Tag: Adhaalath Party

50 percent of Second Chancers employed: Home Ministry

Nearly half of the 300 inmates released under the Second Change Programme are employed or earning incomes, the Home Ministry has reported.

Speaking to program participants at the Islamic Centre last evening, State Home Minister Mohamed ‘Monaza’ Naeem said any convicts who violate any of the 25 conditions for their release would be sent back to jail, Haveeru reports.

In September, six convicts released under the program were apprehended for allegedly dealing and using drugs. Three were sent to detoxification centers.

Most of the program’s convicts are living in Male’ (217), while 113 are living in the atolls. Only 100 participants attended last evening’s program, designed to give advice.

Naeem was disappointed in the turnout, and said he expected a better attendance next time, reports Haveeru.

The government intends to continue the program, partially designed to relieve the Maldives’ prison system from overcapacity. Program participants were encouraged to disregard criticism of the program, previously expressed by the Adhaalath Party.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Opposition MPs to vote against reappointment of Islamic Minister Dr Bari

Opposition MPs have declared that they will vote against giving parliamentary consent to the reappointment of Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari as Minister of Islamic Affairs, who resigned “out of respect” for the Adhaalath Party’s decision to sever its coalition agreement with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Dr Bari was however reappointed less than a week after his resignation. The head of the Adhaalath Party’s religious scholars council told press that he accepted the post in his “individual capacity” after “98 percent” of the people he consulted with – including religious scholars, businessmen and members of the general public – had advised him to do so.

Following his reappointment, the nomination was sent to parliament for approval this week.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Spokesperson MP Ahmed Mahlouf told Minivan News today that the parliamentary group of the party has not yet reached a decision on the vote to confirm the appointment.

“We have not decided about it yet, but I think most of the MPs will not give consent to him considering the events that took place recently,” said Mahlouf, adding that he did not wish to comment further at the present time.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom meanwhile said the party would announce its decision to the media tomorrow.

DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told press this week that the party’s MPs were not inclined to consent to Bari’s reappointment. Thasmeen cited the Islamic Minister’s role in the publication of controversial religious unity regulations despite the vocal opposition of religious groups.

Dr Bari was initially appointed Islamic Minister under the Adhaalath Party’s agreement with the ruling party. Bari told media last week that he had advocated against leaving the MDP-led coalition and was not present when a resolution to the effect was passed by the party’s consultative council.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Islamic Minister Dr Bari resigns

Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has resigned from the position after pressure from the Adhaalath Party.

He confirmed to Minivan News today he that he had submitted the resignation letter to the President’s Office.

”I resigned out of respect for the decision made by the Adhaalath Party to break its coalition agreement with the government,” Dr Bari said. ”I sent the letter today and they have not responded yet.”

Dr Bari said that although he had resigned from the position as well as the Chairmanship of Adhaalath Party’s Religious Council, he would “remain active in politics.”

Recently, Dr Bari and State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed were asked by the Adhaalath Party to resign, however Sheikh Rasheed issued a statement explaining his refusal to do so.

Dr Bari had earlier resigned from the Chairmanship of Adhaalath Party’s Religious Council.

Today he told the media that he had resigned from the council’s chairmanship after the council issued a statement against his view on Imams, reciting Bismi aloud and permanently reciting Qunoot in Fajr prayers.

The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair confirmed to Minivan News that Dr Bari had submitted his letter of resignation, but said President Nasheed had not had a chance to read it yet as he had been out this afternoon observing the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

Zuhair said he was “surprised” by Bari’s decision as he had “worked patiently and in accordance with the government’s policy” prior to his resignation.

“Even with the religious unity regulations, he worked patiently with the government in a non-partisan way, and he had the last word before it was published,” Zuhair said, noting that Bari had chosen the government’s side in 2009 over its previous alliance with the Jumhooree Party (JP).

Zuhair added that the President valued Dr Bari’s contribution and “patient and academic efforts” as Islamic Minister.

It was too early to speculate on a replacement, he said. However speculation today was that Sheikh Rasheed was among the most likely candidates.

Sheikh Rasheed did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Islamic Minister resigns from chairmanship of Adhaalath Party’s Religious Council

A day after he was asked by the Adhaalath Party to resign from the position of Islamic Minister, Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has resigned from the chairmanship of the party’s Religious Council.

In a statement issued on the party’s official website, Adhaalath said that the resignation letter was today sent to the party’s President Sheikh Imran Abdulla.

The statement mentioned no further information about his resignation or what was in the letter.

The Adhaalath Party decided this week to break off its coalition agreement with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), after the party’s consultation council voted 32 to 2 to approve a resolution to leave the government.

Dr Bari and current State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Ahmed are both appointed to the government under the coalition agreement.

Along with Dr Bari,  Sheikh Hussain Rasheed, who was the former President of the party, was also asked by Adhaalath to resign, but replied he was under no obligation to do so.

Former State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, who earlier resigned from the government after expressing unhappiness with the current government’s religious policy, today told Minivan News that Dr Bari’s resignation was not an issue and that he would not comment on the matter.

Dr Bari and Sheikh Imran did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

State Islamic Minister dismisses party’s demand he resign

State Islamic Minister and former President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, has dismissed demands from the party’s council that he resign.

“You will know very well that I did not accept this position with the consent or with an approval of the consultation council, and therefore I do believe that there is a policy that allows the council to ask me to resign,” State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Hussain told the current President of the Adhaalath Sheikh Imran Abdulla, in a letter he send yesterday in response to the one demanding his resignation.

The Adhaalath Party decided this week to break off its coalition agreement with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), after the party’s consultation council voted 32 to 2 to approve a resolution to leave the government.

In the letter Sheikh Hussein said that normally when a coalition agreement is terminated, the President withdraws the positions shared with the party, and President himself would ask the members of that political party to resign from their positions.

“Every citizen has a national responsibility, and the only time he should stop fulfilling those responsibilities are when they are inconsistent with the principles of Islam,” he told the Adhaalath Party president in the letter.

He said that the greatest responsibility of a citizen was to serve the nation and to carry on the duties the he was assigned, adding that the work he was doing “fulfills both a religious and national duty.”

Following in the footsteps of now-opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and the Jumhooree Party (JP), Adhaalath is the third major party of the ‘Watan Edhey’ coalition – formed to rally against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the second round run-off of the 2008 presidential election – to leave the MDP-led coalition.

Sheikh Imran last night told Villa TV (VTV) that he had asked Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari and the State Islamic Minister to resign following the party’s split with the government.

Meanwhile, MDP Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik said the MDP regrets the Adhaalath Party’s decision to leave “like a husband regrets for a while when a stubborn wife leaves him.”

Islamic Minister Dr Bari has not said anything on the matter. The media today reported that he had departed to Haa Alifu Atoll with the President.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“Make use of historic moment”, Adhaalath Party urges President Nasheed

Adhaalalth Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla has joined opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali in sending a letter to President Mohamed Nasheed asking him to push for an independent Palestinian state at the UN Human Rights Council.

In the letter Sheikh Imran tells the President to assist the Muslim community in their efforts to make Palestine an independent state and a full member of the UN, and to make good use of the historic moment that came in the time of President Nasheed and vote in favor of Palestine.

Sheikh Imran urged the President to do this for the rights of the citizens of Palestine who have “lived in grief for 63 years, who have been pushed away from their own land and have suffered so muchh catastrophe.’’

Meanwhile, the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has also issued a statement saying that the party supports Palestine becoming an independent state, and thanked the government and foreign ministry for the work they are contributing to resolve the issue.

“The MDP would like to note, with gratitude, that one of the key objective of the Maldives foreign policy was to assist Palestinian citizens and to further the recognition of Palestine as an independent state,’’ the statement issued by the MDP Secretariat said.

The party said that the government had spoken in favor of Palestine at the UN Human Rights Council and that the party was proud of it.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has stated that the Maldives strongly supports UN recognition of Palestinian statehood, with Naseem advocating the position before the UN Human Rights Council following the announcement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he will apply to the UN Security Council for full UN membership.

“Let us be clear, the Palestinian people have, like everyone else, the right to self-determination – the right to a state of their own. They have waited long enough for that most basic of rights. When the Palestinians present their case to the UN, the Maldives will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, and we call on all others to do likewise,’’ Naseem told the UN Human Rights Council.

Naseem has said the Maldives does not believe that UN recognition of Palestinian statehood will narrow the chances of a negotiated peace.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former Adhaalath Party leader criticises new leadership

Former President of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed has strongly criticised the new leadership of “acting dictatorially” and issuing press releases without consulting either the heads of party organs or Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari.

In a statement published on his official website this week, Sheikh Rasheed wrote that “the biggest change” he brought to the Islamic Ministry’s functions after being appointed State Minister in December was to “change the dictatorial policy of the ministry’s former senior officials” to ensure that important decisions were not made without “direct instruction from the minister.”

“The rule of granting permission to make sermons based on a person’s face was abolished. Work being done that conflicted with government regulations and policy in a way that could facilitate corruption was reformed and brought into line,” he said.

Sheikh Rasheed, a founding member of Adhaalath, condemned a press statement issued by the party on September 5 regarding the controversy surrounding Qunooth (an invocation recited during prayers) and reciting Bismillah out loud as “very irresponsible.”

The press statement argued that the invocation was not compulsory except during periods of adversity.

Rasheed claimed that a letter sent to the Addu City Council regarding Qunooth was based on Dr Bari’s advice: “Therefore I can’t believe that Dr Majeed would talk to Adhaalath members differently about the issue of saying Bismillah [out loud] during prayers,” he said.

“Adhaalath Party’s Scholars Council Chair [Dr Bari] told me that he had informed [the party] not to issue the press release like that,” he continued. “And the deputy chair apparently knows nothing about the press release. The party’s charter states that when dealing with religious issues, a statement could only be issued after a meeting of the religious scholars council and with the consensus of its members.”

Rasheed went on to say that there were “know-it-all scholars” and a culture of attacking anyone who opposes their statements or ideology, adding that the scholars in question believe the country’s policy should be based on their thinking.

Statements made on foreign policy by some Adhaalath senior members reminded Sheikh Rasheed of “thoughts that come and goes quickly to a person suffering from a mental illness.”

“Anyone who disagrees with their religious opinion turns into a criminal [in their minds],” he wrote, referring to the Adhaalath’s public antagonism to NGOs Jamiyyathul Salaf and Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM).

Sheikh Rasheed called on officials in senior leadership positions to adhere to the party’s charter or governing rules.

He also urged Dr Bari to be consistent in statements made in his capacity as Islamic Minister and chair of the religious scholars council.

Rasheed said he was moved to publicly criticise the new leadership because of the extent to which “the dictatorial [tendency] of some Adhaalath party members” has grown.

Islamic Minister Dr Bari told Minivan News he did not wish to comment on the matter.

http://minivannewsarchive.com/cmsMUIH10/../files/2011/09/justice-building.png
Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

No sale of alcohol on Fuvamulah “where people are most religious”: Adhaalath

The Adhaalath Party’s Fuvamulah Wing has said that the government’s attempt to allow the sale of alcohol to foreigners by designating islands as uninhabited cannot go ahead on the island of Fuvamulah, ‘’which has the most number of people who can recite the Quran by heart.’’

In a press statement, the party claimed that government had “failed in its earlier attempts to legalise the trade of alcohol on inhabited islands and has now chosen another way to do it, which is by decreeing areas on inhabited islands as uninhabited.”

‘’Given that Fuvamulah has the most number of people who have learned the Quran by heart, it is like a slap on the face for the islanders of Fuvamulah,’’ the statement said. ‘’The world has seen that tourism can happen without nightclubs, casinos, alcohol and pork.’’

The party’s Fuvamulah Wing also claimed that the government was discriminating against Fuvamulah, referring to an incident when President decided to have a public referendum on whether to change the name of Thinadhoo to ‘Havru Thinadhoo’, that Fuvamulah being a large island was not considered in the list of islands to become cities.

Furthermore, the Adhaalath Party’s Fuvamulah Wing said that its members on the island will “fully corporate with the government and will work for free” to build guest villas, so long as there would be “no work inconsistent with the tenets of Islam.”

On September 2 the President’s Office said that President Mohamed Nasheed has signed two decrees, affirming the “Bilhifeyshi” area and “Thoon’du” area of Fuvammulah as two uninhabited islands under the decentralisation act.

Earlier this week at a press conference, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, Adhaalath Party spokesperson, said that the decrees were part of a “Satanic plot” to sidestep legal prohibitions to selling alcohol in inhabited islands.

“We are not opposed at all to building a city hotel for the development of Fuvahmulah,” he said. “But you don’t have to sell alcohol at every city hotel. The Adhaalath Party sees the declaration of uninhabited islands within Fuvahmulah as an absurd move, as an act of madness.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Adhaalath Party raises alarm over visiting agricultural delegation from Israel

Deputy Leader of the Adhaalath Party Dr Mauroof Hussein has called for alarm after alleging that a delegation from an Israeli company, Teshuva Agricultural Products, was due to arrive in the Maldives to assess the country’s agricultural potential.

The  delegation was scheduled to visit Fihladhoo and Maafahi in Haa Alifu Atoll and Addu City, and would be hosted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. On its website the company claims its advanced agricultural methods “allow for fresh culinary herbs to be grown in soil-less hydroponic systems.”

Dr Hussein said the relationship between the Maldives and Israel “is dangerous” and that it was “a threat to the national security of the Maldives”.

“Due to the close relationship with Israel, this delegation is not required to have a work visa, which is usually necessary for these type of delegations to have,” Dr Hussein claimed.

Dr Hussein called on island councilors to “be aware” of “this kind of delegation”, claiming Israel had been “cutting down olive trees in Palestine, setting fire to the crops and trying to bring down Masjid Al-Aqsa.”

He further alleged that citizens should be alert about “a rumor that the government is trying to enact a law that would enable foreigners to have land plots in the Maldives, on request of the Zionists.”

Dr Hussein said that Adhaalath Party had “always revealed the secret relationship between the Maldives and the Israeli government”, but said that the government had responded by “humiliating the Adhaalath Party by saying we talk about nothing else.”

In his statement Dr Hussein claimed the recently leaked diplomatic cables “revealed that what the Adhaalath Party was saying was true”, and that the Maldives “has been voting in the UN in favor of Israel.”

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

The last time an Israeli delegation visited the Maldives – a team of volunteer eye surgeons – protests erupted across Male’ that saw the burning of Israeli flags and calls to “ban all Israeli medical teams” from practicing in the Maldives.

Protesters burned several Israeli flags in Republic Square and demanded the deportation of the seven visiting eye surgeons, who were holding free eye camps in Male’ and island hospitals.

Religious NGO Jamiyyathusalaf at the time called on the government to provide citizens with military training “before Jews take over the country”.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)