Tag: Adhaalath Party

Adhaalath Party brings 34 hafiz for Ramazan prayers

The Adhaalath Party (AP) has arranged for 38 hafiz, individuals who can recite the Quran from memory, to lead tarawih (night prayer) throughout the atolls during Ramazan, reports local media.

The hafiz will be sent to islands by the first day of Ramazan (July 9) and AP is currently coordinating with island councils and associations to determine which islands they will be assigned, said Adhaalath.

This is the fifth year the AP has brought hafiz under its social responsibility program, with 34 arriving from India and four from Sri Lanka.

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President’s coalition denies Adhaalath Party leadership “dissatisfied” with campaign

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) has yet to overtly raise concerns over the manner in which President Dr Mohamed Waheed is campaigning ahead of September’s presidential election, despite media reports suggesting the party is considering backing out of the coalition.

Abdulla Yazeed, a spokesperson on the media team of President Waheed’s election campaign, told Minivan News “no dissatisfaction” has been raised by the AP at a leadership level concerning its campaigning.

However, the spokesperson said media speculation over dissatisfaction by certain parties in the president’s coalition had seen the number of campaign activities increased.

The claims were made after the AP’s consultation council reportedly decided to leave the coalition if campaign activities did not pick up.

AP President Sheikh Imran Abdullah was quoted in local media as saying that the party’s consultation council held a meeting on Thursday (July 4) to discuss a motion submitted by three members concerning the AP’s future in the coalition.

“The consultation council decided tonight for the leadership to seek a solution because the coalition’s activities are not progressing and if a solution is not found that we might have to leave the coalition,” Imran was quoted as saying in newspaper Haveeru.

He added that the coalition’s campaign was at a standstill.

Responding to the claims, President Waheed’s Gaumee Itthihad Party (GIP) Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza yesterday told Sun Online that “some members of the AP” wished to remain in the coalition, a decision he claimed would be backed by the majority of the party.

Both Sheikh Imran and Abbas were not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Coalition Spokesperson Yazeed told Minivan News that a number of campaign activities were already underway by the president’s supporters, including the recent launch of manifesto policies and a door-to-door meeting with the public both in Male’ and the outer atolls to bolster support for the president.

“The coalition has a member base of 45,000 – equivalent to that of the Maldivian democratic Party (MDP),” he claimed.

With President Waheed having departed on an official visit to Sri Lanka yesterday (July 5), his running mate, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, has been campaigning in Shaviyani Atoll in recent days.

Speaking at a rally on the island of Kanditheemu, Thasmeen was reported in local media as pledging that a Waheed government would establish pre-schools with adequate capacities and highly trained teachers on every inhabited island in the country. There are 196 inhabited islands in the Maldives.

Thasmeen and DRP Parliamentary Group Leader MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom were not responding to calls at time of press.

Meanwhile, current Housing Minister and AP Secretary General Dr Mohamed Muiz today took to social media service Twitter to express disappointment over not being informed of the tour of Shaviyani Atoll by other coalition members.

He later removed the tweet.

PPM criticism

President Waheed’s campaigning has also come under criticism from the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in recent months.

While the party has continued to support President Waheed as part of his coalition government, MP Ahmed Nihan last month said the PPM remained concerned at what it alleged was his continued use of state funds and resources to support campaigning for the coalition.

“This is our one crucial concern. President Waheed needs to facilitate a free and fair election,” he said.

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GIP-DRP-Adhaalath coalition to hold rally, music show

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s coalition for the September 7 presidential elections has announced  it will be holding multiple events targeting youth this Saturday night, to launch the first of its pledges and policies.

According to a press conference held today, part of the coalition’s youth policy will be revealed during tonight’s event.

Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaadh (GIP) has formed a coalition with Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) to contest the elections, campaigning under the slogan “Forward with the nation”.

Speaking at a press conference held on Saturday, DRP Youth Branch President Mohamed Jaushan Shareef stated that the coalition’s policy launch will begin with a meeting in the STELCO building on Saturday night.

He stated that President Waheed and his running mate, DRP Leader Thasmeen Ali, will head a rally down Ameenee Magu after the conclusion of the meeting.

“This rally is not exclusively for youth. We invite everyone, the young and the old, to join this rally. We are coming out with youth in order to go forward with the nation. We believe that this can be achieved by the support of the general public, in addition to the youth,” Shareef said.

GIP member, State Minister of Tourism Ahmed Shameem, added that other activities planned for tonight by the coalition include a music show at the Alimas Carnival, and a barbeque organised by youth members of the coalition.

According to Shameem, various musicians, including local ‘boduberu’ groups will perform at tonight’s coalition event.

He further stated that Waheed and Thasmeen will be participating in all of tonight’s campaign events.

Meanwhile, religious conservative Adhaalath Party representative Hussain Wafeer said the party’s involvement is only with the policy launch, distancing itself from the other events.

The Adhaalath Party has previously spoken against mixed-gender gatherings, music and dancing.

“The youth policy launch will be carried out at STELCO. All these other events, like music show and barbecue, are another matter completely,” Wafeer said.

When asked about the party’s official stand on the music show events being carried out under the name of a coalition they are a part of, Wafeer said that he will confirm with party leaders as to their stand on the matter.

Minivan News was later unable to contact him.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla, Deputy President Dr Mauroof Hussain and Islamic Minister Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed were not responding to calls at the time of press.

In April 2012, the Adhaalath Party called on the Education Ministry to cancel the inter-school singing competition, claiming that music and singing is ‘haram’ [prohibited in Islam].

In September 2012, the Islamic Minister, the party’s senior member Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed, sent a circular to all government institutions banning the holding of any mixed gender dance events.

Shaheem said at the time that the directive was targeted for both the government and individual citizens.

The Ministry said then that the acceptable form of music, which falls within the boundaries of Islamic customs and disciplinary norms is limited to the folk dance ‘Thaara’.

‘Thaara’, dhivehi for ‘tambourine’ is a folk dance where performers sit in parallel rows, singing and dancing. This is performed specifically by men. The traditional songs sung during ‘Thaara’ are mostly in Arabic and the activity itself is said to have entered Maldivian culture through Arab influence.

GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Adhaalath Party head accused of attempting to influence ACC investigation into GMR

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla attempted to influence the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC)’s investigation into alleged corruption in the previous government’s aborted airport privatisation deal, a commission member alleged to local media outlet CNM.

The ACC member, on condition of anonymity, reportedly alleged that the commission during its investigation came under heavy criticism from Sheikh Imran over its refusal to tailor the report to his liking.

The ACC’s findings, which were published last week, concluded that there was no corruption in the airport privatisation deal, days prior to GMR claiming US$1.4 billion in compensation for “wrongful termination” of its 25 year concession agreement.

“He met with me on two occasions. The first meeting happened just a day before they were to have a big night of protests. He requested that the ACC help the national movement’s efforts to drive GMR away and to speed up our investigation and conclude it in such a fashion that would assist their efforts,” CNM quoted the commission member as saying.

The second meeting took place a day before the national movement’s protests concluded, he claimed.

According to the unnamed commission member, Imran requested a five-minute meeting.

“On the second night he told me that he hoped the ACC would include at least one phrase that would be helpful to the national movement,” he said.

ACC President Hassan Luthfee had his phone switched off when contacted regarding the allegations today.

Sheikh Imran and national movement steering committee member and spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Last Monday, the ACC ruled out corruption in the awarding of a concession agreement in June 2010 to a consortium of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhard (MAHB) to develop and manage INIA.

In a 61-page investigative report (Dhivehi), the ACC concluded that the bidding process was conducted fairly by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and that the GMR-MAHB consortium won the contract by proposing the highest net present value of the concession fee.

The ACC further concluded that the awarding of the contract did not contravene amendments brought to the Public Finance Act requiring parliamentary approval for such agreements.

The amendments were published in the government gazette after the concession agreement was signed, the ACC noted.

In December 2012, shortly after the protests led by Sheikh Imran Abdulla under the self-titled ‘national movement’ against GMR concluded, the government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan abruptly terminated the agreement and gave GMR a seven day ultimatum to leave the country.

“The government has given a seven day notice to GMR to leave the airport. The agreement states that GMR should be given a 30 day notice but the government believes that since the contract is void, it need not be followed,” then-Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor said in a press conference announcing the decision.

Shukoor claimed that the government reached the decision after considering “technical, financial and economic” issues surrounding the agreement.

Criticism

Responding to the ACC report in local media, Sheikh Imran Abdulla described the findings as a “slap in the peoples’ face.”

He claimed that the public now resented the ACC due to its findings and that the commission had lost credibility as a result of the report.

Imran contended that the report would facilitate the return of GMR should the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) win the September presidential election.

Responding to the ACC’s findings, the government of President Waheed insisted that the report would have no impact on its legal position to declare the GMR concession agreement void, contending that President Waheed’s decision had nothing to do with corruption allegations levelled by “some people”.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News following the release of the report that the contract was declared void from the beginning due to the negative impact on state finances in 2012.

“Back before the government took back control of the airport from GMR, the reason we gave was that the deal was bleeding the country’s economy. We were paying GMR to keep them here,” he told Minivan News at the time.

Masood said that despite “speculation from some people” concerning corruption by the former administration in signing the deal, the present government was not responsible for filing a case with the ACC.

He added that the government’s concerns over the deal had been in relation to the imposition of a US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) by GMR that was blocked by the Civil Court in 2011 after the then-opposition DQP filed a case on the matter.

The DQP, now part of President Waheed’s coalition government, attempted to block payment of the charge on the grounds that it was effectively a tax not approved by parliament.

In response, then MDP government agreed to deduct the ADC from the concession fees payable, while GMR later offered to exempt Maldives nationals from paying the ADC as it moved to appeal the verdict.

However, former President Mohamed Nasheed resigned under controversial circumstances on February 7, 2012 amidst a violent mutiny by elements of the police and military before the Civil Court verdict was appealed at the High Court.

Consequently, in the first quarter of 2012, Dr Waheed’s government received US$525,355 of an expected US$8.7 million, after the deduction of the ADC. That was followed by a US$1.5 million bill for the second quarter, after the ADC payable eclipsed the revenue due the government.

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President’s coalition expects to be joined by the Jumhoree Party ahead of election

A coalition of political parties backing President Dr Mohamed Waheed in September’s election has expressed confidence it will be joined by the government-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) – despite no official talks having taken place as yet.

Abdulla Yazeed, a spokesperson on the media team of President Waheed’s ‘forward with the nation’ coalition, said the group would continue to welcome other political parties to join its existing members, but denied any such talks were presently being held.

“Our plan is to have a very large coalition backing President Waheed,” he said.

However, JP MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla today said that while no decision would be taken on whether to join President Waheed’s coalition before its national congress scheduled for later this month, the party anticipated fielding its own candidate during the election.

“What I will say is that our articles and regulations state that our leader has to run as a presidential candidate. We have to run for the seat on our own,” he said.

Raheem added that the party did nonetheless have criteria under which it would look to join a coalition.

“We have done this before. In 2008, we stood alongside the Adhaalath Party,” he said.

However, Raheem said that while the JP was presently a member of President Waheed’s coalition government, it would not advocate for him during September’s election, citing concerns that he had agreed upon assuming office in February 2012 that he would not seek to stay in power.

He also questioned the legitimacy of the president’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) and whether it had officially obtained 10,000 members that is required to be registered as an official party under contested legislation passed this year.

“Right now, our party has more than 10,000 members and is a legitimate party,” Raheem added.

Party lines

At present, the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) are the only two parties to have announced their intention to field individual candidates against President Waheed’s coalition during Septembers election.

Both parties have recently dismissed the viability of forming coalitions in the Maldives based on past experiences in the country, claiming that the vast majority of the country’s electorate where divided between their two competing ideologies.

Coalition Media Team Spokesperson Yazeed said today that group of parties backing President Waheed, which had not yet declared their values and full campaign manifesto, would still seek to expand support before voting begins.

With the election scheduled for September 7, Yazeed said that while the MDP and PPM were already campaigning around various islands, the coalition remained confident there was sufficient time to inform the public of its message going forward.

“This will be a very tight campaign, but we are already planning on having teams simultaneously planning to visit islands,” he said.

Earlier this week, President Waheed pledged to establish a housing policy for the people of Male’ as part of his bid to secure election in the upcoming presidential elections.

Yazeed’s comments were made after President Dr Waheed’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed was quoted in local media yesterday (June 10) as claiming that a single candidate or party such as the government-aligned JP would not alone be able to manage to run the country ahead of this year’s election.

He reportedly told a crowd gathered on the island of Naifaru in Lhaviyani Atoll that the JP and its leader Gasim Ibrahim did not presently have a team of other parties backing him during September’s voting, limiting his ability within the country’s political arena.

Saeed is the leader of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), one of three parties within the present government coalition along with Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the the religious conservative Adhaalath Party to have so far backed President Waheed and his Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) in the election.

He also yesterday criticised President Waheed’s direct election rivals, claiming the country – despite its current financial challenges – faced being set back by three years in the past under an MDP government or 30 years should the public elect the PPM.

However, following yesterday’s announcement that DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali would be standing as President Waheed’s running mate in the election, political rivals claimed the decision would have little impact on their own campaigns.

PPM MP Ahmed Nihan said that Thasmeen’s appointment as Dr Waheed’s running mate was not seen as a concern by the party and would actually serve as a positive development for its own election campaign.

“He is the weakest link among all the wannabe leaders at present,” Nihan said after the announcement.

Nihan said that the party would therefore carry on with it plans to begin campaigning in the north of the country ahead of September’s election.  “This is the very least of our concerns as a party,” he said.

Nihan nonetheless said that the party continued to remain concerned at what it alleged was President Waheed’s continued use of state funds and resources to support campaigning for the coalition.

“This is our one crucial concern. President Waheed needs to facilitate a free and fair election, but he has today used government speedboats to transport coalition members. This should not be seen n a democratic society,” he said.

Meanwhile, MDP presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed contended during an interview with state broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM) on May 16 that President Waheed and the DRP has been forced to form a coalition out of necessity.

Nasheed therefore questioned the president’s coalition’s claims that it presented a “third way” for voters as opposed to the policies of the MDP and PPM. Nasheed reiterated his belief that power-sharing coalitions were not compatible with the Maldives’ presidential system of government.

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Four Raa Atoll councillors sign with MDP

Fours councillors based in Raa Atoll have joined the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) during a signing ceremony held on the island of Alifushi yesterday (May 27), according to local media.

Among those reported to have signed for the party during the ceremony were Vice President of Alifushi Council Ibrahim Shuaib – formerly of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP). Atoll Councillor Ibrahim Mahees, who previously represented the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), also joined the MDP yesterday, Sun Online has reported.

Vaadhoo councillor Ali Riyaz, formerly of President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) and one time Adhaalath Party member Hussain Rashad of Rasgetheem Council also reportedly signed to the opposition party.

The four councillors signed to the MDP during a ceremony that coincided with a visit by the party’s presidential candidate, Mohamed Nasheed, Sun Online reported.

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Adhaalath Party demands educational certificates of Penal Code Committee MPs

The Adhaalath Party has sent a letter to Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid requesting he clarify the educational qualifications of MPs in Penal Code committee before 10:00am tomorrow (14 May).

The letter was sent following the Penal Code Committee’s decision to summon Chair of Adhaalath Party’s Scholars Council, Sheikh Ilyas Hussain, after alleging he had made misleading comments about provisions of Penal Code bill during a religious sermon.

In a statement issued today, the Adhaalath Party confirmed the letter was sent because the Penal Code Committee had “invited” Sheikh Ilyas before  the committee.

This is the second time the parliament has sent summons to Sheikh Ilyas over his comments, after he failed to show up the first time.

According to local media, on March 22 Sheikh Ilyas held a religious sermon dubbed the ‘Purpose of Islamic Sharia’ at the Furuqan Mosque after Isha Prayers, where he swore to God that the new Penal Code was “made to destroy the religion of Islam”.

Local media reported that during the sermon Ilyas declared the Penal Code did not have penalties for fornication, theft, corruption, forgery or robbery, and that if a person committed a crime while intoxicated, they were not to be subjected to punishment. He also claimed that according to the new penal code, it was not a crime for two people to have consensual sex.

Ilyas declared that the Penal Code was “a trap made by the West” to erase Islam in the name of Muslims, and vowed that he was ready to argue the point even if all the country’s lawyers came out against him.

After being summoned to parliament for the second time, Sheikh Ilyas told local media  the committee continued to summon him only because they were ignorant of the Islamic way regarding the matters he had raised.

Ilyas stated that the parliament members who sat in the committee had insisted that the Penal Code did not have any clauses against Islamic principles, but only because none of them possessed sufficient religious education to understand the reality. He added that he will would explain the matter to the MPs through verses of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet when he attended the committee meeting.

Ilyas further stated that the bill had a number of clauses which contradicted the penalties defined in Islamic Sharia, and that it had many “deceptive clauses”.

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Sheikh Ilyas again summoned to Parliament Committee; says MPs “ignorant of Islamic ways”

Parliament’s Penal Code draft committee has once again decided to summon Chair of Adhaalath Party Religious Council and member of Maldives Fiqh Acadamy Sheikh Ilyas Hussain, after he failed to attend the committee’s previous summons.

The committee stated that it has asked Sheikh Ilyas to attend a committee meeting on May 15 regarding a sermon he gave at the Furugan Mosque in March titled “The Purpose of Islamic Shariah”.

In the sermon, Ilyas swore to God that the Penal Code was intended to destroy the religion of Islam. Calling the penal code “a trap made by the West” to eradicate Islam in the name of Muslims, Ilyas alleged that it did not have penalties for fornication, theft, corruption, forgery, or robbery. He further claimed the code stipulated that if a person claimed they were intoxicated when committing a crime, then they would not be subjected to punishment.

After the initial decision to summon Ilyas, Penal Code Committee Chair Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza rejected the Sheikh’s claims and stated that “[Sheikh Ilyas] has told the public that there are some provisions in the Penal Code that are not in it. We want to bring him and have a chat and inform him about the provisions that are there in the Penal Code.”

“MPs summon me as they are ignorant of the ways of Islam”: Ilyas

Upon being summoned to parliament again, Sheikh Ilyas told local media that the committee continued to summon him only because they were ignorant of the Islamic way regarding the matters he had raised.

Ilyas stated that the parliament members who sat in the committee had insisted that the Penal Code did not have any clauses against Islamic principles, but only because none of them possessed sufficient religious education to understand the reality. He added that he will would explain the matter to the MPs through verses of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet when he attends the committee meeting.

Ilyas further stated that the bill has a number of clauses which contradicted the penalties defined in Islamic Sharia, and that it had many “deceptive clauses”.

“I will strip the MPs naked”: Ilyas

Sheikh Ilyas was also reported in local media as stating that he would “strip the MPs naked” if he is summoned to the Penal Code Committee.

“I am willing to attend the committee. I will not be called Sheikh Ilyas if I fail to strip them naked. What will they prove? Who gave these people the right to take out the penalties defined in the Quran and categorise them into Part 1 and Part 2?” Ilyas stated.

Ilyas also called on all Maldivian media to broadcast the committee meeting which he is to attend live on TV.

Ilyas made the comments at the gathering held by Adhaalath Party and the National Movement at the Artificial Beach on April 30.

The Adhaalath Party has previously alleged that the parliament committee had added a clause to the Penal Code after Sheikh Ilyas gave the sermon in the Furugan Mosque, and accused the committee of orchestrating a cover up.

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Spray-painting “irreligious” on people’s homes risks sparking hate crimes: former police intelligence chief

Former Police Intelligence Chief Mohamed Hameed has expressed concern that a recent outbreak of graffiti, in which dozens of homes and public buildings have been spray-painted ‘laadheenee’ (‘irreligious’), could trigger hate crimes in the capital.

Hameed said the “highly provocative act”  required precautionary action from the police.

“The ‘laadheenee’ graffiti on many walls in Male’ is a serious issue, possibly leading to hate crimes. This has come up at a time when politicians are often speaking of religion, and [former President] Gayoom has himself just recently said that there are two ideologies in the country: religious and anti-religious,” Hameed stated, referring to a recent speech by the autocratic leader of 30 years.

“The graffiti came up shortly after that, and is mostly in yellow paint. It can be said it is targeting a specific group of people. This can lead to retaliatory acts from the target groups,” Hameed contended.

“With the looming elections, this might be an act deliberately orchestrated by a particular group of people to attempt to create chaos and delay elections, saying the country does not have a conducive environment in which a free and fair election can be carried out,” he said.

“It seems like the graffiti was put up late at night. Now, since there are no shops or cafe’s open 24/7, there are only a minimal amount of people out late. The police are out patrolling the streets at all hours so it should not be too much of a task for them to find out who is responsible for this. I think they probably already have an idea. I believe it’s very important the police investigate this matter and take precautionary measures,” Hameed stated.

The graffiti has since been altered to form a variety of other phrases ranging from “MullahDheen” (‘Mullah religion’) to “BinLaadheenTha?” (‘Is it Bin Laden?’).

“Political activism doesn’t strip me of religion”

Minivan News spoke to people living in some of the houses who woke up to see the label “Laadheenee” scrawled over their walls.

“We are not a high profile family, and usually just stay to ourselves, so I was very surprised to see this derogatory word on our wall. Perhaps it is because one of my sisters is very active in the anti-coup protests,” said the eldest son of one such house.

“None of us, even my sister, is intimidated by this. Why can’t people with opposing political views be like us? That’s what my Dad said too. We don’t run around vandalising the property of those sheikhs who preach hate, or their followers.”

A small street in Maafannu ward had the graffiti on a quarter of the houses along it.

“This street definitely has a lot of people living on it who support the MDP, but that doesn’t make us anti-religious in any sense,” said one resident, a 53 year-old housewife. “Political activism doesn’t strip me of my religion. This just displays their lack of maturity and political ineptitude.”

Another resident, a 24 year-old man, called the act ‘childish’, adding, “Seeing the graffiti, it was mostly anger I felt. This is obviously politically motivated. What right do they have to go around damaging the property of people they do not know at all?”

A 38 year-old man who lives alone in a house in Henveiru said he felt the graffiti was the start of something “larger and more menacing.”

“It’s like they have marked down the houses of people they mean to attack. The saddest thing is, although the word refers to religion, I doubt their intentions are anything but political. I hope the police look into this and ensure that none of us come to physical harm.”

“‘Laadheeneee’ is an old song, no one’s interested”: MDP MP

MDP Spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy described the painting of the graffiti as “a desperate political move” and “an old song that  people simply are no longer interested in listening to.”

“All this talk of religion and being anti-religious is a politically-motivated ploy used by a handful of politicians who have nothing else to come to the public with. They have no pledges, no manifesto, no policies: and because they have nothing to speak of, they resort to labelling those who do with derogatory terms,” Fahmy said.

“This particular instance is a crime according to both international law and the local law; I refer to the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and the Religious Unity Act respectively. Because of the state our law enforcement system is in at the moment, we see no action being taken against crimes like this,” Fahmy said.

“It is this failure to act that led to the February 7 coup d’etat. The sad thing is that both the law enforcement forces and the judiciary are not working to deal with serious matters like this,” he continued.

“Religion does not belong to any man. It is between God and oneself. There is no justification for abusing religion in the competitiveness of politics,” he said.

Police Media Official Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef was not responding to calls at time of press.

Religion and politics

During an address given in Denmark, former President and MDP presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed stated that the Maldivian people had largely rejected Islamic extremism, and, in a veiled reference to the Adhaalath Party – the only local political party which claims to be based on a religious ideology – noted that “the Islamists were never a credible electoral threat.”

“The Islamic extremists also didn’t like the Maldives’ new democracy because they were unpopular. They failed to win the presidential elections in 2008, they failed to win local government elections – in 2011 they won less than four percent of the vote. But now, after the coup, extremists have been rewarded with three cabinet positions in government, and in many ways set the tone of the government communications. They are busy trying to indoctrinate people with a misguided version of Islam,” Nasheed said.

“There is idea of wanting to return to Hejaz as it was in the 7th century. This is Wahhabism in principle. And it is difficult and worrying,” he had said at the time.

The religion based political party condemned Nasheed’s comments, alleging that “Nasheed misled them about the party he fears and envies most: the Adhaalath Party.”

The next night, the National Movement – comprising of Adhaalath Party and a number of NGOs – organised a several hundred strong march around Male’ calling on authorities to penalise Nasheed, with some calling for him to be hanged. They alleged that Nasheed had mocked Islam, the Sunnah of the Prophet and verses of the Quran.

Meanwhile, the MDP has released a statement condemning the use of “irresponsible and misleading” political rhetoric against Nasheed over his remarks on Islamic radicalism.

The party said “misleading” statements were made in the media by political parties and “those wearing the hats of sheikhs to use religion as a weapon.”

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