Tag: islamic ministry

High Court overturns lower court ruling on Hajj quota controversy

The High Court has overturned a lower court’s ruling on the Hajj quota controversy, in which the Civil Court ordered the Islamic Ministry to reevaluate several unsuccessful bids presented by local Hajj groups offering pilgrimages this year.

The Maldives’ quota of 874 pilgrims was divided among eight companies selected by the Islamic Ministry, while the tenders of Al-manasik Private Limited, Al-fathuh Hajj And Umra Group, Al-Safa Private Limited, Classic Hajj and Umra Private Limited were dismissed.

The Islamic Ministry previously told local media that the proposals were rejected because they had not followed the procedures, but were at first accepted by mistake and later dismissed when the ministry realised the proposals were not compliant.

The High Court ruling issued yesterday stated that if people were allowed to do things in violation of procedures, this would make way for corruption.

High Court Judges Abdul Gany Mohamed, Abdulla Hameed and Shuaib Hussain Zakariyya presided over the case and the bench was chaired by Judge Abdul Gany Mohamed.

The ruling of Abdul Gany dissented from the ruling of the other two judges, which formed the majority opinion.

On April 16, the Civil Court ordered the Islamic Ministry reevaluate the proposals of four groups it previously rejected from arranging Hajj pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia this year for Maldivians.

The lawsuit was first filed at the Civil Court by Almanasik Hajj Group, AlFath Hajj And Umra Group, Alsafa Hajj Group, Classic Hajj and Umrah Group.

Performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime is one of the five pillars of Islam.

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Islamic Ministry calls for lowering age of prosecution for minors to 10 years-old

The Islamic Ministry’s Fiqh Academy has requested parliament lower the age of prosecution for minors stipulated in the the Penal Code bill from 14 to 10 years-old, reports local media.

MP Ahmed Hamza, chairperson of the parliamentary committee reviewing the Penal Code Bill,
has said that international conventions state the age of prosecution for minors is 15 years-old.

“The age for a minor to be advised to mend his ways for forgoing compulsory deeds is 10 years-old,” according to the Fiqh Academy. Their commentary submitted to the parliamentary committee also claims that minors who commit offenses in the Maldives are 11 years-old or above.

Hamza claims that the Prosecutor General (PG) supports keeping the age of prosecution at 14 years-old, as stipulated in the current penal code bill draft.

“We will decide on setting an age after reflecting on the [international] conventions Maldives is party to, amongst other things. They are saying that the age given in the current penal code already poses some constraints,” said Hamza.

“The PG in favour of it being kept as it is, as in the current penal code, at 14 years. The Foreign Ministry has no objection to this either. But the Islamic Ministry is asking that it be lowered to 10,” he added.

The age for prosecuting minors is one of two penal code issues currently under debate. The second issue surrounds a recently added clause regarding someone convicted of a crime being sentenced according to the penal code stipulations, according to Hamza.

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Civil Court orders Islamic Ministry to reconsider Hajj group selection

The Civil Court has ordered the Islamic Ministry to reevaluate the proposals of four groups it previously rejected from arranging Hajj pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia this year for Maldivians.

The court ruled that the tenders of Al-manasik Private Limited, Al-fathuh Hajj And Umra Group, Al-Safa Private Limited and Classic Hajj And Umra Private Limited, should all now be reviewed by the country’s religious authorities.

The case was filed at the Civil Court by the four Hajj groups, which claimed that the Islamic Ministry had failed to comply and follow the correct procedures in selecting local companies to take Maldivians to Saudi Arabia.

The Civil Court ruled that the Islamic Ministry had followed the correct procedures in its decision to reject the tender proposals submitted by the four groups.

State Islamic Minister Mohamed Didi today confirmed to local media that a decision had already been taken to appeal the ruling at the High Court.

Didi also claimed that the Islamic Ministry had already divided the Hajj quota among eight groups, adding that any changes would create more problems for pilgrims.

On Sunday (April 14), Didi expressed concern to Minivan News that Maldivians might not be able to make the Hajj pilgrimage this year if the court case contesting the ministry’s choice of eight groups was not resolved in time.

The Civil Court issued a stay order or temporary injunction (Dhivehi) on Thursday (April 11), instructing the Islamic Ministry not to proceed with the chosen Hajj groups pending a ruling on the legality of its selection process.

Didi said at the time that the Islamic Ministry would soon have to sign an official agreement with the Saudi Arabian government to finalise the approved Hajj Groups.

“We have already sent the names of Hajj Groups that we have allowed and the Saudi government will call us to sign the agreement any moment now.  If we had to say no we can’t sign the agreement because we are not sure these Hajj Groups would be able to take people to Saudi Arabia this year as planned, then the Saudi government might not give us another chance,” Didi explained.

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Islamic Minister calls on state to withdraw all cases against religious scholars

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali has called on the state to withdraw all court cases filed against Islamic scholars during past administrations.

“The cases filed against scholars during past administrations often involve charges for preaching religious advice without permits,” Shaheem told local media SunOnline.

“There are some charges previously filed against certain scholars, for example Sheikh [Ibrahim] Fareed. The charges against him are for preaching without a permit. I have spoken with Sheikh Fareed about this matter. In my capacity as Islamic minister, I call on the relevant authorities of the government to withdraw cases like this. These are very hurtful charges. Such charges should not be allowed to be levied against university educated, capable scholars, especially not under the current constitution,” Shaheem said.

Shaheem said that in a time where freedom to preach religion is exercised so freely, it is the duty of scholars to “invite people to religion to the extent of their capabilities” and that they should be granted that freedom as long as they do not make any statement which goes against Islam.

“Now, if they start giving out ‘fatwa’s, giving out judgements on what is ‘haram’ or ‘halal’ and speaking against the principles of Sharia, then action against them can be taken under the Religious Unity Act. I, however, cannot agree that there must be charges against someone for simple religious preaching, like asking people to go pray or pay alms,” Shaheem stated.

Speaking about scholars who held different views on religious matters, Shaheem said that such differences should be sorted through peaceful dialogue, and not through jail sentences and torture.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has previously held meetings to resolve dissenting opinions on religious matters, under the name of ‘Scholar’s Dialogue’.

Shaheem was travelling and unable to speak at the time of press.

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Education Ministry questions ACC order to review awarding of scholarships

The Education Ministry has questioned instructions by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to review the awarding of scholarships from the Zakat (alms for the poor) fund, reports Haveeru.

State Minister for Education Aminath Ali denied the ACC’s claim that deserving recipients were denied scholarships due to flaws in the selection process, carried out jointly by the Education Ministry, Zakat Fund Committee and the Islamic Ministry.

Of 812 applicants, 320 were selected for the scholarships, she revealed.

“ACC had highlighted that though orphans deserved a mandatory nine points, that process had not been followed. We had requested the Islamic Ministry to define orphans before the process was selected. Islamic Ministry advised that orphans over the age of 18 who are employed would only receive a certain amount of points,” the state minister was quoted as saying.

She revealed that some students who were not chosen for the scholarships had filed complaints with the ACC, after which two officials from the commission examined the selection process and all relevant documentation.

She added that the ACC investigators had not questioned any officials from the ministry.

The state minister also denied claims by the ACC that the last stage of the selection process was carried out only by the Education Ministry despite the regulations stating equal involvement of both the Education and Islamic Ministries.

Aminath Ali went on to characterise the ACC’s order for a review as “bizarre” and questioned the purpose of the order, accusing the commission of violating the rights of students who deserved the assistance.

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Saudi Arabia to fund mosque construction

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has said that an agreement was signed on Thursday for MVR 27 million (US$1.7 million) in free aid from Saudi Arabia for construction of mosques in the country.

According to a press release by the Islamic Ministry, the Maldives Ambassador to Sri Lanka Hussain Shihab and Saudi Ambassador to Maldives Abdul Azeez Jammaz signed the agreement at a ceremony that took place at the Saudi embassy in Sri Lanka.

The Islamic Ministry said a list of islands selected for mosque construction would be made public next week and that it hoped to begin the bidding process next month.

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CAM working to block controversial ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Trailer

The Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) has said today that it is working to block the trailer of a film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims’ from being viewed in the Maldives.

The controversial film has been at the centre of perceived anti-American protests across the world. International media has reported that in certain cases, these protests have descended into violence, resulting in the deaths of a number of US nationals at certain embassies in Africa and the Middle East.

Addressing the availability of the trailer in the Maldives, CAM Chief Executive Ilyas Ahmed has said that the usual course of action in dealing with cases of offensive on-line content in the country was to block an entire website found to be hosting the material. However, since the trailer in this case was hosted on public video-sharing website YouTube, Ilyas said he was trying to find a way to block the video alone.

“Since YouTube is a popular site used by many people, it is not practical to block it. So instead of blocking YouTube, we are instead talking to Google first and trying to have this trailer alone blocked,” has was reported as telling local media.

Ilyas stated that this is the first time in the Maldives that content was being sought to be blocked in this manner. He added that the CAM had taken up the work after receiving a formal written request from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The ministry had previously released a statement on Thursday (September 13) which called on people to show restraint, while condemning the movie.

Meanwhile, Adhaalath Party, the religious conservative party to which Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed belongs to also released a press statement the same day.  In the release, the party stated that the objective behind people being offensive to Islam was to drive millions of Muslims over the world to create unrest and do wrong.

The statement also asked protesters to refrain from causing harm to innocent people and damaging government or public property.

Crowds of people protested against the offensive movie ‘Innocence of Muslims’ in front of the UN Building on Friday.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Police arrest staff, landlord of ‘Sondo Bon Beauty Care’ salon on charges of prostitution

Police raided the Sondo Bon Beauty Care Salon on Monday night following reports that a group of people were conducting a prostitution ring inside the salon.

Police raided the salon at 8:00pm on Monday night and arrested three Thai women and two Maldivian men.

According to police, the Thai nationals were aged 21, 24 and 36 and the Maldivian men arrested were aged 30. The landlord was 65 years-old.

Police obtained a search warrant from the court and discovered items used for sexual purposes, as well as MVR 68,000 (US$4415) and US$200 in cash.

Police said it was the second time police had to close the business. According to police, the same business was closed during an operation police conducted on May 2.

Those arrested were brought before the court which extended the detention period of the Thai nationals and the landlord to 15 days. The other men were sentenced to 10 days in custody.

Previously, the Islamic Ministry claimed police had confiscated MVR 63,000 and US$2,640 allegedly obtained through prostitution.

In the most recent salon raided, police discovered materials used for sexual activities, as well as controlled drugs,  US$2000 in forged currency, a large amount of money suspected to have been gained through prostitution, five bottles of unspecified alcohol, and a further three empty bottles.

Shutting down spas and massage parlors doubling as brothels was a key demand of a ‘mega protest’ on December 23 organised by eight political parties and religious NGOs to ‘Defend Islam’ against the allegedly liberal policies of the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla claimed during the December 23 demonstration that there were over 60 brothels operating in Male’ alone, double the number of mosques in the capital.

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Number of Zakat payers decline

The number of people who paid Zakat (alms for the poor) has declined from 82,570 in 2011 to 80,408 this year, newspaper Haveeru reports.

According to the Islamic Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mohamed Didi, proceeds from Zakat payments amounted to MVR2.4 million (US$155,642) this year. Didi said the decline was “surprising” as the numbers of people who pray at mosques were steadily rising.

Meanwhile, the number of registered poor in the capital Male’ increased from 10,000 in 2011 to 11,000 this year.

Zakat is one of the five mandatory pillars of Islam. A sum of MVR220 per head was issued by the ministry this year.

Haveeru noted that a considerable number of people paying Zakat through means other than the government.

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