New regulations will defend Islam in the Maldives, says Islamic Ministry

278 thoughts on “New regulations will defend Islam in the Maldives, says Islamic Ministry”

1. Jamiyathul Salaf. They support Salafi based ideology which is completely against Maldivian Islam. (If I’m wrong, I apologize, but this is my impression) They are claiming “brutal and harsh practices” – possibly female mutilation as justification for these new laws, but the truth is that this is going to be used for our oppression.

   They recommended that anything that negates Islam (as they define it) be stricken from the school Curriculum. We cannot allow this. Are we to give up on things like evolution!? Are we going to start forcing teachers to preach ideas like creationism and intelligent design in classrooms like evangelicals in the Western world? That’s what Salaf’s nutjob – Bilal – was preaching when I was in Male’. He went so far as to say Fantasy books like Star Wars is against Islam! This is completely unacceptable. (I also happen to like those books about dragons and the like)

   “Inciting Hatred.” Everyone of my uncles were accused, arrested and tortured for this – unjustly – including Naushad Waheed (Naube). How many of others who opposed tyranny was treated the same? They can apply this language to ANYTHING and THEY WILL, whether it is actually true or not. These regulations directly stifle the media! It directly stifles freedom of expression. It directly contradicts what many Muslims believe are inherent parts of their religion.

   Codes of dress?! Are you kidding me? Are we to become like Iran? Or Saudi Arabia where we force even foreigners to wear veils (burughas)?

   If people want to believe in nigabs, in creationism, in conservatism, in growing one’s beards out, and wearing capris; then so be it. I respect their rights to their own views. But the translation of those views into law is them refusing to respect my views. These laws cannot be allowed.

   The Ministry is trying to appease these conservative scholars by limiting the rest of us. Salaf claims that good Muslims were punished, jailed and tortured by the last government for pursing Islamic doctrines different from the regimes. Now they want to do the same thing to educated youth of Maldives. We cannot accept any other religion in Maldives, but there is more than one meaning as to who is a Muslim. You look at the Islamic world and the Salafis, Wahhabis, and Saudi’s are a minority. We don’t need their rule in Maldives. I will never accept a Nigab (moonu burugha) as being a part of true Islamic culture. I will not allow my right worship Islam be stricken, nor my right to believe in evolution. I will never accept underage sex (or marriage), and I will not force my daughter into a burugha. My family’s flesh and blood has been abused as a result of previous tyranny. I will not allow a new tyranny to take its place.

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

2. whats wrong with these bloody salaf guys. I hold a Maldives passport and they isn't any law which describes what will happen to us if changed our religion and we love Maldives too and we also have a right to believe in any faith! whether you guys like or not.

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

3. u know i bet Hitler hat a similar idea.

   we have enough problems here without having u lot add fuel to the fire

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

4. Salaf should be banned from the Maldives.

   They do not conform to the basic ideals of Islam rather they spread nationalistic arab sentiments, by infusing Islam with arabic traditions and culture.

   and they seek to create divide and weaken Islamic values and promote arabic imperialism.

   Inshah Allah no association whether salaf or otherwise will divide and weaken Islam.

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

5. "I fear for my homeland"

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

6. The preparatory phase has ended.

   Phase one for a Islamic Fascist state, under the guise of Islam, this slow silent revolution will transform the country.

   Perhaps when Maldives fades away into the ever rising sea Maldivians could live the life of nomads from oasis to oasis int he sands of Arabia.

   A new tribe will be born.

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

7. I have to say that from all the comments, I could only partly agree with Salim Waheed on just a few bits here and there. I see a lot of Insha Allah going around when at the same time they state conflicting ideas like evolution (which is opposite from what the Quran teaches about life from the beginning of time). Due to these conflicting statements, it makes the comments weak.

   Maldives is a 100% Muslim country. If someone was born a Muslim, it does not make them a true Muslim because your faith in your Creator is what differs you to the person next to you.. And that is between you and God. If you regret being a Muslim and want to be of a different faith, there are so many self-proclaimed democratic states in the West which Im sure you could give a try in seeking political asylum on the basis of freedom of religion.

   These days, we see in different countries in the West and Islamic countries, laws being put up to defend a countries history and its religious values. The latest example is in Denmark where the majority voted against Islam when they voted to ban Minarets of mosques. Maldives Islamic ministry did not go crazy over this, which to me was a surprise. Just like that Maldives is slowly taking steps to protect itself from Western influence that has swept the world through the Media, Promotions, Missionaries, and if those are not possible through Sanctions on false basis and lastly via Military invasions. Facts are all there for us to go through, but most of us are busy with our daily life in work or finding time to spend with our loved ones. Understandable, but before commenting on something its always good to do some research first if your going to disagree with it.

   Anyways, wouldn't everyone agree that democracy is all about the majority and not the minority. Hence, Im sure that once the laws are there, it will go through the proper vote. I personally would love a referendum, but doubt that would happen since the last Government left the country nearly bankrupt before giving up power.

   If the conservatives win, then there are plenty of secular countries or corrupt Muslim countries to go to. Actually there is a huge list and its the majority of the world nations. I suggest all those that just cant stand it ask the government to help in relocating, but not financing ofcourse since that is too much to ask. This goes the same to the conservatives if they lose since good Muslims should really not be in a country which is hostile to their religion or faith.

   To conclude, lets all agree that someone that has studied religion would know more about religion than someone who studied medicine, business or IT. Its the same vise-versa. So arguing against it without a proper background ourselves is really not the best step since it would not most likely be taken seriously. Also we see many of the politicians that talk big about supporting Islam votes against Islam - with silly excuses - in the Parliament.

   These to me are hypocrites cause their votes are easily bought due to their weak faith in God. If your faith is strong, you wont budge and most certainly would not try to give long complicated excuses. Part time Muslims cant really be claim to be righteous Muslims because Islam is a whole way of life. It is up to each one of us to study it and find out about it without asking others on their opinions. If you ask opinions, there can be many. But if you read God's words, there are only one book - The Quran. If you want to understand more on the versus of the Quran, then that's where the Hadiths come into play.

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

8. Under No circumstances should these barbarians be allowed to dictate any potion of the law.If the law is to be passed these zealots will gain un- presidented power. If we allow them they will drag us back to middle ages. The question needs to be asked is the faith of the people so weak that draconian laws need to be passed so they might not see or hear any thing that might challenge their narrow minded view of the world ?. This is nothing but a power grab by Salaf and the un educated mullahs that are in charge of Adhaalath in the name of islame. Why one earth every one is tiptoeing around these idiots ?

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

9. If religion is faith... and if laws are required to protect ones faith... then it raises serious doubts over the nature of faith and religion in the Maldives.

   I don't think this issue has anything to do with Islam itself. It has everything to do with the introduction of alien cultures into Maldives.

   There are liberal Islamic preachers who consider Nigab, Hijab or Beards merely as a culture/tradition born in Arabia, rather than religious principles. These preachers are equally qualified, just there school of thought is different.

   In my opinion, the issue here is , preachers educated in Medina or Peshawar trying to introduce the Abdul Wahhab doctrine or what some ppl call the DOT doctrines over here in Maldives. These preachers are influenced by the cultures and traditions of the respective country where they got there degrees from, and are trying to spread it over here which is wrong and unacceptable.

   They consider anything which contradicts there school of thought as wrong. They would brand any liberal preacher who for eg claim that Buruga is not a must for Muslim women, as an apostate, an age old defense.

   These regulations would obviously stifle freedom of speech, expression and would restrict media freedom in the country, which is a step backwards.

   Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

10. until today none of the mullas have been able to show a clear verse citing the authority given to scholars or to the hadhtith to interpret islam or to make things haram or halal.though quran clearly states in numerous verses that quran is complete and fully detailed and explained. for a book which is fully detailed, do we need scholars and hadhiths? or we need a clear heart and mind.in quran we clearly sees that the "satan" prohibits lawful things:

    [2:168] O people, eat from the earth's products all that is lawful and good, and do not follow the steps of Satan; he is your most ardent enemy.

    how could salaf bring a bilal philips and make things haram?

    [42:21] They follow idols who decree for them religious laws never authorized by GOD. If it were not for the predetermined decision, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, the transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.*

    do we really need to make scholars and prophet muhamed our idol jus like the way Christians did to Jesus?

    [4:60] Have you noted those who claim that they believe in what was revealed to you, and in what was revealed before you, then uphold the UNJUST LAWS OF THEIR IDOLS? They were commanded to reject such LAWs. Indeed, it is the devil's wish to lead them far astray.

    [5:48] Then we revealed to you this scripture, truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with GOD's revelations, and DO NOT FOLLOW THEIR WISHES if they differ from the truth that came to you. For each of you, we have decreed LAWs and different rites. Had GOD willed, He could have made you one congregation. But He thus puts you to the test through the revelations He has given each of you. You shall compete in righteousness. To GOD is your final destiny - all of you - then He will inform you of everything you had disputed.

    maldives is a community where a lot of people can read the arabic and i wonder why they are fooled in dhivehi translation when ever the arabs are mentioned.if u go through the vesrses mentioned about arabs the dhivhi translation would read...badhaveen or somethin like that though we can clearly read "arab" in the arab text.yet we follow them as our example.

    [9:97] The Arabs are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy, and the most likely to ignore the LAWs that GOD has revealed to His messenger. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

11. What constitutes removing anything that contradicts to Islam from the education curriculum? Does this mean evolution and other scientifically proven phenomena are out of the door? Shouldnt our school children be exposed to differing world views so that they can develop the intellectual facilities needed to make their own choices and become critical thinkers, problem solvers and decision makers?

    So selling/ buying Christmas cards is a criminal offense? What if I wish to wish my many Christian (different denominations) friends a very merry Christmas? What happened to good old tolerance and understanding and sharing the same space with people who might disagree with you on a specific issue (including your faith)?

    We are going to have regulations that empower the so called authorities to check printing presses and bookshops for content of their material?!? What happened to freedom of expression in written or verbal form? Expressions of opinions? What happened to my right to have as many viable options presented to me so I can make an informed/ educated decision/judgement instead of taking what some so called scholar say at face value?

    What is a code of dress appropriate to non-muslim visitors to an inhabited island? Is it a suit and tie for gents and a black cocktail dress for the ladies? Or is it pants that go only to their shins for gents and six layers of black cloth (of a very thick material) from head to toe with eye slits for the ladies? Who decides what is appropriate? Have we forgotten the term personal choice? And shouldnt what you wear in public be your personal choice as long as its within what most civil human beings consider acceptable?

    Making it illegal to introduce certain elements of foreign cultures to our society? How is anybody going to enforce this? Are we living in the 21st century or the 11th? How are we going to survive as a nation by isolating ourselves from the rest of humanity? Maybe we can be the next North Korea?

    We read similar articles almost on a daily basis. Where is our country going?
    Stuff like this worries me about our country (more than global warming and rising sea levels)

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

12. Why aren’t the public consulted about such a Religious unity bill. Why is it not approved by the Parliament? Why it is not discussed in open public forums. I challenge you to go for a referendum. I can challenge you Salaf, Adalath party and Islamic Ministry on this, that you will be surprised that majority of Maldivians will vote for freedom…… not to be shackled by your religious ideologies.
    I really think that the Religious baggage is becoming a burden to the Maldivian society now. I am getting confused by the attitude of these religious scholars. I think I read somewhere that when the judgment day gets closer, there will be people who try to mislead you in your religion – these people are religious hyprocrite Islamic scholars (I pray that we have several good Islamic Scholars only). The above-said hypocrite Islamic scholars will be the lot first to rot in hell as well for misleading people.
    Allah says we have faith from deep our hearts, how come the Islamic ministry is trying to exploit our beautiful religion. Salaf and others are so called political parties trying to spread their agenda. Why don’t they try to address the social issues instead preaching against Islam principles? Islam is supposed to be a moderate religion. Salaf interprets meanings in Islam and they want to experiment their Islamic ideology on Maldivians. We don’t want to live like in the Arabic culture or Pakistani culture. We have a culture of own with Islamic teachings and beliefs since our forefathers, it’s our Islamic history. Maldives had an Islamic culture. Just because Arabic culture used to force women to wear Niqab, we don’t have to do it. Also because Arabic forced women to be circumcised we don’t have to do it. I heard the comments of Salaf, BA Naseem and others on the subject of women being circumcised, it’s really chilling. They cannot give evidence or support the ideology except to say it’s a beautiful Islamic tradition.
    Compliance should be what we believe in Islam. How can the State enforce religion on to us? Are they going to check on us to see that we pray regularly? Are they going to punish us if we don’t wear buruga or niqab. My goodness where is the position of the Government policy? Islamic Ministry should halt passing such controversial Islamic policies and open up public forums on TV, radio and other mediums. This is the best way that you can teach us Islam. Don’t try to prevent the inquisitive minds of our children when they ask questions about Islam, they have a right to ask anything. Don’t try to play with their education; I am most fearful for the kids who will grow up with the ideology of the Taliban. Taliban’s forced women to wear Niqab, girl-children were not sent to school with the idea that they should be married as soon they menstruate, men ruled over women. Look at the Maldivian culture, we have a large number of divorced women forced to work because men divorce them and go and get married to younger women. The children are not looked after. Please look at the real picture in Maldives, we women have to work to survive. The teachings of Salaf and others are not the principles of what I read in Quran and Hadith. Don’t exploit Islam for your own purpose. I call upon the Government to open public debates where people have space to ask questions. I call on the Government to form an Islamic Council represented by all factions in the Maldives. The Islamic Council needs to have links to the social activists and other stakeholders in development. The present so called puppy-show Islamic Council is not representing the Maldivian society. I also call up the Islamic Council once formed to support, validate and encourage Islamic principles rather than create divisions. The Islamic Council should debate and air their differences and pass resolutions on matters that are controversial or conflicting and publicize their fatwa.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

13. Ban Salaf! These fundies will take Maldives back to the Rasool Zamaan Hila age.

    For crying out loud - live and let live.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

14. "Lastly, Salaf recommends the creation of a council to take measures against people who issue religious fatwas (edicts or decrees) without the requisite education or learning."

    Yes, everyone except them and their cronies. How convenient.

    Mr. President Nasheed, with all due respect, you have done many great things and continue to do so; but in the end you are a two-timing hypocrite.

    This is not what we signed up for when we voted for "democracy". How does this even make sense legally? Isn't this corruption?

    I was afraid this would happen and it appears this will only continue to escalate.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

15. i would like to give up my passport to this country if these salaf come to making rules. doesnt they know that there is freedom for any faith? are we suppose to just follow a faith cox some ppl said so?

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

16. So we'd be stepping from a Gayoom-dictatorship into a Salaf-dictatorship... Say good-bye to democracy if such rules are implemented. Say good-bye to the Maldivian culture and Hello Arabia!

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

17. @ raalhey
    Amongst the people who have commented to this article I see you as the worst and ignorant of all. Others who have commented expressed their point of view and it showed their lack of Islamic knowledge maybe. But in your case not only it showed your lack of knowledge but also your ignorance that you really lack in knowledge.

    If you’re a Muslim I call upon you to repent and study your religion before you open your foul mouth spiting rubbish and clearing the doubts about your stupidity. I am very much sure you don’t even know how to recite the holy Quran while you speak of it, claiming you understand Arabic would be a joke specially when you don’t know how to differentiate عرب“Arab” and “auraab” أعراب no it’s not the plural of Arab it’s a word used for Bedouins or nomad that’s the reason why the Dhivehi translation says “badhaveen”.

    1-
    Claiming to know Quran and also stating that Prophets ahadhits are not a part of religion clarify your ignorance. Cause all the Muslims agree that Allah sent the messenger to teach human kind their religion and explain them the Book of Allah. Well even a child would know Allah command us to pray and prophet showed the example of how the prayer should be. Allah knows best people of your ideology would come trying to mislead the people so Allah says:

    قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ )31 آل عمران ) ) قُلْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ) . (32) آل عمران )
    Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. )31( aal imran)
    Say: Obey Allah and the messenger. But if they turn away, lo! Allah loveth not the disbelievers (in His guidance). (32 aal imran)

    (وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ ) . (7) الحشر

    And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it). And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is stern in reprisal. (al hashr 7)

    2-
    The people who you accuse (the eminent scholars of islam) are not people like you. They spent their life in learning Allah’s religion. Allah says:
    (قل هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون إنما يتذكّر أولو الألباب) [الزمر9]
    Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed. (zumar 9)
    (شَهِدَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـٰهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَٱلْمَلَـٰئِكَةُ وَأُوْلُواْ ٱلْعِلْمِ قَائِمَاً بِٱلْقِسْطِ لاَ إِلَـٰهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ) [آل عمران: 18].
    Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice; there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise.
    (يَرْفَعِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ مِنكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلْعِلْمَ دَرَجَـٰتٍ) [المجادلة:11].
    Allah will exalt those who believe among you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks. Allah is informed of what ye do.

    Well I believe that would prove to you what scholars are. Unlike you they have memorized the Quran and Ahadiths so that they know what they are talking about especially when it comes to religion.
    My advice to you is keep shut and let people think you are stupid rather than talk and clear all the doubts around the fact.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

18. I'm a bit confused as to what is being done here in the name of Islam and protecting it.

    Holy Qur'an says: 2:256 "There is no compulsion in religion, for the right way is clearly from the wrong way. Whoever therefore rejects the forces of evil and believes in God, he has taken hold of a support most unfailing, which shall never give way, for God is All Hearing and Knowing."

    I mean we all know as Muslims we believe that it is our duty to try to "spread good and discourage bad". However, what can be done if someone 'chooses' to go to hell instead of heaven? I mean I can force him and all to show to the outside world that he is a Muslim. But if he does not do the deeds in good faith, we were tought in school, our deeds shall not be accepted. "Innamal a'malu bin-niyyati" - A person's actions are based on his intention.

    So by introducing a strict law such as this what exactly are we trying to do? Does forcing someone to behave "Islamically" make him a good Muslim if he has no faith?

    I believe that this will only lead to suppression of the people rather than protecting Islam.

    While it is compulsory for women to wear hijab in Saudi Arabia, did u guys see the wife of Saudi prince Waleed during his recent visit to the Maldives?

    http://www.voiceofmeedhoo.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/prince.jpg

    Doesn't this show that strict laws such as these are in place even in countries like Saudi Arabia only to suppress any voices of dissent?

    I do not see any reason why we have to fear so much about integrating to the outside world. We are a part of a global village - a law would not spare us from the influences.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

19. Lets use this regulation to ban Salaf Jamiyyaa.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

20. for those who think Niqab and hijab is Arabic culture pls read the Quran.

    well its only today Islam is Arabic culture before it wasn't i bet there aren't a single person here who actually knows who Arabs are and their culture. Arabs have a culture and after Islam they have changed and left all the cultural things that violates Islam.

    one more thing saudi prince Thalal bin waleed's wife you saw is not a saudi national and also there are people who don't follow Islam no matter where they are from.

    hhmmm when was evolution a proved theory??? even Darwin himself was doubtful at the end. it was really painful how evolution was proven in 1916 anyone know Ota Benga the proof of evolution????

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

21. I think I completely agree with the Islamic Ministry.

    I admit I'm no religious scholar but I know a few things from history and every single time a single ideology is thrust upon a people with such force, good things have followed.

    I mean the Taliban did the same thing in Afghanistan and see how well it turned out for them. For example:

    a) Instead of having a football team that disappoints the entire nation, we could use the national stadium to hold executions....funn!!

    b) We don't have to worry about spending money on schools - we'll close all of them down and just teach Islam - and anyway, we'll keep the girls locked up at home so half the schools will be empty too - think of the savings

    c) We will get lots of talented jihadis from Pakistan and the Middle-East who will come and teach us how to blow stuff up around the world - we'll be famous

    d) We will obviously not get any tourists - but not to worry - we will start growing copious amounts of drugs like the Taliban did to pay for what we need....

    e) Actually, what are we going to pay for...we don't have schools and we don't really have to worry about hospitals because we don't really need doctors or medicine...just imams to pray for our souls and marry all our daughters the day they turn 13!

    f) And anyway, with no deal at Copenhagen we're going to sink anyway - so might as well as do "good" in this world to ensure we get to heaven in the next...after all numerous virgins await!!

    So give these Salaf brothers a chance my dear friends

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

22. Salaf, Adalath or any power hungry lunatics out there! its very simple. Its impolite, rude and downright slavary to impose your belief to other. dictate how to live and what to believe. PERIOD.
    Live by the golden rule: treat others as you'd wish to be treated if roles were reversed. Live and let live.

    i'd spare my personal view on Salaf, adalath and other religious organizations that plague our progress cause it would simply be a waste of my time.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

23. hahaha, salaf is right..

    first i would all like you to go read the full english translation of quran. just keep the sunnah aside if you dont believe it. cause even the quran contradicts all your statements mentioned here. especially about evolution. you've all been had, evolution is a fail proof theory thought to charles darwin by lucifer himself to trap your puny little heads to finally believe there is no creator.(he gets away with his purpose, how brilliant and convenient for him)

    and about freedom. freedom doesn't mean you can do whatever the hell you want. you have a freedom of choice of course. but you belong to God. So if you want to upset God be my guest.

    you people criticize religious people just looking at western ideas of freedom and feminism. have you ever taken the time to truly read quran or even the bible and gods plan for us. if you only argue on on side without giving the proof from religion based on your own views, then you truly are not practicing islam. maybe you are what they call "modern muslims". and we are the "fundamentalists". two words both created by the west to seperate the islamic society. just think before you put your own selfish demands about religion.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

24. The 4 imams came more several 100 YEARS AFTER Mohamed the Prophet PBUH. These Imams all served a Dictator in Baghdad who had killed other Dictators to reign Supreme over an Islmic Empire.
    Now we are told that these Hadhees are so authentic that they are integral part of islam equal or in fact even more than the Holy Koran because the book is made to subject to exclusive interpretation based on these so called authentic hadheeses.
    Marrying young girls is a good thing and it is a duty to fight for that right was the message by a Mullah LIVE on TVM just today after mid-day prayer.
    Where are we headed exactly?
    Anni please don't let your Mullahs take us for granted. Because we will fight for our Rights, if necessary, to the bitter end until the Arab dictatorial fascist colonial ideology is wiped out once and for all from the Maldives forever. Your Anneh Dhivehiraajje might have to wait for many many decades and you will be know as the bigggest goof in the history of the Maldives if you let these Salafis and even the not so Salafi pretending Salafis like in your Islamic Ministry get their way.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

25. Too many are scared of loosing their convenient way of life. Its human nature. But human nature isn't always morally right. Is it the individuals right or the collective rights of everyone that has more weight? If we rule this country with true shariah, those who are showing their frustrations here will not be worried. Dont get me wrong, this country will be a muslim state with a minority non-muslim community who have to adhere to a treaty made between them and us Muslims. They can drink, fornicate and be merry (celebrate christmas or whatever) in their own little world while not disturbing Muslims. How does that sound?

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

26. Salaf is demanding that whoever denies Hadhees be considered as an apostate. Now how can anyone authenticate and distinguish between fake and genuine Hadhees? Due to the primitive way of recording history during the time of Prophet, it is probable that many hadhees have been invented to help numerous propaganda works over the years.

    Beside, who is Salaf to dictate laws as to how citizens should behave. Who has given the custodianship of Islam in Maldives. Islamic Ministry should not take these fagudi Mullahs seriously.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

27. I am pleased with this new "Islamic laws".

    Further proof that there is no negotiation with these Islamic fundamentalists - they are nothing but bloodthirsty parasites who feed and grow on ignorance and fear of the weak.

    President Nasheed must show his vaunted ruthlessness and crush these parasites who wish to interfere with the rising star of Maldives.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

28. "hhmmm when was evolution a proved theory???" - Lord Hexter

    I think you slept through it.

    Evolution is an established theory that is not denied by any modern biologist of any repute.

    And Lord Hexter's comments only prove the need to educate more Maldivian students about science, rather than impose this cultural inquisition of pseudo-Arab Salafs them.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

29. there was no written records of hadhees for hundreds of years. during those many hundred years Islam thrived as an advanced civilization. it is amazing how the Imams were created by Despotic Hereditary Khalifas (a non-islamic non-democratic creation)in Iraq. its is since then Islam became the domain of the stupid and corrupt, the child abusers and tyrants.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

30. Saudi prince Thalal bin waleed’s wife is an American even though he lives mostly outside Saudi; he is still a Saudi National. So who claim to know about Arabic culture, and Islamic culture, please enlighten us. What’s the difference? I go by logical reasoning and science as the Maldivian Islamic scholars only confuses me. Did not our forefathers have a Muslim culture that we inherited? Please enlighten us in holy Quran, which verse says we have to wear Niqab as one reader commented. Why has Allah not demanded to cover our faces while performing Hajj? This is one reason why I believe Niqab or black gowns is not a requirement in Islam and is a part of Arab culture. Just because it comes from an Arab culture, we cannot state that it is Islamic culture unless it’s proven. Didn’t Azhar University, the world leader on Islamic thoughts announce a fatwa to this effect? Where does in Islam it says that girl-children should not be sent to school or women should not work etc. Also please tell us why there are pressure groups from so called Islamic scholars to influence Maldivian Islamic culture with the ideology that we should adopt the life of Saudi people or the Taliban’s. So whoever questions the Islamic scholars is ignorant, stupid and cursed to hell. Most Islamic scholars these days instil fear and confusion in people instead of trying to explain things. They would go saying you are Kafir, cursed to hell and so on. Isn’t that something only Allah can decide?

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

31. According to this article, the Islamic Ministry's response to Salaf was “The purpose of the regulations that have been drafted is to protect the country and Maldivian society from brutal and harsh practices, divisions and antagonism in the name of Islam and from practices that contradict Islam and Islamic culture,” And it sounded like they went on further to engage Salaf in dialogue.

    We have not seen these regulations yet, but it seems that finally some entity is trying to bring some coherence and clarity to this whole issue of religious doctrine. What is not clear to me at the point are the mandates of the Ministry and the Fiqh Academy. I am all for regulations approved by a well-balanced and democratically run Fiqh Academy where all members have equal say, and hope that Salaf scholars will also recognise the validity and benefit of engagement in academic discourse with other religious scholars.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

32. Can any of my knowledged and learned brothers and/or sisters around here tell me what is a "100% Muslim" nation? Mldivians proudly say this is a 100% Muslim country. These days this phrase seems to be the best way to win any controversial arguement in ur way. And the best part is, it need not necessarily make sense.

    Let's say for example that me and my friends are plannin a picnic but could not agree on a dte. So I could say, we are going for the picnic tomottow itself, cox this is a 100% Muslim country! 😀

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

33. Something I just noticed though,
    Following are the most read articles in minivannewsarchive.com so far.

    "American to be deported for ALLEGED missionary activity"

    "Imam among seven men arrested for homosexual activity"

    I noticed the word "ALLEGED" was missing in the second one. So I wonder if this website is really standing up to its name.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

34. @ Lord Hexter
    “hhmmm when was evolution a proved theory???” hahahahah are you seriously challenging the notion of evolution that has been proven over and over again and have stood for more than 100 years of tests ? what are your sources that claim evolution is not proven ? here are my sources
    ^ Gould 2002
    ^ a b c Futuyma, Douglas J. (2005). Evolution. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc. ISBN 0-87893-187-2.
    ^ a b Lande R, Arnold SJ (1983). "The measurement of selection on correlated characters". Evolution 37 (6): 1210–26. doi:10.2307/2408842.
    ^ Ayala FJ (2007). "Darwin's greatest discovery: design without designer". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104 (Suppl 1): 8567–73. doi:10.1073/pnas.0701072104. PMID 17494753. PMC 1876431.
    ^ Ian C. Johnston (1999). "History of Science: Early Modern Geology". Malaspina University-College. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
    ^ a b Bowler, Peter J. (2003). Evolution:The History of an Idea. University of California Press. ISBN 0-52023693-9.
    ^ a b Darwin, Charles (1859). On the Origin of Species (1st ed.). London: John Murray. p. 1.. Related earlier ideas were acknowledged in Darwin, Charles (1861). On the Origin of Species (3rd ed.). London: John Murray. xiii.
    ^ AAAS Council (December 26, 1922). "AAAS Resolution: Present Scientific Status of the Theory of Evolution". American Association for the Advancement of Science.
    ^ a b "IAP Statement on the Teaching of Evolution" (PDF). The Interacademy Panel on International Issues. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-25. Joint statement issued by the national science academies of 67 countries, including the United Kingdom's Royal Society
    ^ a b Board of Directors, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2006-02-16). "Statement on the Teaching of Evolution" (PDF). American Association for the Advancement of Science. from the world's largest general scientific society
    ^ "Statements from Scientific and Scholarly Organizations". National Center for Science Education.
    ^ a b c d e Kutschera U, Niklas K (2004). "The modern theory of biological evolution: an expanded synthesis". Naturwissenschaften 91 (6): 255–76. doi:10.1007/s00114-004-0515-y. PMID 15241603.
    ^ "Special report on evolution". New Scientist. 2008-01-19.
    ^ Wright, S (1984). Evolution and the Genetics of Populations, Volume 1: Genetic and Biometric Foundations. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-91038-5.
    ^ Zirkle C (1941). "Natural Selection before the "Origin of Species"". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 84 (1): 71–123.
    ^ Muhammad Hamidullah and Afzal Iqbal (1993), The Emergence of Islam: Lectures on the Development of Islamic World-view, Intellectual Tradition and Polity, p. 143-144. Islamic Research Institute, Islamabad.
    ^ "A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy", Chan, Wing-Tsit, p. 204, 1962.
    ^ Terrall, M (2002). The Man Who Flattened the Earth: Maupertuis and the Sciences in the Enlightenment. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226793610.
    ^ Wallace, A (1858). "On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties, and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection". Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Zoology 3: 53–62. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2006.0171. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
    ^ Darwin, Charles (1872). "Effects of the increased Use and Disuse of Parts, as controlled by Natural Selection". The Origin of Species. 6th edition, p. 108. John Murray. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
    ^ Leakey, Richard E.; Darwin, Charles (1979). The illustrated origin of species. London: Faber. ISBN 0-571-14586-8. p. 17-18
    ^ Ghiselin, Michael T. (September/October 1994). "Nonsense in schoolbooks: 'The Imaginary Lamarck'". The Textbook Letter. The Textbook League. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
    ^ Magner, LN (2002). A History of the Life Sciences, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. CRC. ISBN 978-0824708245.
    ^ Weiling F (1991). "Historical study: Johann Gregor Mendel 1822–1884". Am. J. Med. Genet. 40 (1): 1–25; discussion 26. doi:10.1002/ajmg.1320400103. PMID 1887835.
    ^ Quammen, D. (2006). The reluctant Mr. Darwin: An intimate portrait of Charles Darwin and the making of his theory of evolution. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
    ^ Bowler, Peter J. (1989). The Mendelian Revolution: The Emergence of Hereditarian Concepts in Modern Science and Society. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801838880.
    ^ Pigliucci M (December 2007). "Do we need an extended evolutionary synthesis?". Evolution 61 (12): 2743–9. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00246.x. PMID 17924956.
    ^ Winther RG (August 2008). "Systemic darwinism". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105 (33): 11833–8. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711445105. PMID 18697926.
    ^ Sturm RA, Frudakis TN (2004). "Eye colour: portals into pigmentation genes and ancestry". Trends Genet. 20 (8): 327–32. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2004.06.010. PMID 15262401.
    ^ a b Pearson H (2006). "Genetics: what is a gene?". Nature 441 (7092): 398–401. doi:10.1038/441398a. PMID 16724031.
    ^ Visscher PM, Hill WG, Wray NR (April 2008). "Heritability in the genomics era—concepts and misconceptions". Nat. Rev. Genet. 9 (4): 255–66. doi:10.1038/nrg2322. PMID 18319743.
    ^ Oetting WS, Brilliant MH, King RA (1996). "The clinical spectrum of albinism in humans". Molecular medicine today 2 (8): 330–5. doi:10.1016/1357-4310(96)81798-9. PMID 8796918.
    ^ Phillips PC (November 2008). "Epistasis—the essential role of gene interactions in the structure and evolution of genetic systems". Nat. Rev. Genet. 9 (11): 855–67. doi:10.1038/nrg2452. PMID 18852697.
    ^ a b Wu R, Lin M (2006). "Functional mapping - how to map and study the genetic architecture of dynamic complex traits". Nat. Rev. Genet. 7 (3): 229–37. doi:10.1038/nrg1804. PMID 16485021.
    ^ Richards EJ (May 2006). "Inherited epigenetic variation—revisiting soft inheritance". Nat. Rev. Genet. 7 (5): 395–401. doi:10.1038/nrg1834. PMID 16534512.
    ^ a b Harwood AJ; Harwood, J (1998). "Factors affecting levels of genetic diversity in natural populations". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 353 (1366): 177–86. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0200. PMID 9533122.
    ^ Draghi J, Turner P (2006). "DNA secretion and gene-level selection in bacteria". Microbiology (Reading, Engl.) 152 (Pt 9): 2683–8. doi:10.1099/mic.0.29013-0. PMID 16946263.
    *Mallet J (2007). "Hybrid speciation". Nature 446 (7133): 279–83. doi:10.1038/nature05706. PMID 17361174.
    ^ Butlin RK, Tregenza T (1998). "Levels of genetic polymorphism: marker loci versus quantitative traits". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 353 (1366): 187–98. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0201. PMID 9533123.
    ^ Wetterbom A, Sevov M, Cavelier L, Bergström TF (2006). "Comparative genomic analysis of human and chimpanzee indicates a key role for indels in primate evolution". J. Mol. Evol. 63 (5): 682–90. doi:10.1007/s00239-006-0045-7. PMID 17075697.
    ^ a b c Bertram J (2000). "The molecular biology of cancer". Mol. Aspects Med. 21 (6): 167–223. doi:10.1016/S0098-2997(00)00007-8. PMID 11173079.
    ^ a b Aminetzach YT, Macpherson JM, Petrov DA (2005). "Pesticide resistance via transposition-mediated adaptive gene truncation in Drosophila". Science 309 (5735): 764–7. doi:10.1126/science.1112699. PMID 16051794.
    ^ Burrus V, Waldor M (2004). "Shaping bacterial genomes with integrative and conjugative elements". Res. Microbiol. 155 (5): 376–86. doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2004.01.012. PMID 15207870.
    ^ Sawyer SA, Parsch J, Zhang Z, Hartl DL (2007). "Prevalence of positive selection among nearly neutral amino acid replacements in Drosophila". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104 (16): 6504–10. doi:10.1073/pnas.0701572104. PMID 17409186.
    ^ Sniegowski P, Gerrish P, Johnson T, Shaver A (2000). "The evolution of mutation rates: separating causes from consequences". Bioessays 22 (12): 1057–66. doi:10.1002/1521-1878(200012)22:123.0.CO;2-W. PMID 11084621.
    ^ Drake JW, Holland JJ (1999). "Mutation rates among RNA viruses". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96 (24): 13910–3. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.24.13910. PMID 10570172. PMC 24164.
    ^ Holland J, Spindler K, Horodyski F, Grabau E, Nichol S, VandePol S (1982). "Rapid evolution of RNA genomes". Science 215 (4540): 1577–85. doi:10.1126/science.7041255. PMID 7041255.
    ^ Hastings, P J; Lupski, JR; Rosenberg, SM; Ira, G (2009). "Mechanisms of change in gene copy number". Nature Reviews. Genetics 10 (8): 551–564. doi:10.1038/nrg2593. PMID 19597530.
    ^ Carroll SB, Grenier J, Weatherbee SD (2005). From DNA to Diversity: Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design. Second Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-1950-0.
    ^ Harrison P, Gerstein M (2002). "Studying genomes through the aeons: protein families, pseudogenes and proteome evolution". J Mol Biol 318 (5): 1155–74. doi:10.1016/S0022-2836(02)00109-2. PMID 12083509.
    ^ Bowmaker JK (1998). "Evolution of colour vision in vertebrates". Eye (London, England) 12 (Pt 3b): 541–7. PMID 9775215.
    ^ Gregory TR, Hebert PD (1999). "The modulation of DNA content: proximate causes and ultimate consequences". Genome Res. 9 (4): 317–24. doi:10.1101/gr.9.4.317 (inactive 2009-11-14). PMID 10207154.
    ^ Hurles M (July 2004). "Gene duplication: the genomic trade in spare parts". PLoS Biol. 2 (7): E206. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020206. PMID 15252449.
    ^ Liu N, Okamura K, Tyler DM (2008). "The evolution and functional diversification of animal microRNA genes". Cell Res. 18 (10): 985–96. doi:10.1038/cr.2008.278. PMID 18711447. PMC 2712117.
    ^ Siepel A (October 2009). "Darwinian alchemy: Human genes from noncoding DNA". Genome Res. 19 (10): 1693–5. doi:10.1101/gr.098376.109. PMID 19797681. PMC 2765273.
    ^ Orengo CA, Thornton JM (2005). "Protein families and their evolution-a structural perspective". Annu. Rev. Biochem. 74: 867–900. doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.74.082803.133029. PMID 15954844.
    ^ Long M, Betrán E, Thornton K, Wang W (November 2003). "The origin of new genes: glimpses from the young and old". Nat. Rev. Genet. 4 (11): 865–75. doi:10.1038/nrg1204. PMID 14634634.
    ^ Wang M, Caetano-Anollés G (2009). "The evolutionary mechanics of domain organization in proteomes and the rise of modularity in the protein world". Structure 17 (1): 66–78. doi:10.1016/j.str.2008.11.008. PMID 19141283.
    ^ Weissman KJ, Müller R (April 2008). "Protein-protein interactions in multienzyme megasynthetases". Chembiochem 9 (6): 826–48. doi:10.1002/cbic.200700751. PMID 18357594.
    ^ Zhang J, Wang X, Podlaha O (2004). "Testing the chromosomal speciation hypothesis for humans and chimpanzees". Genome Res. 14 (5): 845–51. doi:10.1101/gr.1891104. PMID 15123584.
    ^ Ayala FJ, Coluzzi M (2005). "Chromosome speciation: humans, Drosophila, and mosquitoes". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (Suppl 1): 6535–42. doi:10.1073/pnas.0501847102. PMID 15851677. PMC 1131864.
    ^ Hurst GD, Werren JH (2001). "The role of selfish genetic elements in eukaryotic evolution". Nat. Rev. Genet. 2 (8): 597–606. doi:10.1038/35084545. PMID 11483984.
    ^ Häsler J, Strub K (2006). "Alu elements as regulators of gene expression". Nucleic Acids Res. 34 (19): 5491–7. doi:10.1093/nar/gkl706. PMID 17020921.
    ^ Radding C (1982). "Homologous pairing and strand exchange in genetic recombination". Annu. Rev. Genet. 16: 405–37. doi:10.1146/annurev.ge.16.120182.002201. PMID 6297377.
    ^ Agrawal AF (2006). "Evolution of sex: why do organisms shuffle their genotypes?". Curr. Biol. 16 (17): R696. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.07.063. PMID 16950096.
    ^ Peters AD, Otto SP (2003). "Liberating genetic variance through sex". Bioessays 25 (6): 533–7. doi:10.1002/bies.10291. PMID 12766942.
    ^ Goddard MR, Godfray HC, Burt A (2005). "Sex increases the efficacy of natural selection in experimental yeast populations". Nature 434 (7033): 636–40. doi:10.1038/nature03405. PMID 15800622.
    ^ Fontaneto D, Herniou EA, Boschetti C (April 2007). "Independently evolving species in asexual bdelloid rotifers". PLoS Biol. 5 (4): e87. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050087. PMID 17373857. Lay summary.
    ^ Pouchkina-Stantcheva NN, McGee BM, Boschetti C (October 2007). "Functional divergence of former alleles in an ancient asexual invertebrate". Science 318 (5848): 268–71. doi:10.1126/science.1144363. PMID 17932297. Lay summary.
    ^ Lien S, Szyda J, Schechinger B, Rappold G, Arnheim N (February 2000). "Evidence for heterogeneity in recombination in the human pseudoautosomal region: high resolution analysis by sperm typing and radiation-hybrid mapping". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 66 (2): 557–66. doi:10.1086/302754. PMID 10677316.
    ^ Barton, N H (2000). "Genetic hitchhiking". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 355 (1403): 1553–1562. doi:10.1098/rstb.2000.0716. PMID 11127900. PMC 1692896. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
    ^ Muller H (1964). "The relation of recombination to mutational advance". Mutat. Res. 106: 2–9. PMID 14195748.
    ^ Charlesworth B, Charlesworth D (November 2000). "The degeneration of Y chromosomes". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 355 (1403): 1563–72. doi:10.1098/rstb.2000.0717. PMID 11127901.
    ^ a b Otto S (1 July 2003). "The advantages of segregation and the evolution of sex". Genetics 164 (3): 1099–118. PMID 12871918.
    ^ Doncaster CP, Pound GE, Cox SJ (March 2000). "The ecological cost of sex". Nature 404 (6775): 281–5. doi:10.1038/35005078. PMID 10749210.
    ^ Butlin R (April 2002). "Evolution of sex: The costs and benefits of sex: new insights from old asexual lineages". Nat. Rev. Genet. 3 (4): 311–7. doi:10.1038/nrg749. PMID 11967555.
    ^ Salathé M, Kouyos RD, Bonhoeffer S (August 2008). "The state of affairs in the kingdom of the Red Queen". Trends Ecol. Evol. (Amst.) 23 (8): 439–45. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.04.010. PMID 18597889.
    ^ Stoltzfus A (2006). "Mutationism and the dual causation of evolutionary change". Evol. Dev. 8 (3): 304–17. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2006.00101.x. PMID 16686641.
    ^ O'Neil, Dennis (2008). "Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Model". The synthetic theory of evolution: An introduction to modern evolutionary concepts and theories. Behavioral Sciences Department, Palomar College. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
    ^ Bright, Kerry (2006). "Causes of evolution". Teach Evolution and Make It Relevant. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
    ^ Packer C, Gilbert DA, Pusey AE, O'Brieni SJ. (June 1991). "A molecular genetic analysis of kinship and cooperation in African lions". Nature 351: 562–65. doi:10.1038/351562a0.
    ^ Morjan C, Rieseberg L (2004). "How species evolve collectively: implications of gene flow and selection for the spread of advantageous alleles". Mol. Ecol. 13 (6): 1341–56. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02164.x. PMID 15140081.
    ^ Su H, Qu L, He K, Zhang Z, Wang J, Chen Z, Gu H (2003). "The Great Wall of China: a physical barrier to gene flow?". Heredity 90 (3): 212–9. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800237. PMID 12634804.
    ^ Short RV (1975). "The contribution of the mule to scientific thought". J. Reprod. Fertil. Suppl. (23): 359–64. PMID 1107543.
    ^ Gross B, Rieseberg L (2005). "The ecological genetics of homoploid hybrid speciation". J. Hered. 96 (3): 241–52. doi:10.1093/jhered/esi026. PMID 15618301.
    ^ Burke JM, Arnold ML (2001). "Genetics and the fitness of hybrids". Annu. Rev. Genet. 35: 31–52. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.35.102401.085719. PMID 11700276.
    ^ Vrijenhoek RC (2006). "Polyploid hybrids: multiple origins of a treefrog species". Curr. Biol. 16 (7): R245. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.03.005. PMID 16581499.
    ^ Wendel J (2000). "Genome evolution in polyploids". Plant Mol. Biol. 42 (1): 225–49. doi:10.1023/A:1006392424384. PMID 10688139.
    ^ a b Sémon M, Wolfe KH (2007). "Consequences of genome duplication". Curr Opin Genet Dev 17 (6): 505–12. doi:10.1016/j.gde.2007.09.007. PMID 18006297.
    ^ Comai L (2005). "The advantages and disadvantages of being polyploid". Nat. Rev. Genet. 6 (11): 836–46. doi:10.1038/nrg1711. PMID 16304599.
    ^ Soltis P, Soltis D (June 2000). "The role of genetic and genomic attributes in the success of polyploids". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97 (13): 7051–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.97.13.7051. PMID 10860970.
    ^ Boucher Y, Douady CJ, Papke RT, Walsh DA, Boudreau ME, Nesbo CL, Case RJ, Doolittle WF (2003). "Lateral gene transfer and the origins of prokaryotic groups". Annu Rev Genet 37: 283–328. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.37.050503.084247. PMID 14616063.
    ^ Walsh T (2006). "Combinatorial genetic evolution of multiresistance". Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 9 (5): 476–82. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2006.08.009. PMID 16942901.
    ^ Kondo N, Nikoh N, Ijichi N, Shimada M, Fukatsu T (2002). "Genome fragment of Wolbachia endosymbiont transferred to X chromosome of host insect". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99 (22): 14280–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.222228199. PMID 12386340.
    ^ Sprague G (1991). "Genetic exchange between kingdoms". Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 1 (4): 530–3. doi:10.1016/S0959-437X(05)80203-5. PMID 1822285.
    ^ Gladyshev EA, Meselson M, Arkhipova IR (May 2008). "Massive horizontal gene transfer in bdelloid rotifers". Science 320 (5880): 1210–3. doi:10.1126/science.1156407. PMID 18511688.
    ^ Baldo A, McClure M (1 September 1999). "Evolution and horizontal transfer of dUTPase-encoding genes in viruses and their hosts". J. Virol. 73 (9): 7710–21. PMID 10438861.
    ^ a b Poole A, Penny D (2007). "Evaluating hypotheses for the origin of eukaryotes". Bioessays 29 (1): 74–84. doi:10.1002/bies.20516. PMID 17187354.
    ^ Whitlock M (1 June 2003). "Fixation probability and time in subdivided populations". Genetics 164 (2): 767–79. PMID 12807795.
    ^ Ohta T (2002). "Near-neutrality in evolution of genes and gene regulation". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99 (25): 16134–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.252626899. PMID 12461171. PMC 138577.
    ^ a b c Hurst LD (February 2009). "Fundamental concepts in genetics: genetics and the understanding of selection". Nat. Rev. Genet. 10 (2): 83–93. doi:10.1038/nrg2506. PMID 19119264.
    ^ a b c Orr HA (August 2009). "Fitness and its role in evolutionary genetics". Nat. Rev. Genet. 10 (8): 531–9. doi:10.1038/nrg2603. PMID 19546856.
    ^ Haldane J (1959). "The theory of natural selection today". Nature 183 (4663): 710–3. doi:10.1038/183710a0. PMID 13644170.
    ^ Goldberg, Emma E; Igić, B (2008). "On phylogenetic tests of irreversible evolution". Evolution 62 (11): 2727–2741. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00505.x. PMID 18764918.
    ^ Collin, Rachel; Miglietta, MP (2008). "Reversing opinions on Dollo's Law". Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23 (11): 602–609. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.013. PMID 18814933.
    ^ Hoekstra H, Hoekstra J, Berrigan D, Vignieri S, Hoang A, Hill C, Beerli P, Kingsolver J (July 2001). "Strength and tempo of directional selection in the wild". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 (16): 9157–60. doi:10.1073/pnas.161281098. PMID 11470913.
    ^ Felsenstein (1 November 1979). "Excursions along the Interface between Disruptive and Stabilizing Selection". Genetics 93 (3): 773–95. PMID 17248980.
    ^ Andersson M, Simmons L (2006). "Sexual selection and mate choice". Trends Ecol. Evol. (Amst.) 21 (6): 296–302. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.03.015. PMID 16769428.
    ^ Kokko H, Brooks R, McNamara J, Houston A (2002). "The sexual selection continuum". Proc. Biol. Sci. 269 (1498): 1331–40. doi:10.1098/rspb.2002.2020. PMID 12079655.
    ^ Hunt J, Brooks R, Jennions M, Smith M, Bentsen C, Bussière L (2004). "High-quality male field crickets invest heavily in sexual display but die young". Nature 432 (7020): 1024–7. doi:10.1038/nature03084. PMID 15616562.
    ^ Odum, EP (1971) Fundamentals of ecology, third edition, Saunders New York
    ^ a b Gould SJ (February 1998). "Gulliver's further travels: the necessity and difficulty of a hierarchical theory of selection". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 353 (1366): 307–14. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0211. PMID 9533127.
    ^ Mayr E (1997). "The objects of selection". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94 (6): 2091–4. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.6.2091. PMID 9122151.
    ^ Maynard Smith J (1998). "The units of selection". Novartis Found. Symp. 213: 203–11; discussion 211–7. PMID 9653725.
    ^ Hickey DA (1992). "Evolutionary dynamics of transposable elements in prokaryotes and eukaryotes". Genetica 86 (1–3): 269–74. doi:10.1007/BF00133725. PMID 1334911.
    ^ Gould SJ, Lloyd EA (1999). "Individuality and adaptation across levels of selection: how shall we name and generalize the unit of Darwinism?". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96 (21): 11904–9. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.21.11904. PMID 10518549.
    ^ Lande R (1989). "Fisherian and Wrightian theories of speciation". Genome 31 (1): 221–7. PMID 2687093.
    ^ Otto S, Whitlock M (1 June 1997). "The probability of fixation in populations of changing size". Genetics 146 (2): 723–33. PMID 9178020.
    ^ Charlesworth B (March 2009). "Fundamental concepts in genetics: Effective population size and patterns of molecular evolution and variation". Nat. Rev. Genet. 10 (3): 195–205. doi:10.1038/nrg2526. PMID 19204717.
    ^ Protas, Meredith; Conrad, M; Gross, JB; Tabin, C; Borowsky, R (2007). "Regressive evolution in the Mexican cave tetra, Astyanax mexicanus". Current Biology 17 (5): 452–454. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.01.051. PMID 17306543. PMC 2570642.
    ^ Mitchell-Olds, Thomas; Willis, JH; Goldstein, DB (2007). "Which evolutionary processes influence natural genetic variation for phenotypic traits?". Nature Reviews Genetics 8 (11): 845–856. doi:10.1038/nrg2207. PMID 17943192.
    ^ Nei M (2005). "Selectionism and neutralism in molecular evolution". Mol. Biol. Evol. 22 (12): 2318–42. doi:10.1093/molbev/msi242. PMID 16120807.
    ^ Kimura M (1991). "The neutral theory of molecular evolution: a review of recent evidence". Jpn. J. Genet. 66 (4): 367–86. doi:10.1266/jjg.66.367. PMID 1954033.
    ^ Kimura M (1989). "The neutral theory of molecular evolution and the world view of the neutralists". Genome 31 (1): 24–31. PMID 2687096.
    ^ Kreitman M (August 1996). "The neutral theory is dead. Long live the neutral theory". Bioessays 18 (8): 678–83; discussion 683. doi:10.1002/bies.950180812. PMID 8760341.
    ^ Leigh E.G. (Jr) (2007). "Neutral theory: a historical perspective.". Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20: 2075–91. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01410.x.
    ^ a b c Scott EC, Matzke NJ (May 2007). "Biological design in science classrooms". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104 Suppl 1: 8669–76. doi:10.1073/pnas.0701505104. PMID 17494747.
    ^ Hendry AP, Kinnison MT (2001). "An introduction to microevolution: rate, pattern, process". Genetica 112–113: 1–8. doi:10.1023/A:1013368628607. PMID 11838760.
    ^ Leroi AM (2000). "The scale independence of evolution". Evol. Dev. 2 (2): 67–77. doi:10.1046/j.1525-142x.2000.00044.x. PMID 11258392.
    ^ Gould 2002, pp. 657–8
    ^ Gould SJ (July 1994). "Tempo and mode in the macroevolutionary reconstruction of Darwinism". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91 (15): 6764–71. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.15.6764. PMID 8041695. PMC 44281.
    ^ Jablonski, D. (2000). "Micro- and macroevolution: scale and hierarchy in evolutionary biology and paleobiology". Paleobiology 26 (sp4): 15–52. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2000)26[15:MAMSAH]2.0.CO;2.
    ^ Michael J. Dougherty. Is the human race evolving or devolving? Scientific American July 20, 1998.
    ^ TalkOrigins Archive response to Creationist claims - Claim CB932: Evolution of degenerate forms
    ^ Carroll SB (2001). "Chance and necessity: the evolution of morphological complexity and diversity". Nature 409 (6823): 1102–9. doi:10.1038/35059227. PMID 11234024.
    ^ Whitman W, Coleman D, Wiebe W (1998). "Prokaryotes: the unseen majority". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S a 95 (12): 6578–83. doi:10.1073/pnas.95.12.6578. PMID 9618454.
    ^ a b Schloss P, Handelsman J (December 2004). "Status of the microbial census". Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 68 (4): 686–91. doi:10.1128/MMBR.68.4.686-691.2004. PMID 15590780.
    ^ Nealson K (1999). "Post-Viking microbiology: new approaches, new data, new insights". Orig Life Evol Biosph 29 (1): 73–93. doi:10.1023/A:1006515817767. PMID 11536899.
    ^ Buckling A, Craig Maclean R, Brockhurst MA, Colegrave N (February 2009). "The Beagle in a bottle". Nature 457 (7231): 824–9. doi:10.1038/nature07892. PMID 19212400.
    ^ Elena SF, Lenski RE (June 2003). "Evolution experiments with microorganisms: the dynamics and genetic bases of adaptation". Nat. Rev. Genet. 4 (6): 457–69. doi:10.1038/nrg1088. PMID 12776215.
    ^ Williams, George C. 1966. Adaptation and natural selection: a critique of some current evolutionary thought. Princeton. "Evolutionary adaptation is a phenomenon of pervasive importance in biology." p5
    ^ Mayr, Ernst 1982. The growth of biological thought. Harvard. p483: "Adaptation... could no longer be considered a static condition, a product of a creative past, and became instead a continuing dynamic process."
    ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Science defines adaptation as "Any change in the structure or functioning of an organism that makes it better suited to its environment".
    ^ Orr H (2005). "The genetic theory of adaptation: a brief history". Nat. Rev. Genet. 6 (2): 119–27. doi:10.1038/nrg1523. PMID 15716908.
    ^ Dobzhansky T. 1968. On some fundamental concepts of evolutionary biology. Evolutionary biology 2, 1–34.
    ^ Dobzhansky T. 1970. Genetics of the evolutionary process. Columbia, N.Y. p4–6, 79–82, 84–87
    ^ Dobzhansky T. 1956. Genetics of natural populations XXV. Genetic changes in populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosphila persimilis in some locations in California. Evolution 10, 82–92.
    ^ Nakajima A, Sugimoto Y, Yoneyama H, Nakae T (2002). "High-level fluoroquinolone resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa due to interplay of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump and the DNA gyrase mutation". Microbiol. Immunol. 46 (6): 391–5. PMID 12153116.
    ^ Blount ZD, Borland CZ, Lenski RE (June 2008). "Inaugural Article: Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105 (23): 7899–906. doi:10.1073/pnas.0803151105. PMID 18524956. PMC 2430337.
    ^ Okada H, Negoro S, Kimura H, Nakamura S (1983). "Evolutionary adaptation of plasmid-encoded enzymes for degrading nylon oligomers". Nature 306 (5939): 203–6. doi:10.1038/306203a0. PMID 6646204.
    ^ Ohno S (April 1984). "Birth of a unique enzyme from an alternative reading frame of the preexisted, internally repetitious coding sequence". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81 (8): 2421–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.81.8.2421. PMID 6585807. PMC 345072.
    ^ Copley SD (June 2000). "Evolution of a metabolic pathway for degradation of a toxic xenobiotic: the patchwork approach". Trends Biochem. Sci. 25 (6): 261–5. doi:10.1016/S0968-0004(00)01562-0. PMID 10838562.
    ^ Crawford RL, Jung CM, Strap JL (October 2007). "The recent evolution of pentachlorophenol (PCP)-4-monooxygenase (PcpB) and associated pathways for bacterial degradation of PCP". Biodegradation 18 (5): 525–39. doi:10.1007/s10532-006-9090-6. PMID 17123025.
    ^ Colegrave N, Collins S (May 2008). "Experimental evolution: experimental evolution and evolvability". Heredity 100 (5): 464–70. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6801095. PMID 18212804.
    ^ Kirschner M, Gerhart J (July 1998). "Evolvability". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95 (15): 8420–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.95.15.8420. PMID 9671692.
    ^ a b Bejder L, Hall BK (2002). "Limbs in whales and limblessness in other vertebrates: mechanisms of evolutionary and developmental transformation and loss". Evol. Dev. 4 (6): 445–58. doi:10.1046/j.1525-142X.2002.02033.x. PMID 12492145.
    ^ Young, Nathan M.; Hallgrímsson, B (2005). "Serial homology and the evolution of mammalian limb covariation structure". Evolution 59 (12): 2691. doi:10.1554/05-233.1. PMID 16526515. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
    ^ a b Penny D, Poole A (1999). "The nature of the last universal common ancestor". Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 9 (6): 672–77. doi:10.1016/S0959-437X(99)00020-9. PMID 10607605.
    ^ Hall, Brian K (2003). "Descent with modification: the unity underlying homology and homoplasy as seen through an analysis of development and evolution". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 78 (3): 409–433. PMID 14558591.
    ^ Shubin, Neil; Tabin, C; Carroll, S (2009). "Deep homology and the origins of evolutionary novelty". Nature 457 (7231): 818–823. doi:10.1038/nature07891. PMID 19212399.
    ^ a b c Fong D, Kane T, Culver D (1995). "Vestigialization and Loss of Nonfunctional Characters". Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 26: 249–68. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.26.110195.001341.
    ^ Zhang Z, Gerstein M (August 2004). "Large-scale analysis of pseudogenes in the human genome". Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 14 (4): 328–35. doi:10.1016/j.gde.2004.06.003. PMID 15261647.
    ^ Jeffery WR (2005). "Adaptive evolution of eye degeneration in the Mexican blind cavefish". J. Hered. 96 (3): 185–96. doi:10.1093/jhered/esi028. PMID 15653557.
    ^ Maxwell EE, Larsson HC (2007). "Osteology and myology of the wing of the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), and its bearing on the evolution of vestigial structures". J. Morphol. 268 (5): 423–41. doi:10.1002/jmor.10527. PMID 17390336.
    ^ Silvestri AR, Singh I (2003). "The unresolved problem of the third molar: would people be better off without it?". Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) 134 (4): 450–5. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.26.110195.001341. PMID 12733778.
    ^ a b Gould 2002, pp. 1235–6
    ^ Pallen, Mark J.; Matzke, NJ (2006-10). "From The Origin of Species to the origin of bacterial flagella". Nat Rev Micro 4 (10): 784–790. doi:10.1038/nrmicro1493. PMID 16953248. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
    ^ Clements, Abigail; Bursac, D; Gatsos, X; Perry, AJ; Civciristov, S; Celik, N; Likic, VA; Poggio, S et al. (2009). "The reducible complexity of a mitochondrial molecular machine". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106 (37): 15791–15795. doi:10.1073/pnas.0908264106. PMID 19717453. PMC 2747197. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
    ^ Piatigorsky J, Kantorow M, Gopal-Srivastava R, Tomarev SI (1994). "Recruitment of enzymes and stress proteins as lens crystallins". EXS 71: 241–50. PMID 8032155.
    ^ Wistow G (August 1993). "Lens crystallins: gene recruitment and evolutionary dynamism". Trends Biochem. Sci. 18 (8): 301–6. doi:10.1016/0968-0004(93)90041-K. PMID 8236445.
    ^ Hardin G (April 1960). "The competitive exclusion principle". Science 131: 1292–7. doi:10.1126/science.131.3409.1292. PMID 14399717.
    ^ Kocher TD (April 2004). "Adaptive evolution and explosive speciation: the cichlid fish model". Nat. Rev. Genet. 5 (4): 288–98. doi:10.1038/nrg1316. PMID 15131652.
    ^ Johnson NA, Porter AH (2001). "Toward a new synthesis: population genetics and evolutionary developmental biology". Genetica 112–113: 45–58. doi:10.1023/A:1013371201773. PMID 11838782.
    ^ Baguñà J, Garcia-Fernàndez J (2003). "Evo-Devo: the long and winding road". Int. J. Dev. Biol. 47 (7–8): 705–13. PMID 14756346.
    *Love AC. (2003). "Evolutionary Morphology, Innovation, and the Synthesis of Evolutionary and Developmental Biology". Biology and Philosophy 18 (2): 309–345. doi:10.1023/A:1023940220348.
    ^ Allin EF (1975). "Evolution of the mammalian middle ear". J. Morphol. 147 (4): 403–37. doi:10.1002/jmor.1051470404. PMID 1202224.
    ^ Harris MP, Hasso SM, Ferguson MW, Fallon JF (2006). "The development of archosaurian first-generation teeth in a chicken mutant". Curr. Biol. 16 (4): 371–7. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.12.047. PMID 16488870.
    ^ Carroll SB (July 2008). "Evo-devo and an expanding evolutionary synthesis: a genetic theory of morphological evolution". Cell 134 (1): 25–36. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.06.030. PMID 18614008.
    ^ Wade MJ (2007). "The co-evolutionary genetics of ecological communities". Nat. Rev. Genet. 8 (3): 185–95. doi:10.1038/nrg2031. PMID 17279094.
    ^ Geffeney S, Brodie ED, Ruben PC, Brodie ED (2002). "Mechanisms of adaptation in a predator-prey arms race: TTX-resistant sodium channels". Science 297 (5585): 1336–9. doi:10.1126/science.1074310. PMID 12193784.
    *Brodie ED, Ridenhour BJ, Brodie ED (2002). "The evolutionary response of predators to dangerous prey: hotspots and coldspots in the geographic mosaic of coevolution between garter snakes and newts". Evolution 56 (10): 2067–82. PMID 12449493.
    *Sean B. Carroll (December 21, 2009). "Remarkable Creatures - Clues to Toxins in Deadly Delicacies of the Animal Kingdom". New York Times.
    ^ Sachs J (2006). "Cooperation within and among species". J. Evol. Biol. 19 (5): 1415–8; discussion 1426–36. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01152.x. PMID 16910971.
    *Nowak M (2006). "Five rules for the evolution of cooperation". Science 314 (5805): 1560–3. doi:10.1126/science.1133755. PMID 17158317.
    ^ Paszkowski U (2006). "Mutualism and parasitism: the yin and yang of plant symbioses". Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 9 (4): 364–70. doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2006.05.008. PMID 16713732.
    ^ Hause B, Fester T (2005). "Molecular and cell biology of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis". Planta 221 (2): 184–96. doi:10.1007/s00425-004-1436-x. PMID 15871030.
    ^ Reeve HK, Hölldobler B (2007). "The emergence of a superorganism through intergroup competition". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 104 (23): 9736–40. doi:10.1073/pnas.0703466104. PMID 17517608.
    ^ Axelrod R, Hamilton W (2005). "The evolution of cooperation". Science 211 (4489): 1390–6. doi:10.1126/science.7466396. PMID 7466396.
    ^ Wilson EO, Hölldobler B (2005). "Eusociality: origin and consequences". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (38): 13367–71. doi:10.1073/pnas.0505858102. PMID 16157878.
    ^ a b Gavrilets S (2003). "Perspective: models of speciation: what have we learned in 40 years?". Evolution 57 (10): 2197–215. doi:10.1554/02-727. PMID 14628909.
    ^ De Queiroz K (December 2007). "Species concepts and species delimitation". Syst. Biol. 56 (6): 879–86. doi:10.1080/10635150701701083. PMID 18027281.
    ^ Fraser C, Alm EJ, Polz MF, Spratt BG, Hanage WP (February 2009). "The bacterial species challenge: making sense of genetic and ecological diversity". Science 323 (5915): 741–6. doi:10.1126/science.1159388. PMID 19197054.
    ^ a b de Queiroz K (May 2005). "Ernst Mayr and the modern concept of species". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (Suppl 1): 6600–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.0502030102. PMID 15851674. PMC 1131873.
    ^ Rice, W.R.; Hostert (1993). "Laboratory experiments on speciation: what have we learned in 40 years". Evolution 47 (6): 1637–1653. doi:10.2307/2410209. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
    *Jiggins CD, Bridle JR (2004). "Speciation in the apple maggot fly: a blend of vintages?". Trends Ecol. Evol. (Amst.) 19 (3): 111–4. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2003.12.008. PMID 16701238.
    *Boxhorn, J (1995). "Observed Instances of Speciation". TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
    *Weinberg JR, Starczak VR, Jorg, D (1992). "Evidence for Rapid Speciation Following a Founder Event in the Laboratory". Evolution 46 (4): 1214–20. doi:10.2307/2409766.
    ^ Herrel, A.; Huyghe, K.; Vanhooydonck, B.; Backeljau, T.; Breugelmans, K.; Grbac, I.; Van Damme, R.; Irschick, D.J. (2008). "Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence in morphology and performance associated with exploitation of a different dietary resource". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (12): 4792–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711998105. PMID 18344323.
    ^ Losos, J.B. Warhelt, K.I. Schoener, T.W. (1997). "Adaptive differentiation following experimental island colonization in Anolis lizards". Nature 387 (6628): 70–3. doi:10.1038/387070a0.
    ^ Hoskin CJ, Higgle M, McDonald KR, Moritz C (2005). "Reinforcement drives rapid allopatric speciation". Nature 437: 1353–356. doi:10.1038/nature04004.
    ^ Templeton AR (1 April 1980). "The theory of speciation via the founder principle". Genetics 94 (4): 1011–38. PMID 6777243. PMC 1214177.
    ^ Antonovics J (2006). "Evolution in closely adjacent plant populations X: long-term persistence of prereproductive isolation at a mine boundary". Heredity 97 (1): 33–7. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800835. PMID 16639420.
    ^ Nosil P, Crespi B, Gries R, Gries G (2007). "Natural selection and divergence in mate preference during speciation". Genetica 129 (3): 309–27. doi:10.1007/s10709-006-0013-6. PMID 16900317.
    ^ Savolainen V, Anstett M-C, Lexer C, Hutton I, Clarkson JJ, Norup MV, Powell MP, Springate D, Salamin N, Baker WJr (2006). "Sympatric speciation in palms on an oceanic island". Nature 441 (7090): 210–3. doi:10.1038/nature04566. PMID 16467788.
    *Barluenga M, Stölting KN, Salzburger W, Muschick M, Meyer A (2006). "Sympatric speciation in Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid fish". Nature 439 (7077): 719–23. doi:10.1038/nature04325. PMID 16467837.
    ^ Gavrilets S (2006). "The Maynard Smith model of sympatric speciation". J. Theor. Biol. 239 (2): 172–82. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2005.08.041. PMID 16242727.
    ^ Wood TE, Takebayashi N, Barker MS, Mayrose I, Greenspoon PB, Rieseberg LH (August 2009). "The frequency of polyploid speciation in vascular plants". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106 (33): 13875–9. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811575106. PMID 19667210.
    ^ Hegarty Mf, Hiscock SJ (2008). "Genomic clues to the evolutionary success of polyploid plants". Current Biology 18 (10): 435–44. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.043.
    ^ Jakobsson M, Hagenblad J, Tavaré S (2006). "A unique recent origin of the allotetraploid species Arabidopsis suecica: Evidence from nuclear DNA markers". Mol. Biol. Evol. 23 (6): 1217–31. doi:10.1093/molbev/msk006. PMID 16549398.
    ^ Säll T, Jakobsson M, Lind-Halldén C, Halldén C (2003). "Chloroplast DNA indicates a single origin of the allotetraploid Arabidopsis suecica". J. Evol. Biol. 16 (5): 1019–29. doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00554.x. PMID 14635917.
    ^ Bomblies K, Weigel D (2007). "Arabidopsis-a model genus for speciation". Curr Opin Genet Dev 17 (6): 500–4. doi:10.1016/j.gde.2007.09.006. PMID 18006296.
    ^ Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould, 1972. "Punctuated equilibria: an alternative to phyletic gradualism" In T.J.M. Schopf, ed., Models in Paleobiology. San Francisco: Freeman Cooper. pp. 82–115. Reprinted in N. Eldredge Time frames. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. 1985
    ^ Gould SJ (1994). "Tempo and mode in the macroevolutionary reconstruction of Darwinism". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91 (15): 6764–71. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.15.6764. PMID 8041695.
    ^ Benton MJ (1995). "Diversification and extinction in the history of life". Science 268 (5207): 52–8. doi:10.1126/science.7701342. PMID 7701342.
    ^ Raup DM (1986). "Biological extinction in earth history". Science 231: 1528–33. doi:10.1126/science.11542058. PMID 11542058.
    ^ Avise JC, Hubbell SP, Ayala FJ. (August 2008). "In the light of evolution II: Biodiversity and extinction". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105 (Suppl 1): 11453–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.0802504105. PMID 18695213. PMC 2556414.
    ^ a b c Raup DM (1994). "The role of extinction in evolution". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91 (15): 6758–63. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.15.6758. PMID 8041694.
    ^ Novacek MJ, Cleland EE (2001). "The current biodiversity extinction event: scenarios for mitigation and recovery". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 (10): 5466–70. doi:10.1073/pnas.091093698. PMID 11344295.
    ^ Pimm S, Raven P, Peterson A, Sekercioglu CH, Ehrlich PR (2006). "Human impacts on the rates of recent, present, and future bird extinctions". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (29): 10941–6. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604181103. PMID 16829570.
    *Barnosky AD, Koch PL, Feranec RS, Wing SL, Shabel AB (2004). "Assessing the causes of late Pleistocene extinctions on the continents". Science 306 (5693): 70–5. doi:10.1126/science.1101476. PMID 15459379.
    ^ Lewis OT (2006). "Climate change, species-area curves and the extinction crisis" (PDF). Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 361 (1465): 163–71. doi:10.1098/rstb.2005.1712. PMID 16553315. PMC 1831839.
    ^ Jablonski D (May 2001). "Lessons from the past: evolutionary impacts of mass extinctions". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 (10): 5393–8. doi:10.1073/pnas.101092598. PMID 11344284.
    ^ Isaak, Mark (2005). "Claim CB090: Evolution without abiogenesis". TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
    ^ Peretó J (2005). "Controversies on the origin of life" (PDF). Int. Microbiol. 8 (1): 23–31. PMID 15906258.
    ^ Luisi PL, Ferri F, Stano P (2006). "Approaches to semi-synthetic minimal cells: a review". Naturwissenschaften 93 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1007/s00114-005-0056-z. PMID 16292523.
    ^ Trevors JT, Abel DL (2004). "Chance and necessity do not explain the origin of life". Cell Biol. Int. 28 (11): 729–39. doi:10.1016/j.cellbi.2004.06.006. PMID 15563395.Forterre P, Benachenhou-Lahfa N, Confalonieri F, Duguet M, Elie C, Labedan B (1992). "The nature of the last universal ancestor and the root of the tree of life, still open questions". BioSystems 28 (1–3): 15–32. doi:10.1016/0303-2647(92)90004-I. PMID 1337989.
    ^ Joyce GF (2002). "The antiquity of RNA-based evolution". Nature 418 (6894): 214–21. doi:10.1038/418214a. PMID 12110897.
    ^ Trevors JT, Psenner R (2001). "From self-assembly of life to present-day bacteria: a possible role for nanocells". FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 25 (5): 573–82. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2001.tb00592.x. PMID 11742692.
    ^ Bapteste E, Walsh DA (2005). "Does the 'Ring of Life' ring true?". Trends Microbiol. 13 (6): 256–61. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2005.03.012. PMID 15936656.
    ^ Doolittle WF, Bapteste E (February 2007). "Pattern pluralism and the Tree of Life hypothesis". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104 (7): 2043–9. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610699104. PMID 17261804. PMC 1892968.
    ^ Kunin V, Goldovsky L, Darzentas N, Ouzounis CA (2005). "The net of life: reconstructing the microbial phylogenetic network". Genome Res. 15 (7): 954–9. doi:10.1101/gr.3666505. PMID 15965028. PMC 1172039.
    ^ Jablonski D (1999). "The future of the fossil record". Science 284 (5423): 2114–16. doi:10.1126/science.284.5423.2114. PMID 10381868.
    ^ Mason SF (1984). "Origins of biomolecular handedness". Nature 311 (5981): 19–23. doi:10.1038/311019a0. PMID 6472461.
    ^ Wolf YI, Rogozin IB, Grishin NV, Koonin EV (2002). "Genome trees and the tree of life". Trends Genet. 18 (9): 472–79. doi:10.1016/S0168-9525(02)02744-0. PMID 12175808.
    ^ Varki A, Altheide TK (2005). "Comparing the human and chimpanzee genomes: searching for needles in a haystack". Genome Res. 15 (12): 1746–58. doi:10.1101/gr.3737405. PMID 16339373.
    ^ Ciccarelli FD, Doerks T, von Mering C, Creevey CJ, Snel B, Bork P (2006). "Toward automatic reconstruction of a highly resolved tree of life". Science 311 (5765): 1283–87. doi:10.1126/science.1123061. PMID 16513982.
    ^ a b Cavalier-Smith T (2006). "Cell evolution and Earth history: stasis and revolution". Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 361 (1470): 969–1006. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1842. PMID 16754610.
    ^ Schopf J (2006). "Fossil evidence of Archaean life". Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 361 (1470): 869–85. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1834. PMID 16754604.
    *Altermann W, Kazmierczak J (2003). "Archean microfossils: a reappraisal of early life on Earth". Res Microbiol 154 (9): 611–17. doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2003.08.006. PMID 14596897.
    ^ Schopf J (1994). "Disparate rates, differing fates: tempo and mode of evolution changed from the Precambrian to the Phanerozoic". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S a 91 (15): 6735–42. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.15.6735. PMID 8041691.
    ^ Dyall S, Brown M, Johnson P (2004). "Ancient invasions: from endosymbionts to organelles". Science 304 (5668): 253–57. doi:10.1126/science.1094884. PMID 15073369.
    ^ Martin W (2005). "The missing link between hydrogenosomes and mitochondria". Trends Microbiol. 13 (10): 457–59. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2005.08.005. PMID 16109488.
    ^ Lang B, Gray M, Burger G (1999). "Mitochondrial genome evolution and the origin of eukaryotes". Annu Rev Genet 33: 351–97. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.33.1.351. PMID 10690412.
    *McFadden G (1999). "Endosymbiosis and evolution of the plant cell". Curr Opin Plant Biol 2 (6): 513–19. doi:10.1016/S1369-5266(99)00025-4. PMID 10607659.
    ^ DeLong E, Pace N (2001). "Environmental diversity of bacteria and archaea". Syst Biol 50 (4): 470–8. doi:10.1080/106351501750435040. PMID 12116647.
    ^ Kaiser D (2001). "Building a multicellular organism". Annu. Rev. Genet. 35: 103–23. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.35.102401.090145. PMID 11700279.
    ^ Valentine JW, Jablonski D, Erwin DH (1 March 1999). "Fossils, molecules and embryos: new perspectives on the Cambrian explosion". Development 126 (5): 851–9. PMID 9927587.
    ^ Ohno S (1997). "The reason for as well as the consequence of the Cambrian explosion in animal evolution". J. Mol. Evol. 44 Suppl 1: S23–7. doi:10.1007/PL00000055. PMID 9071008.
    *Valentine J, Jablonski D (2003). "Morphological and developmental macroevolution: a paleontological perspective". Int. J. Dev. Biol. 47 (7–8): 517–22. PMID 14756327.
    ^ Waters ER (2003). "Molecular adaptation and the origin of land plants". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 29 (3): 456–63. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.018. PMID 14615186.
    ^ Browne, Janet (2003). Charles Darwin: The Power of Place. London: Pimlico. pp. 376–379. ISBN 0-7126-6837-3.
    ^ For an overview of the philosophical, religious, and cosmological controversies, see: Dennett, D (1995). Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0684824710.
    *For the scientific and social reception of evolution in the 19th and early 20th centuries, see: Johnston, Ian C.. "History of Science: Origins of Evolutionary Theory". And Still We Evolve. Liberal Studies Department, Malaspina University College. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
    *Bowler, PJ (2003). Evolution: The History of an Idea, Third Edition, Completely Revised and Expanded. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520236936.
    *Zuckerkandl E (2006). "Intelligent design and biological complexity". Gene 385: 2–18. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2006.03.025. PMID 17011142.
    ^ Ross, M.R. (2005). "Who Believes What? Clearing up Confusion over Intelligent Design and Young-Earth Creationism" (PDF). Journal of Geoscience Education 53 (3): 319. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
    ^ Hameed, Salman (2008-12-12). "Science and Religion: Bracing for Islamic Creationism". Science 322 (5908): 1637–1638. doi:10.1126/science.1163672. PMID 19074331. Retrieved 2009.
    ^ Spergel D. N.; Scott, EC; Okamoto, S (2006). "Science communication. Public acceptance of evolution". Science 313 (5788): 765–66. doi:10.1126/science.1126746. PMID 16902112.
    ^ Spergel, D. N.; Verde, L.; Peiris, H. V.; Komatsu, E.; Nolta, M. R.; Bennett, C. L.; Halpern, M.; Hinshaw, G. et al. (2003). "First-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Determination of Cosmological Parameters". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 148: 175–94. doi:10.1086/377226.
    ^ Wilde SA, Valley JW, Peck WH, Graham CM (2001). "Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago". Nature 409 (6817): 175–78. doi:10.1038/35051550. PMID 11196637.
    ^ On the history of eugenics and evolution, see Kevles, D (1998). In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674445574.
    ^ Darwin strongly disagreed with attempts by Herbert Spencer and others to extrapolate evolutionary ideas to all possible subjects; see Midgley, M (2004). The Myths we Live By. Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 978-0415340779.
    ^ Allhoff F (2003). "Evolutionary ethics from Darwin to Moore". History and philosophy of the life sciences 25 (1): 51–79. doi:10.1080/03919710312331272945. PMID 15293515.
    ^ Gowaty, Patricia Adair (1997). Feminism and evolutionary biology: boundaries, intersections, and frontiers. London: Chapman & Hall. ISBN 0-412-07361-7.
    ^ Understanding Creationism after Kitzmiller 2007
    ^ Bull JJ, Wichman HA (2001). "Applied evolution". Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32: 183–217. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114020.
    ^ Doebley JF, Gaut BS, Smith BD (2006). "The molecular genetics of crop domestication". Cell 127 (7): 1309–21. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.12.006. PMID 17190597.
    ^ Jäckel C, Kast P, Hilvert D (2008). "Protein design by directed evolution". Annu Rev Biophys 37: 153–73. doi:10.1146/annurev.biophys.37.032807.125832. PMID 18573077.
    ^ Maher B. (April 2009). "Evolution: Biology's next top model?". Nature 458 (7239): 695–8. doi:10.1038/458695a. PMID 19360058.
    ^ Borowsky R (January 2008). "Restoring sight in blind cavefish". Curr. Biol. 18 (1): R23–4. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.023. PMID 18177707.
    ^ Gross JB, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ (January 2009). "A novel role for Mc1r in the parallel evolution of depigmentation in independent populations of the cavefish Astyanax mexicanus". PLoS Genet. 5 (1): e1000326. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000326. PMID 19119422.
    ^ Yergeau DA, Cornell CN, Parker SK, Zhou Y, Detrich HW (July 2005). "bloodthirsty, an RBCC/TRIM gene required for erythropoiesis in zebrafish". Dev. Biol. 283 (1): 97–112. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.04.006. PMID 15890331.
    ^ Fraser AS (1958). "Monte Carlo analyses of genetic models". Nature 181 (4603): 208–9. doi:10.1038/181208a0. PMID 13504138.
    ^ Rechenberg, Ingo (1973) (in German). Evolutionsstrategie - Optimierung technischer Systeme nach Prinzipien der biologischen Evolution (PhD thesis). Fromman-Holzboog.
    ^ Holland, John H. (1975). Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0262581116.
    ^ Koza, John R. (1992). Genetic Programming. MIT Press. ISBN 0262111705.
    ^ Jamshidi M (2003). "Tools for intelligent control: fuzzy controllers, neural networks and genetic algorithms". Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences 361 (1809): 1781–808. doi:10.1098/rsta.2003.1225. PMID 12952685.

    are you claiming all these people are wrong? if so where are your proofs where are your papers ? People like you were the resone the islamic empire lost its edge to the west in scientific thought. you cant see beyond your own dogma and instead of excepting that time are changing and leaving your out dated beliefs behind blindly sprout nonsense and claim superiority just because you are religious. Idiots like you were claiming that the earth was the center of the universe and sun revolved around earth during 15th century see how they have been proven wrong.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

35. Maldivian islam?? whats that ?!??

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

36. if you dont belive any of that then explain this link http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/postmonth/may05.html discussing how animals regulate osmotic pressure and how it relates to their kidneys.
    Why does salt taste so good, and we all seek our far more than we need? Perhaps in part because our ancestors lived in fresh water and had fluid-permeable membranes; they constantly took in water through osmotic pressure, and so they needed more salt to regulate their own body fluid salinity.
    That's also why we pee so much: our kidneys evolved under the assumption that we would constantly be taking in water and needed to rid ourselves of it. And that's why our urine is so dilute: our kidneys have special active-transport salt reclamation mechanisms to hold onto that precious, precious salt. In order to maintain proper kidney function now, we need to partially replicate the experience of constantly taking water through our gills, by drinking it instead.
    On land, salt is plentiful and fresh water scarce, so the needs of our kidneys would seem to be a burden, especially in desert areas. Our kidneys did evolve the Loop of Henle which appears be mostly a complicated workaround for the fact that our active transport systems are geared towards salt reclamation rather than salt excretion and water reclamation. Our kidneys couldn't just reverse their active transport direction, so they did this instead.
    Most salt water fish also have those freshwater specialized kidneys and so would have the same problem - their kidneys assume too much water and not enough salt, which is exactly wrong in saltwater. They solved this problem by letting their kidneys shrink to nearly nothing (though the kidneys still work the wrong way), and then evolving active transport systems in their gills to excrete salt, an odd design which only makes sense if you realize their ancestors evolved specialized for fresh water and migrated back to the sea

    this is empirical evidence of evolution at work.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

37. Irony at its best.

    The freedoms, equality, rule of law & stepping away from fear/oppression that many Maldivians fought for, and believes in will be a dream once again soon...with the powers that this govt has given to the Islamic Ministry. (Sadly i had a feeling this day would come long time ago...cos politicians have a way of abusing the "fear" that has been a part of us for so long)

    Islamic Ministry consists of a bunch of people who, like Gayoom, thinks they only can interpret the Holy Quran or dictate what a good Muslim should be. And most Maldivian, like in our past, will be afraid to say much against them too.
    Meanwhile the President is too afraid to say or go against such extreme view points...why is that? Didn't most people vote for freedom, justice, equality before the law & stepping away from being dictated upon...by voting for him? Why is he NOT doing more to stop extremism at home?

    Where is our right to NOT be oppressed/suppressed and be in a constant state of fear...fear of mere mortals... Fear of people just like us..who try to play big by saying they are "religious scholars"... The people in both the Islamic Ministry and Jamaiyathul Salaf are just like all of us... the Holy Quran DOES NOT say their interpretation is the correct one... In fact The Quran warns us of people like them...who tries to force their views...Neither IMAN nor AQEADA comes from being forced...only FEAR comes from force...
    I am a Maldivian, and a Muslim...and NO ONE can dictate how i interpret the Holy Quran. Allah gave me my rights...not the dictatorial Islamic Ministry.
    Note to the Islamic Ministry and the government...Extremism is denounced in Islam. Are you not afraid of Judgment Day? If so, why are you not afraid of adopting extreme, unjust, unequal views...i am not an Islamic scholar but even i know that much...

    May Allah save our nation from extreme minded people...and people who abuse Islam... the religion of peace, justice, tolerance and equality.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

38. I wonder why most of u call yourself a Muslim. Do u think that u ll become a muslim just only by saying "I am a Muslim" or that you belong to a muslim family? Crazy man...
    Eventhough we are not so religious, we hate those who speak against Islam. I know that majority of our country man are opposed to anti-islamic brain washed elements like u. We welcome to conduct a vote asap and surely we will defeat you, whether u are atheists or secularists or democrats. Most of the anti islamic comments here really created a strong encourage in my mind to focus and be more punctual in Islam.
    I just like to ask u all few questions:
    1. to whom you will consult if you are having an unknown severe disease? to a mechanic or a doctor? or u will just treat to it by urself?
    2. to whom u will consult if you are having a crack in the foundation of your 10 story building? to a musician or a civil engineer? or just u will patch it with some cement?
    3. To whom u will consult if you need to audit your firm? to a fisherman or an accountant? or just u will do it with urself?
    These are few examples. In every case you follow the specialist in that particular field. However when it comes to a religious matter, every one is willing to open their mouths and start giving verdicts. What a nonsense is this. Don't call yourselves Muslims and change your arabic names to western names like fred or brittney or what else u wish. bye

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

39. I believe that President Anni is doing what is right for all Maldivians - i.e allowing the Islamic Ministry and Salaf to expose themselves as wannabe dictators and criminals.

    Our President has practically given us the green light to start eviscerating these crime organizations; we will not fail him.

    @aaisha. Your beloved adhaalath interlopers are nothing but fork-tongued political prostitutes who side with whoever gives them their imagined "power". They were defeated in "open elections" not once, but TWICE.

    We have tasted liberty; and now, if you take it from us, you will have to wrest it from our cold, dead fingers.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

40. Aisha I like you comments. I think what you wrote last is the best piece of writing here. One cannot teach Islam here online to those who are already brain washed by western education. So keep the gud work

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

41. @aishaa

    So you mean Islamic ministry and Jamiyyathul Salaf is specialized in God. I think if i have any issues with God, i will consult God directly.

    Religion and your faith in God is something sacred between you and your God. Don't you read. There are no mediums in islanm. thats the reason all statues and idols of worship were destroyed, cause God can be consulted, reached directly and God in Islam is colser to you than ever before. Perhaps we are reading two different books or history!

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

42. @ Nashath Rafeeq
    I was just curious, how come you didn’t mentioned “the greatest show on earth, the evidence for evolution” by Richard Dawrkins??
    For your information it wasn’t’ Muslim scholars who said the earth is the center of the universe, yet it was a Muslim scholar who said and drew the sun in the middle. Please read about it.
    And in the dark ages (for western countries) they washed their mouths with urine to ease dental pain while we the Muslims right next door (Spain) used surgical tools to ease dental pain which is the very foundation of the modern tools and surgeries. Try to look for the origins of eye surgery my friend even now the same concept the same Ideology is used, who came up with it??
    My answer to the proof of evolution is:
    http://lordhexter.blogspot.com/2009/02/atheism-just-another-false-religion.html
    Proof that Islam brought light to dark ages and Islam taught science
    http://lordhexter.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-taught-mohammed.html

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

43. aishaa,

    As for your questions:
    1)I will ask a doctor, and I reserve the right to act on his advice or seek an alternative opinion. No doctor has the right to force me to undergo a medication/procedure against my will, unless I am an imminent threat to others.

    2)I will ask a civil engineer, and I reserve the right to act on his advice or seek an alternative opinion.

    3) None of them. I will ask an auditor (which is different from an accountant, but nevermind).

    As for the religion, I will ask a scholar or refer to the writings of scholars. I reserve the right to seek other scholars opinion. No scholar should force me to act on his opinion.

    What the law does is giving a cartel of doctors exclusive right to force everyone to accept their advice. Whether their advice is the best as per medical practice is completely irrelevant. They have no right to force it. Likewise for engineers and auditors.

    aishaa, tell me. Do you agree that a patient should have the right to refuse treatment or seek alternative advice? Even if that treatment is what all the doctors in the world will advise (ie there is no conflict of opinion)?
    The question is not whether their advice is correct or not. The question is whether they should be given the power to force it upon the patients.
    If your answer is yes, then does it not follow that as per doctor's advice smoking (not just public, private also), fast foods, fatty, oily and sweets should be banned? Everyone should be FORCED to take a balanced diet against their will. After all it is for their own good. The Ministry of Health and Diet should force everyone to take balanced diets. They should have the power to monitor what people eat. Any cafe/restaurant who is serving unbalanced diets should be cracked down upon. This is a matter that modern medicine does not dispute over. So should we?

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

44. Why are people discussing whether evolution is a 'proven theory'?

    A theory is never 'proven', otherwise it wouldn't be a theory, but an axiom.

    Evolution doesn't claim to be an axiom. However, it is accepted until it gets falsified! (or, as yaaamyn says, it's not DENIED by any modern biologist of repute)

    Every educated person would not deny evolution since it gives the answers to our questions. Other people may find their answers in God, and the picture of the "great creator" is a nice one, easy for people to believe (and easier to understand than evolution), and it may satisfy people's minds... but who seriously believes this as an explanation for the creatures that we can see today?

    Nashath's post on the functioning of our kidneys & osmoregulation is a good example - it would be "easier" to say... well - God has created us with out kidneys... but life is just much more complex than that. What we find today is just the result of millions of years of evolution.
    Anyone ever wondered why we can equalize the air-filled cavity in our ear with the JAW (!) and not only by holding our nose and blowing through it? (whoever is interested, read about the evolution of a secondary jaw compared to a primary).

    I think people are too afraid to read "On the origin of species" because they were told that Charles Darwin is BAD... and the - not falsified - theory of evolution seems to be eradicated from school's textbooks completely soon thanks to the Salaf sect (who do they claim to be, by the way, to suggest rules for Maldivians???).

    Deleting historical facts from textbooks is a clever way to prevent children of finding out the truth about humanity. Wasn't the NAZI regime deleted from textbooks too? (not anymore)

    Depriving children of proper education, censoring books, newspapers - is this democracy? How embarrassing if a young student joins University and finds out about the theory of evolution the first time in his or her life?

    Can we live in a democratic Maldives with such "commandments" of Salaf?

    If you read George Orwell's "Animal Farm" - ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL. BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

45. @lordhexter
    In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
    There is no way anyone could go wrong in knowing what they have to follow or uphold if they were to take what prophet Mohamed delivered to us from God (Quran)
    What do u expect Christians to say if you tell them to follow their Bible without following their fathers and quote verses from Bible saying Jesus was a prophet, a human like us?. They would curse you. They’ll claim they know their religion better than that and that they've been believing that Jesus is God even before our prophet came to this world. Their claim won’t change the fact that infect Jesus is a human being not a god.
    Likewise when someone says to follow Quran and that’s what prophet was asked of people during his life time, and show them verses from Quran to prove that the only message Prophet delivered was Quran. You my dear are doing the very same thing Christians does when we tell them that their 2000 year old faith is wrong.
    Brothers and sisters. Its time to reflect on what prophet Mohamed delivered to us, believe in him and believe in the message he brought to us from God.
    "Say (O Muhammad), 'Whose testimony is greater?' Say, 'God is the witness between me and you that THIS QURAN was given to me to preach it to you, and to whomever it reaches.' However, you certainly bear witness that you set up other gods beside God. Say, 'I will never do what you are doing; I disown your idolworship.'" (6:19)
    NO SUNNA OR HADITH MENTIONED
    Take note of the last part “I disown your idolworship”
    The other fact is, when the Muslim world en masse preach and praise Sunnah and Hadith, the COMPLETE CLEAR QURAN doesn’t mention anything about a “Prophet Mohamed’s Sunnah and Hadith”. Not even once. Does that make you click that nowhere in the Bible it says jesus is god or about a trinity they follow???
    What QURAN or GOD or PROPHET MOHAMED says in the Quran about “anything else other than the Quran” is ironic to what Muslims claimed for hundreds of years.

    "These are God's revelations that We recite to you truthfully. In which Hadith other than God and His revelations do they believe?" 45:6
    The word Hadith can be clearly seen in the Arabic Quran as Hadith.
    The next immediate thing the followers of Sunnah and Hadith of Buhari, musilim etc etc authors would say:
    Where to you find this and that in the Quran and would produce a lengthy list of things that they don’t find in the Quran trying to prove to us that the Author of the Quran was wrong when Quran says:
    "We did not leave anything out of this book, then all will be gathered before their Lord (for judgment). Those who do not believe our verses are deaf and dumb; in total darkness. God sends astray whomever He wills, and directs whomever He wills in the right path." (6:38-39)
    "Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He revealed THIS BOOK FULLY DETAILED? (6:114)
    "The word of your Lord is COMPLETE in truth & justice." (6:115)
    Then again they would come up with the next ridiculous thing ever. They will say that we typical people won’t understand the Quran nor do they except the scholars mullas and the people who had learnt Sunnah and Hadith as well as history. This again go against with what the Author of the Quran claims what HIS book will be to the people and minds HE CREATED.
    54:17 We made the Quran easy to learn. Does any of you wish to learn?
    This verse is repeated several times and see who teaches the Quran, in Sura Al-Rahmaan God says:
    55:1 The Most Gracious.
    55:2 Teacher of the Quran.
    55:3 Creator of the human beings.
    We find that Bible is against what the Christians are preaching the same way as Quran is against those who uphold anything else besides Quran.
    "These are God's verses; we recite them for you truthfully. In which "Hadith", beside God and His verses, do they believe in? WOE TO EVERY SINFUL FABRICATOR. He hears God's verses, then insists arrogantly on his way, as if he never heard them; promise him painful retribution. When he learns anything from our verses, he takes it in vain; these have deserved humiliating retribution. Awaiting them is hell; neither their earnings, nor the idols they had set up beside God can help them; they have deserved terrible retribution. THIS IS THE GUIDANCE, and those who do not believe the verses of their Lord will suffer debasement, and painful retribution." (45:611)
    Please note that the verse you quote:
    And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it). And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is stern in reprisal. (al hashr 7)
    It is a part of a verse and if anyone reads the full verse and the verse above and below it would know God is mentioning about the spoils of war and how it has to be divided. It has nothing to do with Sunnah and Hadith. This is how the you’ll try to deceive all. That is by either by partially upholding the Quran or by twisting its meaning. The reason is nowhere in the Quran there is any mention of following anything other than what Prophet Mohamed followed, delivered and asked us to follow other than the Quran. Brothers and sisters please come back to true Islam before its too late.
    Praise be to God, Lord of the universe
    Peace
    TruthPrevails
    http://www.youtube.com/maldivestp

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

46. As for evolution, it is a scientific theory based on evidence. The evidence is there for all to see. You can chose to 'believe' it or not. It is like saying you 'believe' the earth is round. It has absolutely nothing to do with belief. What if the question is 'do you believe in theories of relativity?'. The question itself is meaningless. The relativity theories had stood the test of time, it predicts accurately the observed phenomena, hence it is a good theory. This is true whether you 'believe' the theory or not. If a better theory comes along, it will replace Einstein's one. Just like for evolution, if a better theory is there that explains the observations, the theory of evolution will be replaced. And life moves on.

    Why does everyone think that accepting evolution means denying god? I accept the theory of evolution, and yet I believe in God. Just like I accept relativity theory. Science is not about proving or disproving the existence of god. It never will. Because scientific theories doesn't require the concept of faith to hold true.

    Why stop at human evolution? We can go as far back as the beginning of the universe. It is the current understanding of science that if the fundamental physical constants (such as the fine structure constant for example) are not the values we observe, the universe itself would not have existed. Not just humans. The MECHANISM is there for the universe to come into existence. Likewise God might have put in the mechanism for the creation of man. Just like there is a mechanism for every thing that we believe are God's will, such as rain, plant growth, etc etc. That is my BELIEF. Science cannot provide evidence for or against that belief.

    Science is about understanding these mechanisms through evidence and theories. It doesnt matter to be a believer or not. Science stands on its own.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

47. Hmm.. So what is the topic of the discussion again? From the regulation by the Islamic Ministry to the theory of evolution...interesting.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

48. @ lordhexter

    It seem that you this that you know too much about the Quran without seeing it wow thats amazing but i would recommend you to see it yourself without any other book next to it as it was revealed to the prophet. i see that prob with your over confidence in this is that you think you know while you are totally ignorant to the fact that Quran was the only book to be followed for any religious points and please keep in mind that everything that we face in this life is also not religious cases since this is also one was most lords like you get deceived by. please read the Book Of God rather then the books of the devils.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

49. @Truth Prevails
    For your information my dear, learn your religion learn the language and its grammar and than read it in Arabic cause there is a very good reason why it was revealed in Arabic and Allah explain it to you in Quran if your such a Quranic Scholar find it, its very obvious.
    Than after you learned the language read the Quran, read the verses where Allah commands the people to follow his messenger read the verses where Allah commands his servants to take whatever Mohammed brought them and leave whatever he warned you of. And read the verses where he says we sent messengers to teach the book which was sent to them.
    How are you going to pray if it wasn’t for Sunnah???? This ideology of following Quran only is an ideology the enemies of Islam got and feeding Muslims mind unfortunately you don’t know Arabic nor does you have basics of Islamic education.
    I’m sure you can hardly read the Arabic text even if you can you won’t know what its about so you refer to the English text, for your information there is a very good reason why all the Muslims agree the Arabic text of the Quran should be there always even if it’s a translation.
    And please don’t try to mislead the people with your own translation of the Quran ok
    045.006
    YUSUFALI: Such are the Signs of Allah, which we rehearse to thee in Truth; then in what exposition will they believe after (rejecting) Allah and His Signs?
    PICKTHAL: These are the portents of Allah which we recite unto thee (Muhammad) with truth. Then in what fact, after Allah and His portents, will they believe?
    SHAKIR: These are the communications of Allah which we recite to you with truth; then in what announcement would they believe after Allah and His communications?
    That’s translation of that verse and then there are Christians here saying they are Christians and trying to prove their point but its cowardly to portray yourself as a Muslim and try to mislead the people such hypocrisy is childish
    It’s not a ridicule answer when scholars answer that you would not understand it because people like you would misquotes it and also take the verse out of it context. If you want to prove to the Muslims that even Prayer is not in Islam you can bring the verse where Allah says “don’t go near prayer” but when you read the next verse you know what the above verse means.
    Allah explained everything that was and is and will be in 6236 verses and 114 Chapters and sent a messenger to read it to the people and teach them. That’s why he said for you is a nice example in the prophet.
    There is a very good reason why Allah revealed the Quran in 23 years if he wished Allah could have revealed it just like he revealed the tablets to mosses. Even after he revealed the tablets to mosses, Mosses was with his people to teach them their religion
    So don’t be the “roanu edhuru” study first. I’ve had conversations with Christian scholars and they say out loud they don’t believe in Islam but it’s good to have a conversation with them because they don’t act as stupid as you are.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

50. @SR
    lol your funny,
    as if i haven't seen Quran
    mate Allah sent Islam for all times there aren't a single thing on the face of the earth that Islam doesn't have an answer for it nor problem where there is no Islamic solution for it. Islam is the complete way of life.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Comments are closed.