Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has claimed that the current government of the Maldives is not eligible to import detainmees from Guantanamo Bay, economically and religiously, and settle them in the country.
Salaf, writing on the website raajjeislam, said that according to the religious and economic situation of the country, ”it does not seem to be a wise to take a step forward for such a move.”
”We have the threat that there are unknown allegations behind the government’s decision, although it is a must for Muslims to help Muslims,” Salaf said. ” In Islam there is a procedure arranged to follow when helping Muslims,” the group noted.
Salaf said it would be more appropriate for the Maldives to help the Muslims of a neighbouring country.
”There is no evidence to prove that the two inmates scheduled to be brought to the Maldives are really inmates from Guantanamo,” the NGO said, claiming to have evidence that would confuse [the people] as to the government’s sincerity over the issue.
Salaf claimed that the Maldivian government did not help two allegedly innocent Maldivians when they were arrested in Pakistan.
On 13 December, President Mohamed Nasheed in his presidential speech said that the Maldives would receive three inmates from Guantanamo Bay jail.
“If a Muslim does not have a place to live in freedom, we will help in whatever way we can. We don’t want anyone to suffer any harm. We know that the Maldives, in helping just three people from Guantanamo Bay, does not mean that either the Maldives or the world would be free of inhumane treatment,” he said. “However this jail, Guantanamo jail, is very symbolic.”
He said most of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay were innocent people caught up in the war in Afghanistan, and that offering assistance to other nations in whatever capacity was “a national duty.”
The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair is currently on leave.
President Mohamed Nasheed has said that one third of the Maldives population are poor people, despite the Maldives being a country rich with natural resources and able fulfill all the basic needs of the government.
Speaking at an information session yesterday on the Maldives’ social protection program, President Nasheed said that the country’s GDP showed that the country earned US$7000-US$8000 per head.
The only government could compensate for the disparity in incomes was through government aid, said President Nasheed, ”but there are a lot of difficulties for people to receive this money.”
President Nasheed said the government had introduced 10 types of direct aid to the people.
”When one’s salary has to be spent on shelter, it makes him lessen the amount of care given to a child,” President Nahseed said, ”and there will be no money to spend for the children’s education and no money to maintain good health.”
President Nasheed said that the government was seeking ways that would make its revenue to spend in other beneficial ways.
”Our former president spent Rf 500 million annually to operate the presidential palace,” Nasheed said. ”We decreased it to 50 million and used the left 450 million to introduce allowances for the elderly.”
He said there were 32,000 civil servants with salaries of Rf 5 billion.
”To determine whether it is wise to decrease that amount we know what it is being spent on,”‘ he said. ”Some of this could be used for social protection.”
He said the more the government decreased its expenditure, the more social protection increases.
”if we spent all the money on a block of lifeless concrete, it would not be beneficial,” he said, ”instead we shall spend it on the people.”
English translation of a statement published yesterday on the website of the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party.
Signs of actions are now being seen from Minivan News that it has started a special campaign against the (Religious Lesson) ‘The Call 2010’, which [Islamic NGO] Jamiyyathul Salaf is preparing to host this month.
We have been informed that Minivan News, which even from its onset has been involved in openly protesting against such religious activities and trying to instill doubt in ordinary people, is a website led by President Nasheed’s (younger) brother Nazim Abdul Sattar. Even before, on various different occasions, the (Minivan News) website has been openly insulting Islamic slogans, and many people who love Islam have already called to have the website banned.
Jamiyyathul Salaf is organising ‘The Call’ 2010 which is to be held in the first week of June. ‘The Call’s’ first lecture was held in 2009. Based on the Special Lectures by Dr. Bilal Philips, ‘The Call 2009’ paved way for, especially, many religion-loving youth to get wide-ranging religious information.
‘The Call’ 2009 was so successfully conducted due to the generosity of many religion-loving people. Sponsorship is now open for ‘The Call’ 2010. Thereby, many religion-loving Maldivian businessmen, from among the Maldivian businessmen, are now contributing generously.
We have noticed that Minivan News has kick-started a special campaign to prevent such donations (to The Call 2010). Under this campaign the first among those targeted are the leading businessmen of Maldives.
A petition letter has been prepared and posted on Minivan News website calling for Sonee Sports not to give any aid to The Call 2010.
Although Minivan News writes that Rehendhi is an underground feminist movement, this latest campaign started by Minivan News is similar to the former such campaigns conducted by Minivan News.
We have been informed that the Rehendhi association was borne out of the Minivan News [team] in order to promote national ‘sissy-ness’ and in order to call for lesbian relations among women.
When Sheikh Fareed this year gave a religious lecture about Valentine’s Day, female underwear with words written that could offend Islam were sent to Sheikh Fareed, in order to harass and insult his lecture.
Before sending these items to Sheikh Fareed, photos were taken of these panties which were then published on Minivan News. And various articles have been written on [the Minivan News] website regarding this.
No doubt you will not lose anything by spending on such events that disseminate true information and enlightenment about Islam. Enormous blessings are promised for those who spend on the promotion of Allah’s religion.
We call upon Maldivian businessmen not to give in to the threats posed by Islam’s Enemies and the Devil. Surely, the Devil will spread in people’s hearts fear of becoming poor. The Giver is Allah.
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].
The Islamic Foundation has called for self-declared apostate Mohamed Nazim to be stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to death if he does not repent and return to Islam.
Nazim claimed he was “Maldivian and not a Muslim” during a public question-and-answer session with Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik, the first time a Maldivian has publicly announced he is not a Muslim.
According to the Maldivian constitution all citizens are required to be Muslim, and the country is always described as a “100 percent” Muslim country.
The 37 year-old angered many in the approximately 11,000-strong crowd with his statement during Dr Naik’s ‘Misconceptions about Islam’ lecture on Friday.
Dr Naik responded that Nazim had read the wrong books and “deviated from Islam”, and requested him “to read correct books on Islam, and Inshallah, you’ll come back to Islam.”
However Nazim did not relinquish the microphone and pressed Naik to clarify the penalty for apostasy.
“In Islam, there are many cases, it doesn’t mean death penalty,” Dr Naik explained. “But if the person who reverts who was a Muslim then converts to and becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his faith and speaks against Islam, and if it’s Islamic rule, then the person should be put to death. But just because a person who is a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim, death penalty is not the ruling.”
Nazim was escorted from the venue by police for his own protection, after members of the audience attempted to attack him.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said two men who tried to attack Nazim were arrested after they attacked the police officers protecting him. Nazim himself “was not injured because police protected him,” Shiyam said.
He was taken to a police building where a crowd of protesters had gathered, calling for him to be punished. Shiyam confirmed that Nazim is now being held in an undisclosed location for five days while police investigate “in consultation with the Islamic Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s office.”
Today the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives issued a press statement calling on judges to give Nazim the opportunity to repent “and if he does not, then sentence him to death as Islamic law and Maldivian law agree.”
“The Islamic Foundation believes that the person who announces apostasy should be punished according to Islamic laws,” the NGO said, warning that Nazim represented “a disturbance to the religious views and the religious bonds that exist with Maldivians.”
“Hereby if this man does not do his penance and come back to the Islamic religion, the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives calls to take the citizenship away from this man as mentioned in the Maldivian constitution.”
If case crossed into areas not covered by the laws of the country, “then the judges should rely on Islamic law,” the NGO stated, as per article 142 of constitution which says judiciary shall look into Islamic shar’ia on matters not covered in law, and sentence accordingly.
“So it is requested that the commissioner of police run the legal research on this man and take this to the Prosecutor General’s office. We also request the Prosecutor General to go through this matter and to take this man to the criminal court for trial,” the Islamic Foundation said.
A government official involved in the legal process, who requested that his name and department be kept anonymous, said he was “really worried” and described the case as “a very sensitive subject”.
“Police are investigating the case,” he said. “My understanding is that the court authorities will give [Nazim] opportunities to change his mind. I think he will be given every opportunity to think about his decision.”
Minister for Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari told Minivan News that Ministry officials had acted quickly to remove Nazim from the venue “for his own protection”, and had now handed the matter over to the legal system.
“I don’t know if there is a penalty for apostasy according to Maldivian law,” he said.
The Adhaalath Party issued a press statement claiming that the act violated the constitution of the Maldives and called on the government “to strengthen Islam and protect the constitution.”
Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf declined to comment on the matter during a press conference held today on another matter, however NGO Jamiyyathul Musliheen expressed “concern and regret” over the incident.
”Not a few number of Maldivian youths are moving further from the religion, and many of them are going renegade,” the NGO said in a press statement, adding that “it is a responsibility of the government to strengthen Islam in the country.”
President of the Human Rights Commission to the Maldives (HRCM), Ahmed Saleem, said “what happened was really unfortunate.”
“I think the best thing will be to talk to him and to make him understand the situation and the repercussions, talks which HRCM will welcome,” Saleem said.
He said he was unsure how the Maldivian government would handle the incident.
“I’m afraid of the reaction from the international community should we resort to harsh action,” he said. “I don’t think it would be in our interest – we have just been given a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. This is something we need to think seriously about before we start using harsh language.”
Minivan News contacted several local human rights NGOs however they had not responded at time of press.
A senior government source, who requested anonymity, said he felt the case “will be a real test of how the government will abide by its international commitments.”
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair was on medical leave and unable to comment.
Minivan News was unable to reach Nazim himself for comment, however a person close to the matter described him as “a very sensible guy who will think of the people around him. But he will not give up on calling for people to be more honest about themselves. I think he will become a genuine refugee if he refuses to take back his words,” she said.
A transcript Dr Naik’s response to Nazim is available here.
Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has hit back at feminist movement Rehendhi and the ‘Enough is Enough’ group after they called on sponsors to withdraw support from the upcoming Salaf-hosted event, ‘The Call’.
At a press conference today, Salaf said it did not consider the voice of an unregistered, underground NGO “as an official complaint”.
Mohamed Sobah, Secretary General of Salaf who spoke on behalf of the NGO, said that “all NGOs and all Maldivians support the event”, which will feature talks and lectures from visiting Islamic scholar Dr Bilal Philips.
”There might be a few people who are concerned that a professional western scholar is to arrive to the Maldivies,” Sobah said.
Sobah said that as Salaf was a registered NGO, it did not have to deal with “unlawful, unregistered and underground” groups.
”No one has officially complained about the event,” Sobah said. ”It is surprising that they fear to face us, and it is confusing because they use the internet to raise their voice while we are accessible easily anytime.”
Sobah said that the two visiting scholars, Dr Bilal Phillips and Dr Abdul Raheem Green, would deliver seven lectures on different topics.
”We are working to enhance the security and solving some other technical problems,” he said. ”We hope this event will be a very successful event.”
On May 5 Salaf has announced it would host ‘The Call’, a series of religious sermons to which it expects more than 10,000 people to attend.
Dr Bilal Philips was brought to the Maldives by Salaf last year. Many people attended the sermon and reportedly more than 100,000 people watched it via media.
The Maldives’ self-styled ‘underground feminist movement’ Rehendhi last week announced joint letter writing campaign with the ‘Enough is Enough’ group in protest against Sonee Company’s intention to sponsor the lecture.
They issued a press statement condemning Dr Philips’ preaching at last years’ Call, accusing him of “preaching that it is Islamic to marry off young girls as soon as they reached puberty, irrespective of their age.”
Sonee Company, reported by Rehendhi as one of the targets of the campaign, said it did not wish to comment on the matter at this time.
Correction: The original press statement from the Rehendhi group referred to ‘Sonee Company’, not ‘Sonee Hardware’ as previously stated in this article. Minivan News apologises for any confusion caused.
Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan said this morning that his party had not been officially informed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s decision to tear up its coalition agreement with Waheed’s party, the Gaumee Itthihaad Party (GIP).
Twenty-one members of the MDP’s national council voted in favour of the move, out of 23 present. The council also called on President Mohamed Nasheed to remove all GIP members from ministerial positions. Vice President Waheed and Education Minister Dr Mustafa Luthfy are the only two GIP members remaining in Cabinet, after Nasheed dismissed Minister for Economic Development Mohamed Rasheed several weeks ago.
“We no longer trust these guys,” Haleem said. “Our coalition partner is working with the opposition – I think [Waheed] will be joining [the opposition] Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) very soon. I hope so, it would be best for him.”
Haleem added that he hoped the president would “obey” the MDP Council and remove the GIP members from government: “I hope so. MDP’s national council is one of the most powerful arms of the MDP,” Haleem said.
Dr Waheed recently raised the ire of MDP supporters when he held an apparently clandestine meeting with senior leadership of the DRP, including Umar Naseer and MPs Ali Waheed, Ahmed Nihan and Ahmed Mahlouf.
“I think the political sitaution requires that we talk to each other and work together,” Dr Waheed told Minivan News today. “There are bills we have to get through [parliament], especially revenue bills to address the deficit. I believe it is important, and I think I am in a position to speak. I met with opposition MPs partly at their request, and I indicated I would meet them.”
He said he was surprised at the inflamed response from MDP supporters – “I did not realise this would attract so much attention from the press and MDP activists,” he said.
Dr Waheed said the reaction of both parties following the meeting was “not helpful.”
“Under the current circumstances everyone is trying to score political points,” he said.
GIP had not been formally informed of MDP’s decision last night to sever the coalition, he noted.
“If this is true then of course we are concerned. We believe we have a valid agreement to work with MDP together until the end of term.”
The removal of GIP members from government would be an “unfortunate” outcome, Dr Waheed said.
“I had expected some kind of discussion. Since we were not consulted when the Economic Development [Mohamed Rasheed] Minister was dismissed, I felt I had grounds to talk, especially since no reason given except ‘political circumstances’.”
Dr Waheed called for discussions, concluding that “we can’t go on pretending the country has no problems, because that will not solve them.”
The President has not yet said whether he will take the advice of MDP’s national council. Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair was not responding at time of press.
Visiting Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik clarified during a question and answer session this morning that profits generated from the sale of alcohol are haram (prohibited), and urged the Maldives to encourage investment in halal (permitted) tourism.
“In Islamic finance, you cannot involve in any business as the owner of that business if it is even one percent a haram activity,” Dr Naik said.
“As a main partner you cannot be involved. If you are investing as a pool and you are a small partner, then a little bit is permitted, but as a 100% owner I cannot say ‘fine, I will have a hotel that will allow alcohol, and that money I will give to charity.’ You cannot say that. Because you are involved in haram activity.”
It was permitted, Dr Naik explained, to invest in part in a mutual fund where a haram activity might be a small percentage of the investment, as “then I can give the small amount to charity, because I have no major say in the business. But if I am a bigger shareholder, I cannot allow even 0.1% of haram activity to take place.”
Under Islam the use, handling and sale of alcohol are considered haram to Muslims, a tenet that led to vigorous opposition against the government’s attempt in February to legalise the sale of alcohol to non-Muslims on inhabited islands. Critics of the regulations claimed they were unconstitutional, as Article 10(b) of the Maldives’ Constitution states that ‘no law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted in the Maldives..
However the country depends heavily on tourism for its economy, particularly resorts which profit from the sale of alcohol, many of which are owned by local businessmen.
Dr Naik, who is speaking tonight and tomorrow at Maafaanu Stadium, after being invited by the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, questioned why the Maldives had no resorts that were “100 percent halal.”
“Your country is so beautiful. I have visited many countries in the world and I have to profess, the islands in Maldives are par excellence. I’ve been to many parts of the world, been to many top resorts in the world, but the one where I am staying in the Maldives is par excellence. Allah has blessed you with such beauty, scenery and natural resources,” he said.
“I put forward the proposal that why don’t we have an Islamic resort? I’m aware the Maldives prohibits alcohol for citizens, but those people who come from outside the Maldives can have access to these things which are haram for Muslims.”
Such resorts, he suggested, should be “exclusively halal, free of pork and alcohol, and with proper segregation and dress code – it will be a benefit.”
Similar segregated, alcohol and pork free hotels in other parts of the world had proven very successful, he explained, “with revenue far more than other hotels. The same thing can be done here.”
“The income for people investing in such Islamic resorts will be much higher,” he suggested. “I have spoken to government officials about it, and they say Inshallah, they look forward to it. Believe me it will attract more tourists very soon, in the next couple of years, with better revenue and a better profit.”
State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has similarly argued for promotion of Islamic “cultural tourism” within the Maldives, noting that “a lot of hotels, such as the Intercontinental in Medina, are without alcohol. What about developing alcohol-free resorts; Islamic tourism, just like Islamic banking?”
Dr Zakir Naik is speaking at an event at Maafannu stadium tonight and tomorrow, at 8:45pm.
The Maldives’ self-styled ‘underground feminist movement’ Rehendhi has announced joint letter writing campaign with the ‘Enough is Enough’ group in protest against Sonee Company’s intention to sponsor an upcoming lecture by Islamic speaker Dr Bilal Philips.
The event, titled ‘The Call’, is being held in early June by Islamic NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf.
Rehendhi issued a press statement today condemning Dr Philips’ preaching at last years’ Call, accusing him of “preaching that it is Islamic to marry off young girls as soon as they reached puberty, irrespective of their age.
“We refuse to tolerate this misogynistic, regressive and repressive interpretation of Islam, especially in a public lecture,” Rehendhi claimed.
“The Ministry of Health and Family, UNICEF, Doctors Association, Child Protections Unit at the Maldives Police Services, Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Education and almost all the NGOs working on child rights in the Maldives remained silent, reluctant to be labeled as un-Islamic.”
Such interpretations of Islam conflicted with “numerous international treaties protecting the girl child” that the Maldives has signed, Rehendhi claimed, “including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflic, and Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.”
Rehendhi also criticised “the insensitivity of the judges to the rights of the girl child”, claiming that “deficient coordination for the implementation and monitoring of the conventions and laws within the government leave the most vulnerable children in our society exposed to child sexual abuse, sometimes under the legal guise of the so called ‘Islamic marriages’.”
“In an environment where sexualized violence towards children and minors is rampant, irresponsible preaching results in both intended and unintended repercussions that affect our young population,” the group claimed, calling on Maldivian society to “stand up and implement the laws and conventions”.
State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said the Ministry had received no information that Dr Bilal Philips’ preaching including the abuse of children’s rights, and “guaranteed” that the Islamic Ministry “would not let such acts happen in the Maldives.”
”We are confident that after our new Religious Unity regulations are implemented, it will be easier for us to take action against anyone who [preaches] this,” said Shaheem said.
Salaf said it did not wish to comment on the matter.
Rehendhi has previously protested “against misogyny in Maldivian society” by claiming to have sent undergarments to conservative Maldivian Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed on Valentine’s Day.
Correction: The protest is a joint campaign by the groups Rehendhi and ‘Enough is Enough’, not just Rehendhi as previously stated. Furthermore, Rehendhi only sent underwear to Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed, coinciding with a public lecture, not “conservative Maldivian Sheikhs” as originally stated.
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