this too!).
The list continues...
I wonder whether you would recommend someone who wants to learn about science the Quran with all its findings (which basically perfectly reflect the knowledge or: misconceptions of human beings in the 7th century) - or proper science books, which were written without the help of religious scriptures (well, except the ones that were purposly edited to indoctrinate children).
I think you gave the answer yourself already by saying:
"But remember this is not a text book of science." That's probably the best way to get out of the shit.
Ye my people, oh ye my community. Thou shan't destroy nay intimidate the people of apostates. Thou shan't degrade them, but thou shall execute them.
Oh my people, thou shall eat, read, pray and sleep. Verily, Saint Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari is holy and the holiest.
Aisath, care to comment ,without resorting any scientific theory or book but just simple reasoning on my comment earlier @ 23rd Aug 2011 11:27 PM. Even if u agree with me or not. Thanks.
Aisath, I salute you!
why do arguments for the 'obvious' existence of god always posit obviously artificial things (like watches or computers) that we know are created. If they assume God creates everything shouldn't a thing like a rock, mountain be enough to use as an example? But we see trees grow from seeds from other trees, mountains are made from natural processes, not suddenly popped into existence aka created. IOW materialistic causes are sufficient to explain the without needing to resort to supernatural agency.
al@3:09 PM, so you just want her to make stuff up?
@Aishath:
Sorry to say that Qur’an is not wrong in describing the embryonic development. Do some more research without being biased.
Refer to Professor Keith Moores’ book on “The Developing Human” for more details.
(Quran 23:14)"Then We made out of the chewed lump, bones, and clothed the bones in flesh."
This continuation of Sura 23:14 indicates that out of the chewed lump stage, bones and muscles form.
This is in accordance with embryological development. First the bones form as cartilage models and then the muscles (flesh) develop around them from the somatic mesoderm.
“embroyo develops from a congealed blood clot?”
Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1) leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot. And all these three meanings fit the embryo at this stage.
The third meaning of the word alaqah is “blood clot.” We find that the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs during the alaqah stage is similar to that of a blood clot. This is due to the presence of relatively large amounts of blood present in the embryo.
Note that the Qur’anic description of embryonic development is based on appearance.
“It was also interesting to read that the semen – the “droop emitted” – originates from between the backbone and the ribs, and not from the testicles!”
(Qur’an 86:5-7) So let man observe from what he was created. He was created from a fluid, ejected, emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.
The Qur’an is correct to say this as reproductive organ of both the male and female start their development between the spinal column and the ribs.
“Or that the earth was flat, spread out like a carpet – a common misconception 1400 years ago. Oh, but in some verses you can find it “egg-shaped” – what a scientific advance! I wonder how it transformed from a carpet to an egg.”
Are you saying that a carpet can only be spread on a flat surface? The earth’s crust that we live on protects and enables humans to live on.
The Arabic word Dahaha means egg shaped. It also means an expanse.
Dahaha is derived from Duhiya which specifically refers to the egg of an ostrich which is geo-spherical in shape, exactly like the shape of the earth.
“I was also particularly impressed by the weird position of sun and moon to the earth, as well as the mountains with peg-like roots, which stabilize the earth and prevent it from shaking, haha. (the same misconception you can find in older scriptures than the Quran, i.e. in Hindu and Biblical).
The sky, of course, is like a canopy, held up by pillars (the Egyptians and Romans before the Arabs thought like this too!).”
What does the Qur’an say regarding the position of the sun and moon to the earth?
Where in the Qur’an it says that the is like a canopy held up by pillars?
Refer to the Geological book the “Earth” by Frank Press. This will explain the function of the mountains.
I can completely understand how difficult to discuss something from different point of view, but I will try to give some ideas.
1. If she is regarded wrong, kill her.
2. If she is not regarded wrong, let her alive.
But I remind you; to consider that she is wrong or not it depends on where your mind stands on. ALL in this world is concept or theory. Religion is concept, human is concept, animal is concept etc. CONCEPT exists due to MIND, Every MAN has MIND, MAN exists because of God. GOD is CONCEPT, right??
Hussain, look,
you are spreading falsehoods here just like Zakir Naik loves to talk about his version of science.
The embryo neither emerged from a blood clot, nor a leech, nor a suspended thing (whatever that is!?) and also not a chewed lump. It is also untrue that first cartilage formed, and after that the flesh around it. The sperm in the seminal fluid still comes from the testicles, and the earth has never been flat like a carpet, nor oval like an ostrich egg. I'm too tired to comment on the rest *yawn* because it seems to me that you have never read a science book yourself where you find what's realky happening and why..
You are turning and twisting things to match them to your outdated version of supernatural "science" that comes from the dark ages and has been disproved by now. If your explanations from one old book satisfy you, then continue denying fact. I know it's easier to study only one easy book rather than lots of difficult ones. I still feel that many here are still taking the latter option and learn about evidence for themselves.
@al,
I can't reason without evidence.
Hi Aisath,
While I largely agree with your arguments, you seem as pertinacious as the creationists and others who literally stick with holy books and conform the world around their interpretations despite lack of or evidence to the contrary.
The beginning of the world is not known to science. Most arguments against creationism are theories, hence open for modification once more is known.
What was beyond the imagination of most people even a hundred years ago is reality and easily explained today. Those who stuck with their views obstinately were proven wrong.
Are you so arrogant that you could be not possibly accommodate the possibility that there be an omnipresent creator?
@Aishath;
Who is saying that the embryo emerged from a blood clot or leach...
Open your mind and do more research. I doubt that you have grasped what has been said about human embryonic development.
http://www.quranandscience.com/human/135-dr-keith-moore-confirms-embryology-in-quran.html
Dear peasant,
No at this point of time I find the idea of an omnipresent creator very unlikely. If we ever get evidence for one, through investigation and constructive doubt, through questioning logic, evidence and reason and draw conclusions, I will change my mind.
Arguments against the history deniers are not theories, but evidence. The problem is that the term "theory" is widely misunderstood.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a theory is "A scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed." (the "Evolution Theory" is one of such, just like the "Atom theory" or "Theory of gravity")
Creationism is exactly the opposite of that.
hussain,
check Sura 23:14 for the clot of blood and that bone is clothed with flesh. Blood, in fact, starts flowing in the 4th-5th week of development only. Bone and flesh form simultaneously, and not one after the other.
But, hey, let's say God had a bad day...
Aisath,
Thanks for clearing my misconception between scientific theory and law.
@Aishath;
I see how difficult it is when someone is indoctrinated by something true or false. Are you purposely trying to say something that you dont want to say.
This verse is talking about the appearance of the embryo at this stage. I have pointed this before but again you are twisting it in the way you want.
Translations are the works of human beings and this is based on the knowldedge that is available at the time of translation. That is why God says as we investigate we will come to know the Truth about the Qur'an.
The Arbic word "Summa" has two meanings then or simultaneously. Bones are covered in flash does not mean that the bones become fully formed and then flash comes around.
An excerpt from an American Documentary "Islam: Empire of Faith" directed by Robert H. Gardner reads "As the barrier of language dissolved (meaning, westerners learned arabic from Muslims in the east), ideas born in the Great Muslim Cities (Jerusalem, Cordoba, Baghdad, Damascus) began to filter into Europe. Ideas that would forever change western thought. The great Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas used the writings of the Muslim philosopher Averroes to justify the clear separation of faith and reason; a Muslim ideal that formed the basis of all scientific enquiry and lead to the European renaissance. Averrous himself appears in Raphaels classic renaissance painting of great western thinkers. Here (on the painting) alongside Plato and Aristotle stands (Averroes). A vivid reminder of the debt the world owes Islam."
Can anyone prove that God does not exist?Don't so proudly claim about your smartness by trying to prove that God does not exist...If you show proof that God does not exist then there's enough evidence and more evidence than all you can gather to prove that there is a creator..
You are not clever by disproving God..And the same way that you so proudly about some scientists research and proofs,those who believe that God created you also believe that God is the scientist who created everything for which the scientists are struggling to get an answer.. here one is just trying to assert one's faith in God ,not swearing and shouting..Your inferiority complex by not believing in God& escaping from exercising your brains to think about existence & your laziness to leave everything to scientists does not change anything or the fact that God exists...you may cry and scream and swear,but the fact remains that if you exist so does God...if a mere person like u can exist why cannot God exist?can you prove why and how you exist?a cell with a nucleus is not proof enough..who created the cell?God did...And believing that is faith,writing long paragraphs is also proof enough that there's a billion population that think and accept that fact..so lazy losers.don't just leave it to the poor hardworking scientists racking their brains in search of the answers..The answer lies somewhere out there..that answer is that God exists...so keep searching for God..you will find your answers..till then live in ignorance&hostility towards those who believe...the rest of us will pray for you..May you all find peace and God's Light....May God Help the scientists in their endeavors to find the answers ....
@Aishath,
"at this point of time I find the idea of an omnipresent creator very unlikely" : unlikely....improbable. wrong choice of words here...don't you mean impossible? or maybe deep down you still have your doubts. there are several meanings of the word 'theory' even among scientific dictionaries. just like hussain would choose his preferred interpretation of the Quran and scientific facts, you would choose your preferred definition.
@peasant
i strongly agree with your views...i think most of the creationists and evolutionists here are arrogant extremists who are desperate to impose their views and beliefs on society as a whole.
when push comes to shove...both are very "likely" to become violent.
@ Aisath
"Bone and flesh form simultaneously, and not one after the other."
Out of the few million cells that comprise the embryo at this stage, how sure are you that the first bone cell forms after the first 'flesh cell?' Unless you know which comes first, don't insist that the bone and flesh form simultaneously. Gross anatomy may tell us that they form together. But, it would be better if we can refine what we are talking about and go as deep as possible.
"at this point of time I find the idea of an omnipresent creator very unlikely."
I think you have made this conclusion too hastily. You've probably read 'The God Delusion' and believed everything Dawkins said and have come to this conclusion.
Let me ask you to do a little bit of research yourself before you make such explicit statements.
You are saying that a creator is unlikely. This means the universe is uncreated. It arose spontaneously.
Why would a universe that arose spontaneously have all its stuff in their right places? Why do we have solar systems, with orbiting and revolving planets, suns, moons etc working like the parts of a machine?
Why would a universe that arose spontaneously be governed by beautiful laws? Even the atom behave they way it does because it obeys governing laws.
Why would a universe that arose spontaneously be so finely tuned for intelligent beings? If gravity was slightly different, I will not be here to write this and you will not be here to read this.
Why would everything in a universe that arose spontaneously be explained by mathematics? Wouldn't you expect chaos to prevail in such a universe?
Think, Aisath. Think for yourself. Just do not believe what Dawkins said. Do the research. There are signs for those who are wise. 🙂
"If you assume that the universe was created, how can you assume that the creator was NOT created?"
Aisath, I can scientifically exmine the universe and say that it is created by 'someone.' I can touch, smell, feel, see and measure and weigh what I want of the universe. I arrive at this conclusion AFTER I make my observations.
What do I know about the creator to say the same?
maldivians are so cruel that they walk down naked on the streets, show-off to atmost higl level even if they werent having a place to sleep. but refuses that they are non-muslism. they try to warn Ppl who say they are non-muslims. how many of youth drinks? how many Spas we have at capital even for sex only? how many of u have abused children for ur own gud? these are few which will say v r on wrong track. Politicians are way over on there own trying to save there ass, rather than trying to save lives. The richer you r your children r becoming gay or lesbions and this is now coming up. love it seeing this is happening 15yrs more... we will see ppl on road demanding for independence of religion and marriage of same sex. may b thats the 2020s' big picture.
Aishts brain is stil evolving.
Rocket has provided very good points for Aishath to think. I hope she will do more research with an open mind.
(Quran 4:82)Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.
"Why would a universe that arose spontaneously be so finely tuned for intelligent beings?"
@rocket, wtf? the observable universe is about 47 billion light years across at an age of 13.75 billion years. The Earth is less than a mere speck of a dust mote on this cosmological scale. Even on it humans (the intelligent life we are talking about) are constrained to less than a 1/3rd of the surface area. Go a few kilometers below or a few hundred kilometers above the surface and you need special equipment just to breath. within this area we are bombarded by billions of macro and microorganisms that would kill us without adequate preventative & therapeutic modalities. Temporally the Earth has only been suited for human life for a mere millions of years & will not always remain habitable. it's demonstrable that the universe if it is tuned is finely tuned only for non-life.
Mohamed, you've agreed that humans are insignificant and very fragile. Then how sure can such insignificant beings proclaim that there is no higher being beside them?