Tag: islamic ministry

Zakir Naik venue “only for football”, says Youth Ministry

The Youth Ministry has denied the Islamic Ministry use of the Maafaanu football ground for the sermons of visiting Islamic scholar Zakir Naik.

Minister for Youth Hassan Latheef said that the ground was a football stadium which was used by many young people every day, ”so it is very difficult to give that land.”

Latheef said that if the ground was given for the sermon then “others” will also start requesting use of the venue.

”That land cannot be given to do anything other than football,” Latheef said. ”If you take a look, you can see people playing everywhere, in the middle, sides and outside also.”

Latheef said that the Youth Ministry was now speaking with the Islamic Ministry to see if they would like to have the ‘Alimas’ Carnival Stage instead.

”We spoke with the Municipality council and they said the carnival stage was possible,” Latheef said, ”but the Islamic ministry said that land was not large enough.”

He said the Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari had telephoned him while he was out of the country, ” and told me the Islamic Ministry was hosting a sermon by Zakir Naik and asked if the football ground was possible,” Latheef said. ”I said yes, let’s see whether it is possible.”

He said the Ministry has now received another request from a religious group requesting the Galolhu national stadium for a religious event.

State minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that the Youth Ministry had recently told him that the football ground was available, but now denied it.

”Later they said it was a land only for entertainment purposes,” Shaheem said.

He said the Islamic Ministry was now searching for another venue to host the event and would announce it very soon, but he noted that the carnival stage was not big enough for the expected turnout. The Islamic Ministry has previously claimed that Naik’s visit will be the biggest event ever hosted in the Maldives.

”There are many challenges that we face,” Shaheem said, ”from many people and in many ways. I want to tell everyone that by God’s will we will host the event – everyone be patient and don’t commit any violence,” he said.

The Adhaalath party meanwhile expressed anger over the issue on their English language website, noting that the Islamic Ministry “has spent a large amount of money to print posters mentioning the stadium grounds as the venue.”

“The decision of the Youth Ministry not to give the stadium grounds for holding the lecture event will only add to the piles of questions about this government’s loyalty to the religion of this nation,” the party said, in a recent post.

“The pretext given was that they cannot do without the ball for one whole week. The youth who play there may not like it. What about the thousands of Maldivians who want the event to be held in the most spacious and suitable ground available? Don’t their feelings count?”

“The irony is that the majority of the people who will be attending Dr Zakir’s lecture will be youth,” the party said.

“Such blatant acts of obstruction to Islamic activities will only help in further plummeting the popularity of this government. It would appear that this is a ‘tit for tat’ by the secular minded people in the establishment because the Islamic Ministry and many citizens of this country criticised the Akon concert.

“What these people do not realize is that the people of Maldives are watching. Everyday their actions are exposing them for what they are: men who don’t care about the wishes of the vast majority of Maldivians. They continually forget that this is a Muslim country. They have very little, if any, loyalty to Islam and the nation.”

President of Adhaalath Party Sheikh Hussain Rasheed told Minivan News that the land “should be given equally to everyone.”

”The Youth Ministry just don’t like it because it is religious event,” Sheikh Rasheed claimed.

Sheikh Rasheed said that there would also be youths attending the event.

”I just want to thank the youth ministry for raising this as an issue and campaigning like this,” he said. ”Before we were expecting 10,000 people for the event, but now we are expecting 20,000.”

Speaking in a press conference on decentralisation today, President Mohamed Nasheed said the government would endeavour to provide a venue for the event, “and there is no doubt about that.”

“There is freedom of expression in this country and people should be able to express their viewpoints within the basic boundries of our law, so we have to find a venue for them,” he said.

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Comment: Playing God’s Advocate

‘Ambiguities’ are stalling the speedy passage of The Regulations to Protect Maldivian Religious Unity. If this document does not get on the government gazette ASAP, this country will degenerate into religious chaos.

Evidence clearly shows Maldivian religious unity to be a perilous façade, having managed to endure without legal enforcement (apart from the small matter of the constitutional stipulation that every citizen be a Muslim for only 800 years).

As citizens who are so closely consulted in the open and democratic lawmaking process of the country, it is our duty to highlight the problem areas so the Ministry can move rapidly to pass The Regulations and pre-empt the imminent religious war.

What is unambiguous about The Regulations is that The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is The Supreme Entity. Omniscient, but not omnipresent, it will choose a learned group to act as its eyes and ears in society. This select group, or The Board, will report to The Ministry any utterances, actions and opinions expressed or held by unlicensed-scholars, citizens and/or visiting aliens/infidels deemed to possess the potential for creating religious disunity.

Recognising the gravity of The Board’s responsibility, The Ministry has set the appointment criteria very high indeed. Members must: (1) be at least 25 years old; (2) possess at least a first degree in Islamic Studies or law; and (3) should not have committed an act defined as a punishable crime in Islam.

Given how difficult it would be to find a 25-year-old graduate who has not fornicated, The Board has the potential to become one of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs in the world.

The Regulations states as its raison d’être ever-increasing disputes between religious scholars that threaten to tear the country apart (Article 1.2). The Mullah to Mere-mortal ratio has not yet been tallied in the Maldives, but evidence suggests it could easily be 1:2.

In such a situation, The Regulations will prove invaluable in helping us distinguish the ersatz scholar from the genuine Sheikh. Besides, ‘the liberals’ have long agitated for the government to muzzle over-zealous Mullahs, so it is now time to make a gracious retreat on the issue, happy in the knowledge that your local Mullah is not just any Mullah, but a bona fide Mullah With a License to Preach.

Chapter 4 states that it is a requirement of every Maldivian citizen to actively protect Islam (Article 4.21). Is this a legal requirement? And what does the duty entail? What exactly is it that we need to peel our eyes and cock our ears for? And how do we go about reporting our suspicions and findings? Would there be a 24-hour Infidel Alert hotline manned by a Licensed Mullah?

The Regulations bans any religion other than Islam from all public discourse. Being citizens active in protecting Islam, should we from now on categorically deny other religions exist, or is it sufficient to regard Them with condescension and/or loathing whence acknowledgement is required? Article 6.32 bans any utterance or action that is insulting to Islam in any way. What is the definition of the term ‘insulting to Islam’? Would, say, leaving out the PBUH after Prophet Mohamed be deemed an insult? Or does it have to be material such as those published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 before it is found to be insulting? What is an utterance that constitutes an insult against a mosque? Would criticism of its architecture – say the suggestion that its dome would have looked better if elevated five inches more – amount to an insult, or would the criticism have to take in the state of its badly landscaped garden, too, before it is deemed an Offence Against a Mosque?

Non-Muslim expatriates in the Maldives – best wean yourselves off the habit of holding garage sales to sell religious memorabilia at discount prices like you invariably do every Sunday ‘back home where you come from’. Any such sale in the Maldives would flout The Regulations (Article 34.a), so resist the temptation to make a quick buck, and firmly turn away the Maldivians queuing outside, desperate to get their grubby apostate hands on your old rosary beads or your Krishna statue for a Bai Rufiyaa.

You should also be aware that even though religion is most likely to have been your favourite conversation starter and probably the source of your best pick-up lines back home, it will not aid your hectic social life on this island paradise in a similar manner. In fact, Article 34.b makes it safer to drop religion from your vocabulary altogether. As a precautionary measure, before The Regulations are passed, you should try and remove any reflexive exclamations that may have embedded themselves in your oral register over the years such as ‘Oh my God!, ‘Jesus!’, ‘Harey Raam!’, etc. If you are more accustomed to saying ‘Jesus [insert expletive] Christ!’, however, it might help your plea of mitigation. Remember, though, a precedent is yet to be set, so proceed with caution.

Article 6.35 is a veritable quagmire of ambiguity. What constitutes a television programme or a written publication that is offensive or insulting to Islam? Where do we look to for guidance? The Taliban? The Emirates? Saudi Arabia? Insulting to whose version of Islam? Can a woman be shown wearing a bikini, or should a burqa be superimposed on her image before she appears on our airwaves? Does every shot of a church, temple and/or synagogue have to be removed from any film that a Maldivian watches? What does it mean that all advertisements should be ‘respectful of the beautiful customs of Islam’ (6.35c)? Apart from beauty being an entirely subjective concept, does this mean that only veiled women can appear in advertisements now? What if she is selling shampoo? Will all Gillette advertisements have to be axed? Books, too, are to be screened by The Board before it is available for Maldivian consumption (Article 31). If this gives us some reprieve from ‘literature’ such as The DaVinci Code, such a regulation might not be entirely without merit, but hardly justifies a group of 25-year-old male graduate virgins deciding our choice of reading matter.

Can The Ministry please clarify why it is necessary to burn the house down to roast the pig?

It has been a surprisingly risky business highlighting the ‘ambiguities’ in The Regulations. This article contains the p-word; names someone whom over a billion non-Muslims regard as the Son of God; allows Lord Krishna a cameo appearance; speaks of women in bikinis; discusses an instrument of shaving for men; and mentions places of worship other than a mosque.

Would The Regulations be applied retrospectively? If Sheikh Shaheem of The Ministry is to be taken at his word, the consequences may not be too dire. Even if found guilty of the Offence of Mockery, he has assured, the author will not be imprisoned, but will receive ‘counselling’. Whether ‘counselling’ involves a psychiatrist’s couch, one-on-one preaching sessions with a Licensed Mullah, or water-boarding, remains undefined and open to interpretation. As is much of The Regulations.

Criminalising (dis)belief will never be free of ambiguities.

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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Salaf to host ‘The Call’ with Dr Bilal Philips

The religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has announced it will host a series of religious sermons named ”The Call”.

Secretary General of Salaf Mohamed Sobah said that the sermons would be delivered by Dr Bilal Philips from Canada,  and Abdul Raheem Green from United Kingdom.

Sobah said that the sermons would be delivered for four nights.

”the events will be from 3 to 6 June,” Sobah said, ” it will be held at the Alimas Carnival Stage.”

Sobah said that the events will be held everyday from 4 pm to 10:3pm, and that the NGO was expecting more than 10,000 people to attend the sermons.

”The Islamic Ministry is fully cooperating and providing assistance to us,” he said.

He said that the NGO had launched a website for the event, at www.thecall.mv.

”We have many sponsors for the event,” he said, ”which shows that a lot of people support the event.”

Dr Bilal Philips was once brought to the Maldives by Salaf last year. Many people attended the sermon and more than 100,000 people watched it via media.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said President Mohamed Nasheed naturally supported any religious event in the Maldives.

”If he had time he would attend these sermons himself,” Zuhair said.

He said that Islamic Ministry was a part of the government and that president supported any event the Islamic Ministry assisted and supported.

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Dhiffushi divided: islanders concerned about anonymous man preaching Islam from bedroom

People living on Dhiffushi in Kaafu Atoll have expressed concern about an anonymous man living in the island preaching Islam to an isolated and growing congregation.

A authority familiar with the matter told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that the man claimed to be a resident of Male’, and said he had moved to Dhiffushi with his wife and two kids ”because he liked the island.”

He claimed the man “preaches Islam to people and convinces them to form an isolated congregations and to join him.”

”There are youths following and protecting him,” he said, ”he leads all the prayers, including Friday prayers, in his bedroom.”

He said the man claimed he is living the way Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) lived.

”He uses a mop stick as his staff,” the source said. ”People one day spied on them while they were doing the Friday prayers and found out that he gives the Friday speech standing on his bed with his crowd surrounding him,.”

He said the man and his followers had claimed that the imam of the government mosque was a sorcerer, and that there was a corpse buried under the mosque.

”Islanders are really angry with his behavior,” the source said. ”Some people have already told him to leave the island immediately.”

He said the man’s his acts were dividing the society of the island.

An official at the Island office said that the case had been reported to the Islamic Ministry and the Atoll Office.

”At first they did the Friday prayers in his room,” he said, ”now they do it secretly in other room.”

Spokesperson for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadullah and Permanent Secretary Mohamed Didi said they had no information on the matter.

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Maldives to introduce study of comparative religion, says State Islamic Minister

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed is advocating the study of ‘comparative religion’ in the Maldives.

“It is important for both Muslims and non-Muslims to compare their religions and cultures, and to compare philosophies,” Shaheem told Minivan News, explaining that subject was taught in many Islamic universities across the world, including academic institutions in Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Visiting Islamic lecturer Zakir Naik is a well-known proponent of comparative religion, and frequently quotes verses of other religious texts to support his arguments.

The religions to be studied in the Maldives course would include “all those in the world: Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and the other religions,” Shaheem said.

In the lead up to the launch of the course, Shaheem explained that the Islamic Ministry was drafting regulations legalising possession of books concerning other religions, such as the bible, “for educational and research purposes”.

Permitting the study of comparative religion did not mean permitting the worship of other religions in the Maldives, a 100 percent Muslim nation, Shaheem emphasised.

“The subject is comparative religion,” he said. “It will compare between Islam with other religions – such as Christianity and Judaism. At the end of study, students will know the differences and the similarities. When you study other religions, that doesn’t mean you convert to other religions – it is my belief that by the end of this people should know that Islam is the truth.”

Shaheem said the course would only be taught from an undergraduate degree level, and not secondary level “because [students’] minds are not prepared to deal with these philosophies. They are ready for it at university level,” he said.

An understanding of comparative religion would strength Islamic faith in the Maldives, Shaheem said, “because when Muslims study this subject they learn how to deal with other philosophies – they learn about what others believe, the differences between us and them, and what is the right side.”

He said he did not anticipate any objections to the new course, but noted that “the interpretation of Shar’ia has to develop from period to period. The island has become a country, the country has become a region, the region has become a world. Muslims have to be aware of these philosophies in order to deal with others in the world.”

At the same time, Shaheem said, it was necessary for other cultures to learn about Islamic culture.

“They must learn that Islam is not a religion of terrorism and extremism, or an uncivilised religion. Islam is a civilised system, because it provides all the needs of a human being – for example, in Christianity and Judaism philosophies there is no democratic political system, there is no family law, there is no economic system; we have a penal code, code, family law, economic law, even an Islamic banking system. This is why Islam is among the fastest growing religions in Europe, America and the rest of the Western world – Islam is everywhere.”

Shaheem noted that many scholars in the Maldives had studied the subject, including himself, and put himself forward as a potential teacher.

“I have studied this subject in Saudi Arabia, and I am very interested in comparative religion,” he said. “I am sure that when people study these things, at the end of the story they will agree that Islam is the truth.”

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Salaf sents letter to Islamic ministry to clarify concerned issues

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has sent a letter to the Islamic Ministry seeking to clarify issues concerning the Islamic Ministry and the  implementation of Shari’ah law in the Maldives.

The letter was sent to the ministry last Tuesday and was to the addressed to the Minster of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Baary.

There were more than 15 issues the NGO appealed the ministry to clarify, including:

  • Details of how the Islamic Ministry acted on the issue of appointing females as judges and president
  • The issue of massage parlours and how they are being dealt with
  • How the ministry is acting against people who form isolated congregations
  • Details of the conversation had with the residents of Himandhoo, after they formed an isolated congregation, and the result of that conversation
  • How much freedom [the ministry] has given the Imams to worship according to the Sunnah.
  • To clarify if the ministry had information that someone had tried or was trying to build a church in the country

Vice president of Jamiyyathul Salaf Sheikh Hussein Moosa Fikry said that the letter was signed by the President of Salaf on behalf of the NGO.

”The objective of the letter was to clarify some doubts we have concerning the ministry and the government,” Fikry said.

”We have noticed that the government including the Adhaalath Party and the Maldivian Democratic Party had approved some laws contrary to the Islamic Shari’ah.”

Fikry said that there were also some recent issues Salaf wanted the ministry to clarify.

”We have included many issues, such as we do not know what happened to the issue of the Quran translation,” he said. ”We also want find out if the ministry is trying to re-build the Arabiyya school building.”

He said that the NGO had noticed that some unIslamic news articles were also sometimes circulated and claimed the ministry was not taking any action.

The Minister for Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Baari said that he had no information about the letter sent by Salaf.

”I do not know whether if they sent a letter,” he said, ”I don’t know about it.”

Spokesperson for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadulla also said he also had no information concerning receipt of the letter.

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Akon’s Supafest postponed “at least six weeks”

Akon’s Supafest show in Malé has been postponed two days before the concert was to take place, due to “technical and security concerns of the artist” according to the show’s Sri Lankan event managers Platinum Entertainment.

Platinum Entertainment said most of the equipment needed for the show, such as the stage, LED panels, and technical staff will not be able to make it to Malé in time for the scheduled concert. But they offered assurances  that since “some equipment worth more than $100,000 has arrived to the Maldives,” it is “straight proof that the event is scheduled to go on.”

The show’s delay comes shortly after Maldives police arrested the Sri Lankan organiser of the Boney M concert for fraud, and the government decided to take over running running the show itself.

Akon’s concert has been controversial from the start. Platinum Entertainment first tried to send the star to Sri Lanka, but the government refused him entry into the country because the content of one of his videos was deemed offensive to Buddhist tastes.

He was also initially denied a visa to Australia and missed a performance in Adelaide, but was allowed into the country in time for the Melbourne concert.

When Akon was denied entry to Sri Lanka, Platinum Entertainment received permission from the Maldivian government to host the concert in Male’ and joined forces with local event organisers, Highrise Entertainment, to run the event on 23 April.

Everything was set up for the show to proceed – posters, tickets, government approval and many eager fans billed it as  “the biggest concert ever in the Maldives.”

However since the show was announced, there have been complaints from the public and the Islamic Ministry concerning Akon’s lyrics, and especially his performance last year where he simulated sex on stage with a young girl during a show in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago.

Ali Furushan from Highrise Entertainment said they had difficulty bringing in the equipment, which was being shipped from Sri Lanka, Singapore and Australia. He added that because “it’s the first international event, we didn’t want to do a half-job of it,” so they decided to reschedule the show instead.

He said there were also security concerns from Akon’s management, who were worried about the barricade system.

“The barricades at the show are not interlocking ones,” he said.

Furushan said there had been no concerns regarding the complaints from the Islamic Ministry, saying it was “mostly the technical part” that had forced the organisers to postpone the concert.

Platinum Entertainment will be refunding tickets starting from 12:00pm on 22 April through a hotline (330 7898) and at the Highrise office. They are also refunding money to the show sponsors, “even though they have fully agreed to stick with the event.”

Furushan said they are returning the money to the sponsors because they don’t have a confirmed date yet for the concert, but when they confirm the date, they will start all over again.

“Then we have to re-do all the print material and bring all the equipment back,” he said, noting they had already spent US$2,500 on printing materials alone.

“It’s a big financial loss for the company,” he said, adding that insurance would not cover their losses.

Platinum Entertainment has said because the concert is a multi-national show, “rescheduling will take a minimum duration of six weeks” and they will announce the new date when it has been set.

Furushan confirmed it will take a minimum of six weeks for Akon’s schedule to clear up again. “He’s pretty booked up,” he said, noting he has upcoming concerts in Congo, New York and Los Angeles.

“We hope to have the concert just before the FIFA World Cup,” he said.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the main issues were security concerns from Akon’s management.

He said Akon’s management had “requested the government to assure them of security arrangements from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).”

Zuhair said the concerns for security arose “after certain Islamic scholars and State Minister [for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Ahmed Shaheem Ali Saeed] complained about Akon’s explicit lyrics.”

However he assured “the government will stand firm. The permits have been issued, the president is delighted and has expressed hope that everyone who goes to see Akon has a good time.”

Zuhair added it was a good opportunity for the Maldivian companies sponsoring the event, and it would “hopefully encourage other international stars to come to the Maldives.”

Many young people who Minivan News spoke to claimed they had bought tickets ““not because we like Akon, but to support the event so more artists will come to the Maldives,” one concert-goer said.

Hearing of the show’s postponement, he said: “I am very angry. It’s music! It’s supposed to be everywhere. It can’t be stopped just because someone doesn’t like it.”

He said he would definitely get a refund if Akon can’t come, but will hold on to his tickets for a while.

Akon has meanwhile made a video apologising to all his Maldivian fans for the postponement. It can be seen on the event’s Facebook page.

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Islamic Ministry expresses concern over isolated congregations

The Islamic Ministry has expressed concern at the rising number of privately-held, unsanctioned congregations.

The ministry said it was “advisable” for such congregations to immediately cease worshipping in isolation and conducting sermons administered by scholars not licensed by the ministry.

The Islamic Ministry said that private congregations were against laws protecting religious unity.

”The Islamic Ministry does not believe that there is any reason to perform isolated congregations as the state is based on Sunni Islam, and formal congregations in the mosques are approved,” the Islamic Ministry said in a press statement.

The ministry advised Imams not to dispute religious issues or get into disputes over ‘Madhab’ (way of thinking, persuasion) , and to instead follow the Sunnah of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and to believe and return to the way that trusted Islamic scholars had advised.

Sheikh Ali Zahir said that the issue could be spoken about for a long time, but that the Islamic Ministry was the authorised department and had said its word.

However, a man who follows Islam in a private congregation told Minivan News on condition on anonymity that his group had decided to isolate themselves “because the current government is following a law established in 1982 by the former government, a law protecting religious unity which is contrary to the tenets of Islam.”

He said that according to the Constitution Article 10[b], “no law can be enacted contrary to the tenets of Islam.”

”So we do not have to follow the law protecting religious unity,” he said.

He said that according to the tenets of Islam there were no different ‘Madhabs’ on the Sunnah of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH).

”They force all the Imams to pray according to the Shafi’e Madhab, so we cannot follow the Imams who pray according to a Madhab, we follow Prophet Mohamed (PBUH),” he said.

He said another reason for the isolated congregations was that the former government ordered the Imams not to read ‘Gunooth’ during the fajr prayers.

”Now they read Gunooth when the Imams feels like it,” he said.

Furthermore, he said, the three powers of the government had been divided and Shari’ah Law had not been implemented in the Constitution and Penal Code, contradicting the tenets of Islam.

”According to Islam all the powers should be in one  hand,” he said.

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Islamic Ministry expresses concern over Akon’s SuperFest

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Ahmed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said the ministry has received “many complaints” from people concerned about the upcoming Akon concert, which is to be held in the Maldives on 23 April.

”We have received many phone calls and complaints from people asking why we are doing nothing when a person who sings explicit lyrics is about to perform in the country,” Shaheem said.

”Our opinion is that we do not like explicit singers to perform in the country.”

He explained that scholars agreed that singing was allowed under the tenets of Islam, ”but with a good level of discipline.”

Akon is no stranger to religious controversy, after he was denied a visa to Sri Lanka by the country’s authorities because of a video clip in which he dances around a Buddha statue with scantily-clad women.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said the government had no valid reason to reject Akon from performing in the Maldives.

Zuhair said if the Islamic ministry had any issues against it, “they can either send a letter or speak about it in the cabinet meeting.”

”It would be very unfair to say that Akon might do this or that before he actually does it,” Zuhair said.

He said a private company had spent a large amount of money investing in the performance in the Maldives, and that many Maldivian companies were also involved in the event.

Zuhair has previously stated that President Mohamed Nasheed is keen to attend the concert, which the government hopes will lead to further performances in the Maldives.

Event Manager in the Maldives for Akon concert Fathmath Raufa said the organisers were “fully confident” that nothing against the tenets of Islam would take place during the event.

”Our main purpose is to promote our country and to introduce entertainment tourism to the Maldives,” she said. ”This is like any other show held in Male’.”

She said there was no reason to stop this event, and noted that Akon and both his parents were Muslim.

Islamic NGO Jamiyathul Salaf did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

From Akon’s song ‘Senegal’:

‘So what you know about how God comes first in our lives, everything that we do is for Allah

So what you know about that Holy place called Touba where Prophets were born

So what you know about comin’ here, gettin money and investing it back home.”

From Akon’s song ‘Bartender’:

” Don’t smoke, don’t drink, that’s why I don’t be by the bar, baby

Just lookin’ at you from a distance, lookin’ like a goddamn star, baby

So my girl don’t see me, T-Pain, can I get those keys to the car?

‘Bout to go and bang bang boogie with my cutie and I’ll see you tomar’.”

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