Tag: islam

Social stigma limiting employment of local women in resort industry, report finds

A new study finds that Maldivian women are the least employed demographic in the resort industry, accounting for only three percent of the total eight percent of female workers at resorts in 2010. Local and foreign men constitute 92 percent of the industry.

Tourism directly accounts for 30 percent of the Maldives’ GDP, and for 70 percent indirectly.

The thesis, “Women in Tourism: Challenges of Including Women in the Maldivian Resort Sector” was prepared by Eva Alm and Susanna Johansson during their five-month stay in the Maldives in 2010.

According to their findings, “culture, religion, and women’s role in the family, the role of the family, safety, geographical spread, transportation, education and awareness” were the main factors preventing women from seeking resort employment.

Interviews show that resort life is perceived as ‘western’ and imposes the negative practices of consuming pork and alcohol, supporting nudity, and allowing extramarital sexual encounters on Muslim Maldivian women.

By contrast, Maldivian male resort employees are exempt from these risks.

“Working in a resort as a woman is perceived as bad, as going the wrong way, as not a good place for a woman to be,” said one source.

Women interviewed said social stigma prevented them from seeking resort employment. The combination of not being able to come home at night and working at a resort with a significantly higher ratio of men to women is considered intimidating, sources said.

One father said, “If my daughter would not have the possibility of going home every night, I would not let her work in the resort, it is not safe […] if a woman will not come home at night after work, and she would maybe have a relationship with a man in the resort, which could result in a pregnancy […] this would have very bad impact on the family and would not be tolerated.”

Maldivians who engage in extramarital intercourse risk social ostracism, and women sometimes face punishment for pregnancy outside marriage. The country has among the highest divorce rates in the world.

Parents are said to play a significant role in a woman’s professional future. “In Maldives, in our religion, we are not allowed to drink or be with just any guys and things like that. So our parents are scared about that,” said one young woman.

One resort manager said awareness is a major challenge to promoting female employment. “Convincing the parents is difficult. They are very possessive of the girls. The parent’s perception is that they will mix with the European culture and do bad things such as drinking alcohol.”

A government representative added that “there needs to be a focus on educating mothers and fathers of the women who are willing to join the industry and demonstrate that it is perfectly in order for their daughters to work in the resort sector.”

Female unemployment in the Maldives is estimated at 24 percent, while male unemployment is only eight percent. Reports indicate that the industrialization of fishing, an enterprise previously shared between women and men, and the beginning of tourism eliminated the need for two incomes per household.

According to the report, Maldivian culture does not encourage women to take on entrepreneurial or leadership roles in business. Women are found to be raised to follow men, and a lack of domestic care services prevent women from leaving their posts as mothers and wives.

Women interviewed said that in order to employ more women resorts should “become more Muslim.” Most said they would not work where they could not wear the burqa, although when told that several resorts allow the burqa they maintained their position.

Women were also unaware that many resorts provide mosques for their Muslim employees.

Separating resorts from local island culture was an early tourism strategy, claims the report. Tourism officials at the time were said to believe the policy would protect local culture.

The separation is now considered a factor in island underdevelopment. “The problem we have is that we have first class resorts in the Maldives, next to them are the third world local communities, the villages,” said a government representative quoted in the study. “We have to get these engaged as the people from the island communities can get direct benefit from the resort industry through participatory involvement and inclusive growth.”

Some resort companies, such as Hilton and Soneva, try to compensate for this gap by outsourcing tasks to local islands.

Hilton resort began the “Green Ladies” program, bringing in groups of women from neighboring islands to sweep the resort during the day. Soneva supported the Veymandhoo women’s production of chili sauce in 2008.

Soneva’s Social and Environmental Manager said localizing resort development made Muslim women more comfortable in new professional opportunities. “It has got all the elements necessary for a solid livelihood project. You got women involved, it’s got livelihoods, it’s got commercial value to it, and it’s got localization aspect to it”.

Yet island production capacity does not meet resort demand. “’The communities have to be very much upscale to be able to manage small businesses, because resorts are big business and they wont rely on people who can‟t provide for their demands’”, said one source.

“Women in Tourism: Challenges of Including Women in the Maldivian Resort Sector” was presented at Sweden’s Lund University in May, and is due for publication this month.

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Comment: Muslims deserve better

While watching NATO-backed rebels rummaging through fallen dictator Gaddafi’s abandoned belongings, a middle-aged Dhivehi lady exclaimed at the television ‘How the West conspires against Muslim leaders!’

The seemingly misguided remark, upon second thought, deserves further analysis.

Gaddafi himself, after all, has claimed to be a leader of Muslims – defending the Islamic nation against the rebels, whom he has referred to as ‘rats’, ‘cockroaches’ and ‘unbelievers’.

He would also call upon ‘Sheikhs’ and ‘Scholars’ in and around Tripoli to rise up and defend the faith from the godless rebels.

Gaddafi is by no means the first politician to imagine himself as a “leader of the Muslims”. Over the decades, several people have laid claim to this mantle.

Hosni Mubarak, the Iranian political clergy, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Islamist parties of Pakistan and Bangladesh and – closer to home – former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the Adhaalath party, and various individual “Sheikhs” have all modeled themselves as ‘Islamic leaders’, portraying an image of Islamic piety, and shouldering the unwieldy burden of the speaking for the entire Islamic faith.

And yet, despite these innumerable ‘leaders’, all whom assert they have the ultimate solution to Islam’s woes, the 1.5 billion strong Muslim community has consistently had a poor report card in all areas of human development in recent decades.

Golden Age

A cursory look at history shows a dramatically different picture.

It was during Ramadan just over 1400 years ago that an illiterate Prophet was first commanded to ‘Read!’.

Within a few short centuries, Islam would end up as the dominant force in the world, commanding a wealthy Empire that would be celebrated as the fountainhead of all learning, discovery and innovation.

A religion revealed to a barbaric, medieval tribe would transform them overnight into champions of knowledge and achievement, resulting in “the Golden Age of Islam” that produced intellectuals and polymaths of the caliber of Ibn Sina, Al Farabi and Ibn Rushd.

So why is that, a thousand years later, despite the advancements in technology and communications, Muslims no longer revel in that spirit of achievement?

A reasonable argument could be made that that following the decline of the Muslims, a large majority of the Muslim lands had been colonized, followed by extended periods of dictatorial regimes threatened only recently by the Arab spring.

Yet, former colonized states like China, India and South Africa are making all making giant strides using the best of modern Science and Technology, but Muslims in general appear to not yet have found that fire.

Muslims are largely missing from advanced fields like scientific research and the global business world, or are very severely under represented – whereas tyrants and gun-toting militants throughout the Islamic heartland have somehow gotten labeled ‘Muslim leaders’.

Perhaps it is time now to acknowledge that the Islamic community is facing a severe leadership crisis?

The Curse of the Leaders

To evaluate the cause, let us first glance at a list of the individuals all of whom have in recent decades appointed themselves captains of the ship.

Osama bin Laden. Mullah Omar. Ayatollah Khameni. Al Qardawi. Ibn Baz. At home, we have such luminaries as “Sheikh” Ibrahim Fareed, “Sheikh” Iliyaas and a disproportionately large number of other such eminent scholars to guide our tiny population.

The grand roadmap these “leaders” have for Muslims can be measured by the broad canvas of issues they usually occupy themselves with.

While one group’s idea of salvation for humanity lies in forbidding women from buying cucumbers and other phallic vegetables of potential sin, another invests endless time, money and resources into efforts to threaten, intimidate or harass women into wearing black middle-eastern style veils.

Some declare life-saving vaccines as haraam, while others are entirely outraged over the 3 year old kindergarteners studying together in co-ed schools.

When they’re not burning books, they can be found condemning yoga. When they’re not busy uncovering Zionist organ-harvesting rackets, they’re dissecting the heavy legal issues surrounding the permitted length and colour of a woman’s hair.

Even celebrated Sufi poet Ghalib once pondered over the Ulema’s disturbing preoccupation with the problems of menstruation and menstrual bleeding.

In the year 2011, there is still some disagreement over whether girls should indeed be sent to school.

More than a couple of these wise mullahs have issued fatwas against Tom & Jerry on National TV, while another has outright called for Mickey Mouse to be put to death.

And almost all of them are united in their common jihad against established, peer-reviewed Science.

And herein lies the diagnosis for our woes; Muslims today are plagued with “leaders” that, instead of boldly taking them to the future, have pledged to stay frozen in time – or even worse, insist on running the civilization race in the opposite direction as the rest of humanity.

Entire generations have been lost thanks to myopic mullahs, and tyrants whose foresight does not extend beyond the tip of their nose.

A culture once credited with keeping alive the flame of knowledge through the centuries is now known more for dogmatism and hostility to Science.

Political tool

Perhaps the biggest tragedy of Islam is that it has ended up as a tool of political convenience.

Self-declared “leaders”, who have no achievements to speak of, cloak themselves in religious garb and invoke the name of God as their only claim to legitimacy.

In their hands, religion ceases to be a moral code for the community’s common welfare – and instead becomes a stick to keep the masses under control.

In the wake of the recent Arab democratic uprisings, the Saudi Arabian government promptly issued ‘Islamic rulings’ against protesting against authority. (The jarring irony of it, coming from the Wahhabi-Saudi nexus that once rose in revolt against no less than the Islamic Caliph!)

When it suits these tyrants, the rules are carved in stone, and when necessary, the Qur’an might as well have been written on water.

Dr. Amir Hussain, prominent Professor of Theological studies said in an interview with Science and Spirit magazine, that tyrants “find it useful to espouse the rhetoric of faith, because people respect that language, are reluctant to oppose it”

Two days before abolishing the Islamic Caliphate in early March 1924, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, founder of modern Turkey, told his assembly:

“The religion of Islam will be elevated if it will cease to be a political instrument, as had been the case in the past…”

The Pied Pipers

Some of the greatest achievements of the Islamic Golden age were the grand libraries and Universities of Baghdad and Cordoba.

The great polymaths of that era kept alive the knowledge of the Ancient Greeks and the Indians – reviving ancient philosophy, number systems, algebra, chemistry and astronomy.

In President Obama’s words, it was Islam that taught the world navigation of the Seas, and the mastery of pens.

Today, Muslims around the world fare poorly in Education. The 2006 Sachar Committee Report commissioned by the Indian Prime Minister revealed that 25 percent of Muslim children in India under the age of 15 didn’t attend schools, or dropped out early.

There are no great Islamic Universities today – and troublingly enough, it is the so-called ‘leaders of Muslims’ themselves who are actively engaged in a campaign against ‘evil, Western education’.

The establishment in 2009 of $10 billion King Abdullah University of Science and Technology would ideally have been hailed as a tremendous opportunity to revive learning and research in the Muslim heartland.

Instead, the ‘religious leaders’ in Saudi Arabia reacted with fury over the larger, more pressing issue of the University being a co-ed institute.

Orthodox Islam has always opposed what the rest of humanity considered progress

Professor Dr. Amir Hussain once said, “Knowledge is highly prized in Islam, but fundamentalist Muslim rulers have hounded Islamic scholars for centuries.”  Great intellectuals like Ibn-Rushd thrived despite the pressures these anti-intellectual forces.

However, in recent years, modernism has all but disappeared from mainstream Islamic discourse, giving the anti-intellectuals a free run to propagate their views as ‘true Islam’.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was one of the modern Muslim pioneers who believed Islam would be greatly damaged if not shielded from the orthodox clergy.

Believing that a proper, Western-style scientific education was crucial for Muslims’ advancement, he founded the Muhammedan Ango-Oriental College in 1875 (It would later become the Aligarh Muslim University)

Former Pakistan Supreme Court Justice Javid Iqbal, son of celebrated Urdu poet-Philosopher Allama Iqbal, believes Islam’s revival is dependent on interpreting the religion in light of modern scientific thought which would ‘strengthen the faith of believers’.

Condemning the medievalisation of Pakistan, he recounted how his father had blamed conservative Mullahs for driving Muslims into the dark ages.

“My father’s advice was unequivocal: Muslims should not let themselves be exploited by the semi-literate Mullah…  Mohammed Iqbal went out of his way to expose the intellectual bankruptcy of the Mullahs — the same Mullahs who have once again taken the lead in Islam”

Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Prize, also calls for an interpretation of Islam that is in harmony with equality and democracy, claiming that it is not that religion that binds women, but “the selective dictates of those who wish them cloistered.”

To bell the cat

The prevailing school of thought in the Maldives and many countries around the world is that Islam does not permit dissent or free opinion.

The original draft of the Religious Unity Regulations drawn up by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in the Maldives, for instance, forbade ordinary citizens from expressing a personal opinion on religion in any form. Furthermore, it also criminalized the most basic democratic right of criticizing authority, instantly putting self-declared ‘religious scholars’ above all public scrutiny.

This clampdown on free thought throughout the Islamic world is perhaps the reason why Muslims have become afraid to think, afraid to speak, and afraid to pull themselves out of the age of Ignorance, as their cultural forefathers boldly did so many centuries ago.

Perhaps one of the greatest wasted opportunities in modern times is the pulpits around the world in front of which hundreds of millions of Muslims congregate in prayer.

There are forums that could conceivably be used to inspire Muslims to work harder, to educate themselves, to educate their children, to promote Science and to promote culture.

Instead, most of us walk away every Friday having heard for the umpteenth time, tired reiterations on the importance of praying five times a day or fasting in the month of Ramadan, and armed with even more evidence of the continued treachery of Jews and Christians.

Change of guard

The Muslim needs leaders who can go beyond petty sloganeering and asserting a hollow supremacy.

For instance, leaders like former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the nuclear scientist known for his humility and passion for youth, transcended the boundaries of race and religion, and inspired a larger community of nation builders.

Leaders like Gandhi, Tagore and Mohamed Ali Jinnah – inspired by 19th-century British liberalism – come across as intellectuals hostile to the idea of discrimination itself.

Today, more than ever, Muslims need leaders of such fierce intellect and industry, if they’re to rub shoulders with the rest of the world as responsible equals, instead of wallowing in eternal self pity.

We need leaders who understand that for a religion to retain its greatness, its principles need to be as dynamic as the human cultures and societies themselves.

Our mullahs have shown us how exceedingly easy it is to wallow in the darkness and blame everything on the West and the Jews.

What we need is a change of guard, and a new class of leaders who are not afraid to take the much harder route – one of accomplishment and progress; to create a world where a tyrant like Gaddafi or terrorist like Osama never again gets mistaken for a ‘Muslim leader’.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Q&A: Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat

Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat is the President of the Islamic Affairs Council in Maryland and founder of Civilisations Exchange & Cooperation Foundation (CECF). Born and raised in Damascus, Imam Arafat was an Imam in Damascus in the 80’s before moving to United States and continuing his work there. He has taught Islamic Studies and comparative religion in various universities in the States and is currently teaching in the college of Notre Dame of Maryland. Imam Arafat talks to Minivan News about whether there is room for individual cultures within Islam.

Minivan News: In recent years there has been a lot of debate about whether the concept of different cultures is compatible with Islam. Do you think there is room for diverse cultures within Islam?

Mohamad Bashar Arafat: In the past 50 years or so there has been an effort by certain countries to influence other countries with their own school of thought, their culture and their tradition. This created a lot of tension between Muslim communities. During my travel to different continents, I have come across this problem with students from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, who talk about this issue. This imposing of a specific culture is something that contradicts the true teachings of the Quran.

The Quran, first of all, gives people the freedom to worship, the freedom to choose their own religion, right or wrong. Allah says ‘there is no compulsion in religion’. So, even when it comes to religion itself, Allah is saying you should not force people to adopt it. Then what about culture, dress or certain ways of life or even songs?

This is a problem we did not see in the lives of the early Muslims that spread out of Arabia in the 7th century AD. They didn’t ask Syrians to change their culture or Egyptians to change theirs as long as it did not contradict the teachings of Quran and the core principles of Islam.

MN: Were there instances in the early days of Islam where a cultural practice contradicted the teachings of the Quran?

MBA: Yes. For example, in Egypt, during the time of the Second Caliph of Islam, Omar ibn al-Khattab, an issue arose over the tradition of ritual sacrifice of a girl to the Nile River. Amr ibn al-A’as, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and the military commander who lead the conquest of Egypt, wrote to the Caliph.

He explained that Egyptians have a tradition of sacrificing a beautiful girl to the Nile every year and believed that this would get the Nile to flood and overflow onto their parched land. Amr refused permission for the sacrifice, however he wrote that the Egyptians were getting upset over this as the land had little water and the crops were failing. The Caliph praised his actions and sent a paper addressed to the Nile saying, ‘If you flow on your own, then we don’t need your water, but if you are flowing by Allah, we pray to Him to keep you flowing.’ Amr was asked to throw the paper into the Nile as a symbolic gesture for the people to put their trust in Allah. The Nile flooded that year and the practice of sacrifice was stopped. The point of this incident is that in cultural matters, where a person is going to be harmed or where it’s contradictory to Quranic teachings, it should not be practiced.

The Quran created a standard for basic human rights and understanding such that no matter what your culture is, people cannot be harmed or killed as sacrifices to obtain good luck. We cannot deny the basic human right to life in the name of culture. Likewise cultures that associate days of the year in celebration of drinking or eating pork, which is in contradiction with Islamic teachings, should not be continued. The Quran came to curb these cultural practices and improve them. But other than that, when it comes to certain behaviors, folklores and even group dances such as the ones that do not have mixing between men and women, which are in the DNA of societies like Egypt, they are acceptable practices.

Travel through Muslim countries in Ramadan and you will see the cultural diversity in the types of food eaten, clothing worn and ways they honor Ramadan. We should celebrate this diversity and the beauty of Muslims around the world, which varies from country to country in their color, languages and accents, shapes and architectural preferences. Muslims in China have their own cultural flavor, even when it comes to the structure of their mosques.

MN: What about one’s choice of clothing?

MBA: When it comes to clothing, Muslims in Arabia have the Jalaabiyya and the Abbaya, which is part of their culture. The Prophet Mohamad (PBUH) was an Arab. If someone wanted to dress like that out of love for Allah’s Prophet (PBUH) and wanted to dress his children that way, it’s fine, but to impose that on others is wrong. In recent years we started noticing indirect pressure on people and especially on new Muslims – those who have not read a lot or gone deeper into the spirit of the religion. The pressure is to wear his Jalaabiyya a certain way, smile a certain way or even talk in a certain manner, and the same Hadeeth (tradition of the Prophet) is repeated.

The Quran, revealed in Arabic to an Arab in Arabia, is particularly instructive. Despite this, the Quran imparts stories and information about an array of cultures and customs. It tells us about the Egyptians, the Pharaoh and the stories of King Suleiman. It talks of magic carpets and about how the jinn (supernatural creatures) served Suleiman. The Quran talks to us about foods of different people, about other civilisations, and even speaks to us about people of Hell. It is not exclusively a compendium of dogmatic do’s and don’ts; instead it is a treasure trove of cultural, historical, ethical, spiritual, and civilisational information.

The Quran has inspired people, their behavior and even Muslim architectural style. Their cultural diversity is what makes Muslims around the world unique. When you go to Hajj, or pilgrimage in Mecca, you will see Muslims from around the world and can identify them by the unique way they are dressed. You can see that she is from Malaysia, Africa or other regions. The Prophet (PBUH) used to receive garments as gifts from other areas and he wore them. There is a hadeeth about the Prophet (PBUH) wearing an Omani garment, which shows that the Prophet (PBUH) appreciated gifts from other cultures.

MN: How do we differentiate between cultural practices of that time, and ways of living that we have to follow?

MBA: The Sunnah (way the Prophet lived his life) about praying and fasting should be observed. Those that talk about people’s eating habits, like saying the Prophet used to eat with his hands, so you should discard cutlery, is not right. During his time, there was no cutlery. Instead, he taught a proper and hygienic way of eating out of one main serving dish – to use only three fingers and eat from the spot closest to oneself only. Each culture is special and valid in its own practices.

Whether or not they use cutlery does not determine their worth. It is wrong to look down on people when it comes to such. When it comes to breaking the fast, there are certain things the Prophet said to do or recommended, and these we should follow. But when there is no emphasis on other things, it is up to the people to do it the way they want. There are things the Prophet liked to do personally such as fasting on Mondays and Thursdays or fasting for three days in the middle of the month. He liked to do it that way, but nothing exists that prevents us from not doing it.

There is the example of how once when the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions were eating together; the host put a plate of lizard as part of the “meal.” The Prophet (PBUH) asked what it was and when told, he pushed the plate away. One of his companions, Khalid Ibn Waleed, said, “Oh Prophet, is this forbidden?” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “No, I don’t like it, I am not used to it.” Khalid then pulled the plate closer and started eating it.

Some Muslims eat shellfish, while others don’t. As long as there is no prohibition on the food from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, you can eat and indulge in whatever food your culture is accustomed to. Islam’s etiquette about food is that one should not eat until one is hungry and when he eats he should not overindulge.

MN: Give us an example of a time in early days of Islam when there was diverse opinion on issues?

MBA: When the Prophet (PBUH) passed away, the companions spread to other countries. This eventually gave birth to two schools of thought, the Ahl Al Ra’ee (School of Opinion) and the Ahl Al Hadeeth (School of Hadeeth). In areas where there were few companions or people who met them, people would reflect upon issues and come up with their own fatwas, or legal opinions, based on the guidelines of the Shari’ah. They used to be in Iraq. In places like Medina many companions and people lived, who met the Prophet and remembered his life. They relied more on Hadeeth. This shows the diversity in Islam and those from the two schools of thought did not speak badly about one another and differences of opinions were respected.

Nowadays the issue of music is contentious; there are those who say all music is forbidden, those in the middle and others, who are all the way to the left. Keep in mind that during the Prophet’s time, people were taken with the love of the Prophet and no one would think of music and other things because their hearts were filled with something much higher. Music used to be associated with dance, mixing of men and women, drinking and all kinds of vices. It depends on which kind of music you are talking about. Is it music that leads you to haram, or unlawful practices, or is it music that you hear in the news today? Is it a kind of music, which will lead you to forget your Quranic duties and fill your heart more than the love of Allah?

The dress of women is another issue, in certain Middle Eastern countries women cover their entire bodies, while in Africa where it’s really hot, the dress is not as conservative.

Likewise, we see in one school of thought, that of al-Imam Malik is more lenient in certain issues than the School of al-Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, who is stricter. Muslims, who live in the dessert, have characteristics and a culture that are different than those who live in Syria where there are far more trees and water and natural beauty. Even the opinions of scholars living in tough environments are stricter. Environment, culture, and beauty impact people and we see this in the way Muslims live and behave.

MN: It was traditional in the Maldives until very recently to celebrate Prophet Mohamed’s (PBUH) birthday with huge communal feasts. However there has been a drive to stop this practice on the grounds that celebrating birthdays are unIslamic. What is your opinion on this?

MBA: This is another issue; the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday was something that was not practiced by the Prophet (PBUH) or his companions. It was something that started in Egypt during the time of the Fatimid dynasty.

They were the ones who started celebrating the Prophet’s birthday. Yes it’s a bidaah (innovation), but it’s a good bidaah. You are inviting the entire community to make salaah upon the Prophet, to chant, sing and praise the Prophet’s life and character (PBUH). It’s also important to see what people do in terms of celebration; if it’s not contradictory to Islam, then it is fine.

As a boy, I remember that I used to wait for this celebration. For me, it meant having candy and lots of food, but it also brought me to the adults that were sitting and chanting songs about the prophet. When people get together for the celebrations, it’s a reminder to the younger generation about the life of the Prophet (PBUH).

Allah tells us in the Quran to constantly remember the Prophet (PBUH), his devotion and his struggle.
Celebrating the “birthdays” of other people are cultural practices. It was not the culture in Middle East, and so the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions did not practice it. If you want to celebrate it, it is up to you. It is not forbidden like alcohol. It’s a cultural practice, not a religious one.

I celebrate the birthday of my children sometimes. They live in America and see other children having birthday parties. We have parties to celebrate, but we also read the Quran and memorise a chapter for that day. In Lebanon, it’s a tradition to celebrate birthdays with fireworks. Today we have to understand what is religious and what is cultural. If you want to do something that is OK Islamically, just make sure there is nothing wrong done while you are doing it.

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President sends letter to Libyan rebels, calling for modern Muslim democracy

President Mohamed Nasheed has pledged the Maldives’ support to the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) in a letter yesterday, recognising the rebel group as the “sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.”

The letter, which was sent to NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil, expressed the President’s hope that Libya would “emerge as a free and democratic country, in which fundamental human rights can be enjoyed by all.”

In recent days, Libya’s six-month long revolution against dictator Muammar Gaddafi came to a close when NTC rebels seized Tripoli. Currently, Qaddafi’s whereabouts are unknown and over thirty foreign powers have recognised the NTC as Libya’s legitimate representative group.

President Nasheed noted in his letter to NTC chief Jalil that the Maldives was among the first three countries to recognize the NTC. Iraq, Morocco, the US and European Union member countries have also recognised the group, while Russia and China do not recognise the NTC as Libya’s only legitimate representative but are still engaging in talks with NTC leaders.

Ethiopia and Nigeria have called on African Union member states to recognise the NTC, and Hamas had declared its support of the rebel group.

The President’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, said today that “The Maldives is in favor of democracy, and feels any government should recognise the voices of its people. We are continuing our support of the Libyan rebels, and asking other countries to do the same.”

Zuhair said the Maldives was one of the first Islamic countries to experience a democratic revolution. In 2005, the Maldivian people began the uprising that ousted former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 2008.

“The same thing that is happening all over the Arab world has already happened here,” Zuhair said. “We are ahead of them, and we can share our experience.”

The Maldives, which has been a Muslim state for over 900 years, has one of the longest traditions of shariah law in the Arab world, said Zuhair. He said the Maldives encourages the Libyan NTC to apply democratic norms and values, and to use many small elections as they build a modern Muslim democracy.

“The Maldives would like to see Libya become a modern Islamic democratic state that is fully functional,” said Zuhair.

Colonel Gaddafi was only 27 when he took control of Libya after a military coup in 1969. His 42 years of power brought wealth to Libya, but his reign was also characterised by erratic policies and terrifying punishments. When the revolution began in February of this year, Gaddafi reportedly said, “Muammar is the leader of the revolution until the end of time.”

Earlier this week, the NTC reportedly placed a US$2 million bounty on Gaddafi’s head.

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Mother of self-declared Addu apostate launches media appeal seeking scholars’ help

The mother of a 22 year-old girl from Addu City who publicly declared her apostasy has launched an appeal in the local Maldivian media seeking the help of religious scholars to make her daughter repent.

“She’s been a bit odd ever since she was in the seventh grade, but at the  time she did not say the things that she says now,” the 49 year-old mother told Minivan News.

“Every time I try to advise her she shouts at me and asks me what I was trying to make her believe, and says that she cannot believe the existence of Allah,” the mother said.

The mother said her daughter was currently being held under house arrest while being investigated for allegedly giving birth to a child out of wedlock.

“She has misbehaved since she was young, and is saying things that should not be said in front of the children. She has even been calling me balhu (dog).”

The mother said that whenever she tried to inform her daughter about death, the afterlife and the punishments for apostasy, her daughter would reply that it was “not a problem for her, and not to worry.”

“I admit that it was our negligence as well that allowed her to come this far. We knew about this a while ago and we could have been more careful then,’’ the mother said. “I have been asking around my neighbors and everyone about what to do, but all I can do is remain in this grief thinking about her.”

The mother said she “had no solution” to her grief.

“There’s still some good inside her. I know that because she has been advising her younger sisters not to be like her,’’ she said. ‘’It’s because she can believe that she is not going the right way.’’

The mother said there “was a reason why this had happened to [her daughter],” but said it was “a long story”.

President of Islamic Foundation of the Maldives, Ibrahim Fauzee said the organisation had heard of the appeal and that its local branch was looking into the matter.

“For sure, we will provide her assistance,’’ Fauzee said.

The Islamic Ministry said it had not received official notice of the matter.

The Maldivian Constitution states that the Maldives is a “100 percent” Sunni Muslim country, and the country maintains a reservation to article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom of religion.

The last Maldivian to publicly declare apostasy, Mohamed Nazim, did so in front of an 11,000-strong audience attending a lecture in May 2010 by well-known Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik.

Nazim was escorted from the venue by police for his own protection after members of the audience attempted to attack him, and was held in police custody. The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives subsequently issued a statement calling for Nazim to be stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to death if he failed to repent and return to Islam.

After two days of religious counseling in police custody, Nazim declared that his misconceptions had been clarified and gave Shahada – the Muslim testimony of belief – on national television during a press conference held at the Islamic Ministry.

In a later interview with Minivan News, Nazim said that he did not regret his actions.

“Somebody had to do it, it needed to be spoken about. The repression of thought, the lack of debate and a lack of a proper public sphere in which such discussion can take place, is dangerous,” he said.

The reaction, he said, was mixed – angry and supportive, superficial and profound. He lost 65 friends on Facebook, the social networking site to which almost every computer literate Maldivian subscribes. He did, however, gain 246 new ‘friends’.

His own friends and colleagues, he said, were uneasy talking about it, and very few actually discussed it with him. However, he told Minivan News he could feel the presence of the issue, “unspoken yet potent”, in every social interaction he had with another person.

In July 2010, 25 year-old air traffic controller Ismail Mohamed Didi hanged himself from the control tower of Male’ International Airport after seeking asylum in the UK for fear of persecution over his lack of religious belief.

Over two emails sent to an international humanitarian organisation on June 23 and 25, obtained by Minivan News, Ismail confessed he was an atheist and requested assistance for his asylum application, after claiming to have received several anonymous threats on June  22.

In the emails, he said he “foolishly admitted my stance on religion” to work colleagues, word of which had “spread like wildfire.”

“Maldivians are proud of their religious homogeneity and I am learning the hard way that there is no place for non-Muslim Maldivians in this society,” Ismail said, in one of his letters.

“I cannot bring myself to pretend to be something I am not, as I am a staunch believer in human rights. I am afraid for my life here and know no one inside the country who can help me.”

A colleague of Ismail’s told Minivan News that it appeared the 25 year-old had sought the early 3:00am shift and “came to work fully prepared to die.”

“His mother said she called him in the morning at 5:30am to tell him to pray, but there was no answer. They found his cigarette lighter on the balcony.”

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Islamic Foundation launches certificate course in use of incantations to cure black magic

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) has said that it will commence a certificate level course on incantations, teaching the participants “spiritual healing” and how to cure diseases using “incantation”.

“Incantations consist of words said or written in the form of dud or Dhikr for the purpose of protection or cure. It is sometimes accompanied by other actions, such as blowing or wiping over the thing to which it is applied,’’ the Foundation explained on its website.

President of the Islamic Foundation, Ibrahim Fauzee, told Minivan News that the main reason why the organisation had decided to conduct courses on spiritual healing was that many people in the islands had become victims of black magic performed by their enemies.

“Sometimes people have lost their lives [to black magic], and sometimes people perform the black arts to ruin the life or family of others. Many do not know how to cure this,’’ Fauzee said.

“Many people have requested that we teach them this, so we decided to open a course for the public and we are receiving huge support for it.’’

The one month course, beginning September 15, costs Rf 350 (US$23). Fauzee said seats for the class had been limited to 30 students, and it had already sold out.

During the course, students will learn incantations, ayahs, “extracted from the Quran which were taught by the Prophet (PBUH) during the old days, which people have always delivered to the next generation.”

Practitioners of black arts, he explained, spoke with djinns and used them to harm others.

“The Prophet’s (PBUH) Sunnah as well as the Quran reveals many things about the existence of djinns,” Fauzee said.

“Djinns often cause trouble and disturbances to humans, so we know that they are there. The Quran and the Prophet (PBUH) has taught us ways to cure [these disturbances],’’ he said.

Fauzee said the course would teach participants basic cures, and would involve both theoretical and practical work.

The Islamic Foundation explained that the practical component would involve the students accompanying tutors to treat people victimised by djinns, during which they would be taught how to use incantations.

Well-known scholar Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed and other senior members of the Islamic Foundation are scheduled to lecture the students during the course.

Sorcery, known locally as fandita, is widely practiced on many islands in the Maldives. In fact, the last person to be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi in 1953, who was executed by firing squad after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder using black magic.

Didi’s daughter, Dhondidi, was also sentenced in 1993 for performing fandita on behalf of the former President’s brother-in-law Ilyas Ibrahim, in his bid to win the 1993 presidential election.

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Taxation is allowed “under conditions”, says Adhaalath Party

Adhaalath Party has today claimed that taxation us allowed in Islam but “under conditions”, stating that there were “some issues” with proposed taxation regulation in the Maldives.

In a press release issued today detailing the party’s views on taxation, the Adhaalath Party said that some scholars believed that taxation was haram and some that it was was halal.

The party said that according to Islamic jurisprudence and economists, tax was something withdrawn from citizens without their consent and without specific profit in return.

Taxation would be allowed ‘’only in exceptional situations and it has to be stopped when the situation returns to normal’’, the party said.

‘’Thinking of taxation economically, it could be taken from the people permanently as a source of income to run the state, but under Islam tax can be taken if the state reaches a certain situation,’’ the Adhaalath Party said.

The Hanafi, Maliki, hanbali and Shafi’e sects of Islam allowed for taxation, said the Adhaalath Party, adding that there were scholars who believed that taxation was haram because it was something taken by force.

The party acknowledged that it would be “very difficult” to cover the expenditure of the state only by using the amount the state received through zakat.

However, the party urged that any money earned by taxation was to be shared justly and divided to fulfill the needs of all citizens.

‘’A tax has to be taken from the amount left after fulfilling the basic needs of the tax payers,’’ the party said. ‘’If there was nothing left after completing their basic needs, tax should not be taken from them.’’

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz has previously stated that the proposed income tax will only affect those earning more than Rf 30,000 (US$2000) a month.

The Adhaalath Party claimed the Import Duty tax had to be stopped and said it would be more beneficial to replace this with a business profit tax, as this would be collected after the business sold the product and not before.

‘’It is a  burden for small and medium businesses to pay a heavy import duty before a product has been sold,’’ the Adhaalath Party said.

The party also called on the government to abolish “useless political appointees”and to “introduce a Zakat Act”.

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Islamic Ministry, MDP religious council condemns Salaf’s taxation fatwa

Religious scholars of different political allegiances have moved to refute and condemn NGO Jammiyathul Salaf’s claim earlier this week that taxation is haram (forbidden) in Islam.

Deputy Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Farooq told local media that there was no religious grounds to declare taxation prohibited.

“When you say something is forbidden in religion, it should be clear under what principle or rationale that it is forbidden,” he explained to newspaper Haveeru. “You can’t just declare something forbidden on a whim. You cannot say something is forbidden when it is not clearly and definitely forbidden.”

He added that Zakat (alms for the poor) were being collected as before and old forms of taxation, such as varuvaa and import duties were not prohibited in Islam either.

Sheikh Farooq condemned the issuance of such fatwas (religious edicts) “without considering” either its validity or social impact.

Meanwhile the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) religious council condemned Salaf’s claims as an attempt to mislead the public over taxation.

“Human beings cannot forbid something Allah has allowed or allow something Allah has forbidden,” the council’s chair al-Hafiz Ahmed Zaki told the party’s website.

Hafiz Zaki explained that Islam specified steps to be followed before religious judgments or rulings could be made: “One cannot just arbitrarily declare something forbidden,” he said.

Zaki warned that such fatwas could lead to civil unrest and social divisions over religious issues. He said that Islam was a religion of moderation that did not encourage extreme actions.

Zaki urged the public and businessmen to clear any doubts with the concerned authorities instead of “listening to press releases issued by individuals soaked in self-interest.”

Meanwhile Adhaalath party spokesperson Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Miadhu newspaper that taxation was practiced in many Islamic countries while there was consensus among scholars that it was not prohibited.

“There are narrations that have reached us that tax was taken by the state during the time of Caliph Umar. He collected tax from wealth,” he said.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Afrashim Ali, chair of the party’s religious council, meanwhile told private broadcaster DhiFM that there was no grounds to declare taxation forbidden in Islam.

However NGO Salaf insisted in its press release Monday that, “Without doubt, using a person’s property or profiting from the property without the consent of the owner is haram in Islam. Only the compulsory Zakat (alms for the poor) portion can be taxed from a Muslim’s property.”

The religious NGO contended that “formulating a law and taking people’s property whatever name it is done under is for a certainty haram.”

“Jamiyyathul Salaf would remind the Speaker of Parliament and all MPs that those who formulate such laws and those who assist them will without a doubt have to bear responsibility before Almighty Allah,” the Salaf statement warned.

It adds that there is consensus in the Islamic ummah (community) that “stealing property by compulsion with laws on taxes, duties and pension imposed on a Muslim’s property is definitely haram.”

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Z-DRP raises spectre of British imperialism and loss of Islamic identity

President Mohamed Nasheed was elected in 2008 “with the help of the British conservative party and imperial powers,” the Zaeem-faction of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) claimed in a video message Thursday night, featured during a rally held to launch the Z-faction’s autonomous activities to celebrate the party’s sixth anniversary.

“In the two years since this government came, 22 people were killed on the street, Islam was challenged and defied,” the video message intoned. “[The government] made drinking alcohol and using drugs commonplace, appointed drug users and convicts to senior posts, sold the country’s assets to foreigners, lost control of the economy, locked down the High Court, and members of the ruling party hijacked the Deputy Speaker of parliament along with opposition MPs.

“Sickness is commonplace and the health system has been demolished. In the meantime, leaders that Zaeem Maumoon [Abdul Gayoom] brought to the political arena have abandoned his ideology and are now trying to chart a new course for their ship away from him.”

Addressing supporters after the video presentation, former President Gayoom said that the DRP’s “greatest national duty” was “to ensure that the Maldives remains a 100 percent Muslim country,” with “full independence and sovereignty.”

“The independence of the country and our faith are very much related,” he said. “The Maldives will only remain a country with complete freedom, independence and sovereignty if it remains a 100 percent Muslim country.”

If that status should change, said Gayoom, “there is no doubt that our independence will be threatened as Maldivian history has taught us the lesson that every time we lost our independence it was because some group tried to turn the Maldivian people to the wrong religion.”

He stressed that allowing freedom of religion “in a tiny country like the Maldives with a small, homogenous population” would create “disagreement and division among the people and lead to bloodshed.”

“Enslavement”

The narrated video presentation – set to black and white reels of British monarchs and ships in the Male’ harbour – sketched a history of the Maldives’ “enslavement” under British colonialism and Indian Borah merchants to independence on July 26, 1965.

“In 1834, [Robert] Morseby came to the country on behalf the British governor in Bombay to draw [maritime] charts of the Maldives,” the narration began. “But the territorial chart wasn’t the only chart the English were drawing.

“They were drawing charts of our internal affairs and the economy, too. [They] connected Maldivians with the Borah traders who upheld the interests of British imperialism, and arranged for them to be permanently settled in Male’.”

The British then proceeded to “divide and rule,” sparking a feud between two royal families led by Athireege Ibrahim Didi and Kakaage Mohamed Rannabadeyri Kilegefaanu, both of whom had “significant political interest in the trade of the Borah.”

In late 1886, Ibrahim Didi or Dhoshimeyna Kilegefaanu deposed the reigning Sultan, who was replaced with Mohamed Mueenudeen III, known as Kuda Bandarain.

“It cannot be believed that the English played no part in the great atrocity that was the coup attempt through arson [Bodu Hulhu] in 1887,” the narrator states. “The leader of the coup, Ibrahim Dhoshimeyna Kilegefaanu, was a British citizen.”

Before heading out to set fires in Male’, the arsonists “performed black magic inside Velaanage” and ate the heart of a 15-year-old boy who had died that day.

“Eventually those who committed [the acts of arson] were found and caught,” the narration continued. “Ibrahim Dhoshimeyna Kilegefaanu and his accomplices were punished and banished. [But] before too long, the English meddled with the investigation and forced the Sultan to free Ibrahim Dhoshimeyna Kilegefaanu.”

The Maldives “became enslaved by the British” on December 16, 1887 when “the Sultan was intimidated and coerced into signing the protection agreement.”

“Empowerment”

The Z-DRP video message observed that the Maldives as a British protectorate was characterised by “poverty and the struggle for the throne by powerful families” as well as political instability and the secession of three southern atolls.

“As a consequence of the country becoming a British protectorate, after 87 years the Maldives was among the poorest five countries in the world,” the narrator explained. “The British could not bring democracy to the Maldives. There was no education system, no health system and no domestic economy. And justice was not served either.”

Former President Ibrahim Nasir secured independence in 1965 but “began his own business using state resources.”

“When Nasir left office in 1978, he owned seven resorts, numerous plots of land in Male’, a shipping line and counted a number of shops among his businesses,” the narrator claimed.

The condition of the Maldivian people “was changed by our national hero and proud Zaeem [beloved leader] of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party.”

The video message argued that the ex-President “empowered Maldivians spiritually, intellectually, socially and physiologically.”

“After empowering Maldivians upon these pillars through the service of a golden 30 years, he took the country out of the list of the world’s poorest states,” the narrator stated. “[Gayoom] introduced principles of modern democracy, separated powers of the state, and introduced a multi-party system [in 2005].”

“Now the situation has darkened again,” the Z-DRP warned. “But what the people still want, north and south, and all across the country, is the ideology [of Gayoom’s reign] that empowered them.”

“True independence”

Meanwhile in his speech Gayoom explained that true independence included “freedom of thought, economic freedom and cultural freedom as well.”

“Passing our economic affairs into the hands of foreigners, just saying that we have political freedom, is not ensuring independence at all,” he contended.

Democratic governance “is the best form of governance,” said Gayoom, and the reform agenda launched in 2004 “to bring modern democracy to the Maldives has, by the grace of God, been successful.”

“As a result of [the road map for reform] the Maldives has become a complete democracy,” he said. “A complete and perfect constitution was devised, independent institutions were established, political parties were formed, the fundamental rights of the Maldivian people were protected, justice was established. All this was done and complete before 2008.”

The new constitution was ratified on August 7, 2008, two months before Gayoom was ousted in the country’s first democratic multi-party election.

Gayoom however went on to say that “renewed efforts” were needed “to bring back democracy to the country.”

“I won’t go into too much detail on this,” he said. “However even as the video we just saw explained, the situation is deteriorating on a daily basis. The people are becoming impoverished and their rights are being violated.”

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