Tag: Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari

Dr Bari rejoins Adhaalath Party

Former Islamic minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has rejoined the Adhaalath Party.

According to local media, Bari signed for Adhaalath Party on Monday, but the religious scholar has not publicly spoken about the move.

Bari served as Islamic minister under former President Mohamed Nasheed. He left the Adhaalath Party in June 2013 and signed for the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ahead of the presidential election in November 2013.

Following the imprisonment of former President Nasheed in March, the Adhaalath Party formed an alliance with the MDP and launched anti-government protests under the ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ banner.

The Adhaalath Party leader, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, remains meanwhile under police custody. He was charged with terrorism and accused of inciting violence at a mass protest on May 1.

Bari has also been active in the opposition alliance.

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Religious scholars warn of God’s wrath over corruption and injustice

A group of religious scholars have warned of God’s wrath on the Maldives due to rampant corruption, brutality, and injustice.

Prominent scholars including former Islamic minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari and former member of the judicial watchdog Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman described the Maldives as a country “drowning in a sea of atrocities” and pleaded with president Abdulla Yameen to heed the opposition’s calls for dialogue.

“The Maldives is on the verge of an imminent God’s wrath. The executive and the judiciary have lost its powers and trust while the nation has forgotten that God has handed down justice,” read the joint statement by 15 scholars.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali welcomed the statement, but said there were no specific allegations to respond to.

“Everybody including the religious scholars has the right to voice their opinions and I welcome it. But if they are accusing the government of something there has to be specifics,” he told Minivan News today.

Religious scholars have not spoken out as a group against corruption in the judiciary and independent institutions so far despite low public confidence and a sex scandal in mid-2013 involving a Supreme Court justice.

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) has meanwhile come under fire for its use of religious rhetoric for political campaigning.

The opposition-aligned scholars in Tuesday’s statement also criticised the trials of former president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The accused are required to prove their innocence in some cases while in others defendants are cleared of charges because the state fails to establish guilt with sufficient evidence, they noted.

“This is not accepted even in human laws let alone the Islamic sharia,” the scholars said.

While the executive power boasts of its focus on youth development, the scholars said the government is paving the “path to ruin” for young people. Institutions that should serve the people are “rotting with corruption”, they contended.

Corruption in all ranks of the government has become commonplace, accepted, and even necessary for advancement, the scholars said.

The ministry of Islamic affairs last month issued an incendiary sermon warning corrupt judges of hellfire.

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Jumhooree Party leaders, former Islamic Minister Dr Bari join MDP

Four senior members of the Jumhooree Party (JP) have quit the party following the party council’s decision yesterday to endorse the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen.

Former JP President Dr Ibrahim Didi, Spokesperson Moosa Rameez, Campaign Manager Dr Ahmed Shamheed and Male’ City Councillor Ahmed Hameed ‘Fly’, as well as former Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari signed for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) today.

Speaking to the press at the MDP office this afternoon, former President Mohamed Nasheed said the support of the new members would boost the party’s campaign ahead of Saturday’s run-off election against the PPM candidate.

“We wanted to work together with the Jumhooree Party only for their support. We know there are people of other ideologies in the party. So it would have been very difficult to implement our manifesto and our policies with people of that ideology. In my view, what has happened now has been for the best,” the MDP presidential candidate said.

Dr Didi – former MDP president – said he returned to the party to ensure consolidation of democracy in the Maldives.

“The Maldives is divided into ideologies, that is the reformist ideology and the 30-year autocratic family rule ideology,” he said, adding that JP leaders had also worked for reform.

“We have to go forward, go forward swiftly, we cannot take a U-turn,” he said.

Didi stressed that he did not have “any disagreement with or animosity” towards JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim.

“To tell the truth, 80 percent of Honourable Gasim’s heart is still with the MDP. This is a very clear reality. Even if he had to make a decision under duress, he is a person who worked in the front ranks since 1984 to bring reform to the Maldives,” he said.

Asked to elaborate on his claim that Gasim decided to back Yameen under duress, Didi said he could reveal details without the business tycoon’s consent.

Didi also claimed that he joined the MDP to ensure “Gasim’s safety and security.”

Didi noted that Gasim had said at a JP rally that most of the party’s members shared MDP’s reformist ideology, adding that he was “certain” that MDP would win the election on Saturday.

Gasim had previously said that 60 percent of his supporters would not vote for Yameen even if he endorsed the PPM candidate.

Nasheed also expressed confidence that the MDP would garner the 6,000 votes needed from Gasim’s 48,131 votes to win the election.

Asked if fears of a return to autocracy were well founded, Didi said there were “signs” of the PPM seeking absolute control over the judiciary and undermining democracy with a family dynasty.

JP formed to change the 30-year government, say departees

Meanwhile, Dr Shamheed, former Transport Minister, said he became interested in politics during his school years as he had to pay a school fee while people of Male’ did not.

Shamheed said he decided to stick with the decision to support MDP in 2008 to establish democracy in the country.

“Gasim Ibrahim said three or four times in our council yesterday that it would be most comfortable for him, that he wanted to, and his heart desired going with President Nasheed,” he said, adding that he was “forced” to make the decision to back PPM.

Former JP city councillor Hameed said the JP was formed for the purpose of changing the 30-year government and called on young politicians in the party to join MDP to secure their political careers.

The JP council decision was subject to external influence, he alleged, which has “destroyed our efforts for reform.”

Echoing the sentiments of his colleagues, Moosa Rameez recalled that he was “a jail mate” of Gasim after the pair were arrested and incarcerated for over three months following a crackdown on an unprecedented pro-democracy demonstration on August 13, 2004.

He added that he made the decision to join the MDP “for Gasim’s sake.”

Dr Bari meanwhile said he had renewed hope for Islamic affairs under an MDP government based on the party’s manifesto, educated young religious scholars in the party, “and especially assurances from President Nasheed in his recent speeches.”

“Even though I wasn’t in the MDP before, I was in the MDP government for three years. President Nasheed is not a new person to me. What he has said about me is the truth. I would like to note at this opportunity that he has sincerely accepted my advice in the cabinet,” he said.

As a founder member of the Adhaalath Party, Bari said he had to leave because of the actions of its new leadership.

Islam could not be advanced without social and economic development, Bari said, adding that he decided to work with the MDP because of the party’s manifesto.

On Nasheed’s remarks that he was the only minister with “veto power,” Bari referred to cabinet decisions not to approve a tourism slogan and decline an offer to build a casino based on his advice.

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Islamic Minister to investigate “Christian missionary” allegations against the State

Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has consulted with President Mohamed Nasheed on allegations that the government has cooperated with Christian missionaries in an effort “to wipe out Islam”.

“The President is now considering the best way forward,” said Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair. “He will either form an independent commission to address the issue, or allow the Islamic Minister to consult with his colleagues. The Islamic Minister will advise the President in the matter.”

The consultation is in keeping with the government’s commitment to share decisions of religious matters with Islamic scholars.

Speaking to local media today, Dr Bari said “The President called very late yesterday and said he would request the Ministry to look into the allegations to understand the truth.” At the time, Bari had not received a formal letter stating the request but said he would cooperate with the request upon receiving such a document.

The Minister and officials at the Islamic Ministry could not be reached at time of press.

Over the past week, members of minority opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and ‘Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Ibrahim Didi have accused the government of cooperating with “Christian missionaries” and “Jewish parties” against the state religion of Islam- Didi claimed the President was “a madman and a Christian”- and of spreading undue fear with the claim that the islands are sinking.

Both men have been repeatedly summoned for police interrogations, prompting protests outside police headquarters and the Presidential Palace.

Speaking today with Minivan News, Zuhair called the allegations “a big lie that has been repeated since 2003, when Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) began to work abroad.”

He added that the claims were also raised in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, in which currently ruling MDP won the election over the 30-year administration of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

“At that time Dr Hassan Saeed had made these allegations and the government carried out a full-scale, professional investigation in the United Kingdom. The ‘Operation Druid’ found no substance to any of the allegations. There was no evidence of any contact with Christian missionaries or priests. So it is surprising that members of Saeed’s party are again repeating these allegations,” Zuhair observed.

Operation Druid

In 2007, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government contracted UK security and private investigation firm Sion Resources for a surveillance operation dubbed ‘Operation Druid’. According to the former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Gayoom “had concerns” about the origins of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), exiles from which had fled to Salisbury where they had been sheltered by Nasheed’s high school alumni, David Hardingham.

Hardingham, founder of the Friends of Maldives NGO, and Sarah Mahir had previously ambushed Gayoom in the UN building in Geneva in May 2005, accusing him of complicity in human rights abuses.

“I think Gayoom was quite shaken by that, and afterwards he was not as complacent over the security given to him by his hosts, be that by the UK or UN,” Dr Shaheed told Minivan News, in an interview in June 2011.

Subsequently, “The government may have wanted to see what was going on [in Salisbury],” Dr Shaheed said.

“What these operations did was try to see who was who. And a lot of the operations the government felt were against it came from Salisbury, and I think the government of the day felt justified in engaging a firm to look into what was going on,” he said. “They felt they needed to check on that, and what came out was a clean bill of health. Nothing untoward was happening, and these people were by and large bone-fide.”

Back in the Maldives, Gayoom’s government released a leaflet accusing Hardingham and Salisbury Cathedral of conspiring to blow up the Islamic Centre and build a church.

“It was just a mischievous suggestion, a very mischievous suggestion,” Dr Shaheed acknowledged. “At the time everyone was accusing each other of being non-Muslim, and this accusation that the MDP was non-Muslim was getting very loud.

“There is this very, very deep reaction to anything un-Islamic in this country, and you can use Islam as a political tool quite easily. Therefore these allegations become political charges.”

Former Conservative Party MP for Salisbury, Robert Key, who had been instrumental in getting Nasheed an audience in British parliament, told Minivan News in February 2011 that Salisbury Cathedral had taken the accusation “at face value” .

“It was not true, and therefore we had to say ‘It is not true,'” he said. “The Dean of Salisbury Cathedral understood the issue, she took it at face value, and we sought security advice as necessary. But it was never a serious threat. It was a juvenile political ploy.”

For his part, Hardingham has dismissed the allegations that he is a Christian missionary as “absolute nonsense – I have never been a priest or anything associated with any church, and I challenge the people making the allegations to provide a shred of evidence to support their case.

“I was refused entry into the Maldives in April 2005. Government spokesperson at the time, Mohamed Hussein ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, told Associated Press that this was due to my involvement with an Islamic extremist group. So I have been accused of being an Islamic extremist and a Christian missionary – probably the fastest and most radical conversion in history.”

Government respects religion

Citing the Maldives’ commitment to be an Islamic state, Zuhair today pointed out that it was the government’s public responsibility to clarify that the allegations against it were baseless.

“Not only do these statements refer to the government, they also refer to our members and supporters and their respect for our religion”, he said, adding that the allegations involving Jewish parties came close to anti-Semitism – “and we don’t want to spread that image.”

In its efforts to staunch DQP’s “hate speech”, the government has drawn criticism from main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) for “suppression of the constitutional right to free expression”.

Speaking previously at a press conference held in response to the allegations, which were broadcast on DhiTV news on January 8, Zuhair called “spreading baseless and demonstrably false claims” about the government a “criminal offence”, and the coverage of demonstrably false allegations of foreign religious influence a “violation of journalism ethics”–statements which drew prompt criticism from media associations and opposition parties.

“The government will not allow anybody to be influenced by the crime of incitement,” Zuhair clarified today, explaining that the opposition had put the media in a position of defending the general freedom of expression in order to promote their own agenda.

“It is very easy for any Maldivian or journalist to find out about the Druid operation or to see if we have been accepting payments from a Christian priest. Ask us. What is surprising is that this story has been going on for a week and yet none of the media have found out or reported what the grounds for the allegations are,” Zuhair said. “It’s part of journalistic integrity to at least get the five W’s right: who, what, where, when and why. Why are they being fooled?”

According to Zuhair, the findings of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and the court will be necessary to resolve the matter.

The matter continues to be investigated by the police, who have now summoned Didi and Jameel for four consecutive nights. Meanwhile, a protest supporting the freedom of expression has been scheduled for the Artificial Beach this evening.

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Religious scholars symposium concludes with consensus on contentious issues

A first-ever symposium for local religious scholars organised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs concluded last night with participants reaching consensus on a number of longstanding religious disputes and points of contention in Maldivian society.

Among the contentious issues deliberated and agreed upon by the 80 scholars were reciting Qunooth (invocation) during dawn prayer, the exact time of Friday prayer (12.35pm), the number of rak’ah for Tharavees prayers during Ramadan and reciting Bismillah aloud during prayers.

The scholars also opposed authorising Israeli national airline El Al to operate in the Maldives and decided to ask the authorities to remove controversial SAARC monuments in Addu City as they are considered an offense to Islam.

The religious scholars also decided to back Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari’s request to parliament’s National Security Committee that the airline not be allowed into the Maldives.

On the issue of Qunooth – an invocation offered in times of adversity – a majority of scholars concurred that the practice was not a bid’ah (heretical innovation). Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed Ahmed of the Islamic Foundation of Maldives (IFM) and Sheikh Ilyas Jamal however insisted that the invocation was an innovation when the issue was put to a vote.

Moreover, a majority of scholars could not agree that praying in front of pillars in mosques was an innovation.

On the optional Tharavees prayers during Ramadan, the scholars agreed that the number of rak’ah could exceed 20 or end at a lower number.

The decisions made during the symposium also included forming of an association of religious scholars to raise awareness among the public and assist the Islamic Ministry in “responding to those who deny or cast doubt on the Sunnah.”

Seven papers were presented by prominent scholars at the two-day symposium that took place at the Islamic Centre while participants were divided into three discussion groups. In addition to Islamic Minister Dr Bari, the papers were presented by MP Dr Afrashim Ali of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Sheikh Mohamed Giyas, Sheikh Abubakur Ibrahim of IFM, State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Ahmed, Sheikh Nasrulla Musthafa and Sheikh Ahmed Saleem Hussein.

The papers focused on points of conflict and disagreement among scholars over issues of ambiguity.

Speaking to press at the conclusion of the symposium last night, Dr Bari said the event was a success and noted the absence of serious disputes among Maldivian scholars.

Dr Bari observed that disputes were more common in the public than among religious scholars.

As a measure to reduce misunderstanding among the public, said Dr Bari, participants at the symposium agreed to issue fatwas only after reaching consensus among all scholars.

Following the success of the symposium, Dr Bari added that the Islamic Ministry was considering making the gathering an annual event.

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Parliament urged to vote against Bari

The parliamentary committee assigned to review Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari’s reappointment as Islamic Minister has advised against the recommendation.

Nine out of 11 members of the Government Accountability Committee voted against Bari’s reappointment.

According to committee member Villufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed, only four members of ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voted for Bari’s appointment. Meanwhile, four opposition MPs voted against it. Committee chair Hanimaadhoo MP Mohamed Mujthaz tipped the vote.

Riyaz told Haveeru news that the committee made its decision based on the assertion that Bari earlier resigned from the position without a valid reason.

Bari first resigned as Adhaalath Party’s Scholars Council President on September 29, and then stepped down as the Islamic Minister on October 3 when the party decided to sever coalition ties with MDP. He was reappointed on October 9.

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