Tag: maldives

GMR due to pay US$78 million upfront fee in October

Chairman of the government’s privatisation Committee and Economic Development Minister Mahmood Razee has said Indian infrastructure giant GMR is due to pay US$78 million to the government by October.

The airport was formally leased to the GMR on June 29, following the company’s successful bid in consortia with Malaysia Airports Holdings, and it will begin operating the facility in November.

Speaking to newspaper Haveeru, Razee claimed GMR would take over “full operations” in Mark 2011.

“The concession agreement specifies matters that should be settled at different periods. According to the agreement, the US$78 million that should be paid as upfront should be paid before the end of October. It can change by around four days,” he told the newspaper.

Beyond the upfront fee, the GMR-MAHB bid will see the consortium paying one percent airport profit to the government and 15 percent of the fuel trade until 2014, then 10 percent of the profit and 27 percent of the fuel trade from 2015 to 2035.

The GMR group has already begun holding workshops with airport stakeholders concerning the upgrading of the airport and construction of a new terminal at a cost of $373 million.

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Comment: Islamic Sharia is the solution to social evils

This article originally appeared on the website of the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives. Republished with permission.

Many westerners and human rights campaigners have the false notion that Maldives is a country ruled according to sharia (Islamic law). However, the truth is that apart from some aspects of marriage, divorce and legal issues involving inheritance, the courts in the Maldives do not decide matters according to Islamic sharia and this dreaded word sharia has nothing to do with most practices of the Maldivian people. There never was a time that sharia with all its principles was applied in the lives of Maldivians.

Just seeing burqa clad women and a few bushy bearded men on the streets is no proof to accuse Maldives becoming a safe haven for Islamic extremists or al-Qaeda terrorists. According to non-Muslim westerners, the hallmarks of an extremist or terrorist Islamic society is that adulterers are stoned to death, murderers are executed, hands of the thieves are chopped off, rapists, apostates and dealers in narcotics are beheaded, women are forced to wear burqa in public, men or women involved in immorality are openly flogged.

Apart from some few public lashings in the past none of the above mentioned methods of punishments continue to be used to punish criminals in the Maldives.

Nevertheless, the non-Muslim westerners fear that soon or later the Maldives will fall ‘victim’ to Islamic sharia and this country would cease to be a tolerant Muslim nation towards non-Muslims. They are disappointed to find that with the introduction of democracy the opportunity to obtain Maldivian citizenship for non-Muslims has failed to materialise.

The Article 9 (d) of the Maldives Constitution states, “..a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives.” Moreover, the law no. 6/94 prohibits both Muslims and non-Muslims alike of carrying out Christian missionary work in the Maldives, and also of acting in a manner that may endanger the religious harmony of the people of this country.

Another appalling thing for the non-Muslim westerners is a clause in Article 142 of the Constitution of Maldives, which states, “..when deciding matters on which the Constitution or the law is silent, Judges must consider Islamic sharia.”

This sharia is something which makes the evangelists, the hypocrites, the LGBT’s, the agnostics and the irreligious tremble with fear. The hardcore democrats in this country believe that if sharia begins to take effect on people’s lives, the Maldives would lose its currently dignified place among the community of nations.

According to them, sharia means the husband taking three more wives to humiliate his first wife, the absolute enslavement of women folk in the society and the country becoming an enemy of the West and the United States in particular.

There are people who think otherwise by citing the example of Saudia Arabia which implements most aspects of sharia but remains a close friend of the United States and the European Union. Non-Muslims visiting Saudi Arabia and other gulf states are more secure than those visiting South Africa and Latin American countries. The high crime rates in those countries send a chill down the spine of anyone thinking of visiting those countries. ]

The Islamic Republic of Iran, a country accused of all sorts of intolerance towards non-Muslims by the West, attracted 2.3 million tourists in 2009, whereas the number of tourists visiting Maldives only reached 500,000 for the same period. Out of the 2.3 million tourists visiting Iran, a significant number come from the West and the European Union.

Muslim countries are often singled out for criticism for not allowing drinking in public, setting a guideline for women to dress up in public and harsh penalty for heinous crimes such as child molestation, rape, murder, homosexuality, arson and robbery, etc.

The Westerners and the so called human rights activists fail to realise that many non-Muslim countries have the death penalty embodied in their constitution. In the United States, many criminals are sentenced to be executed by lethal injection or sending them to electric chair. In 2009 alone, the United States executed 52 criminals; out of this number, 51 were put to death by lethal injection.

The official method of execution in China is by firing squad. Currently there are 68 crimes that are eligible for capital punishment in China. Singapore and Vietnam are among the countries with the highest per capita execution rate in the world. No state is willing to tolerate people involved in committing brutal and callous crimes and acts of high treason or subversion. Take the case of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber who was executed by lethal injection in June 2001.

Another embarrassment for the evangelists, atheists and islamophobiacs is the Article 10 (a) and (b) of the Maldives Constitution which states, “The religion of the State of Maldives is Islam. Islam shall be one of the bases of all the laws of the Maldives.” “No law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted in the Maldives.”

A complication arises when a native Muslim Maldivian renounces his faith and becomes a non-Muslim. The Article 9 (a) (1.2.3) of the Maldives Constitution states the ground rules to qualify for the citizenship of this country. Though the Constitution states that no citizen of the Maldives may be deprived of citizenship, conversion from Islam to other faiths automatically invalidates a person’s citizenship as the act nullifies the condition for receiving or retaining citizenship.

Most law experts in Maldives are of the view that an apostate (renegade) who refuses to repent and continues in the state of unbelief, then the State is under obligation to annul his citizenship.

Some people mistakenly believe that sharia only deals with crimes and punishments. Though the prescribed punishments are included within the framework of sharia, punishments are just a small portion of sharia.

Islam insists on blocking all the roads leading to evil and crime before imposing sharia punishments on the people. Therefore, the poor and the destitute have to be provided for by means of zakath, state assistance, various forms of charity or employment, etc. It would be a total injustice to chop off the hands of poor people for stealing food whose children are dying of hunger. It would certainly be a ridiculous thing to allow brothels to be run and implement sharia punishments for fornication or adultery.

Also allowing women folk to appear semi-naked and drunk in public and beheading rapists is nonsensical. Most rapists in the West are repeated offenders. You allow rapists to come out of the prison after a year or so for him to come and rape you , your mother or your sister again. Which way of life is barbaric? A way of life which allows notorious criminals to move freely around and create more mischief and corruption in the land, or a way of life that eliminates the dangerous criminals once and for all?

Some religions, including Christianity, insist that married couples are joined in holy matrimony until death does them apart. No matter what the problems that arises between the spouses, men and women of totally different temperaments have to remain married to live a miserable life together. The result is desertion or separation or what they call ‘domestic violence’ which is very common in the West.

Many people with problems in marriage fall victim to drugs and say they do it to find consolation or free themselves from anxiety. Islamic sharia provides a solution for ending such misery by divorce. However, divorce has to be carried out only after all possible ways to reconcile the couples have failed. If the couple has got children and if they stay with the mother, the husband has to provide enough money for their proper upbringing and also meet them occasionally to make sure they do not miss their father’s love. Divorced women can remarry after their waiting period is over. Which of these ways of life are better?

It is a misconception that prescribed sharia punishments are carried out on individuals on the grounds of suspicion and the sharia courts are more like kangaroo courts or military tribunals. Islam too insists that all are innocent until proven guilty. It is a false notion to believe that the ruler of a Muslim state has the power to condemn people to death on the grounds of suspicion for trying to seize power or commit crimes against the state. If we look at the past, we find that sharia courts in Muslim lands were independent and the rulers had no power to impose judgements. There were instances in the history that Muslim judges passed sentences against the ruler of the state. The sentences passed in sharia courts are not based on hearsay or suspicion but on proofs.

When sharia as a whole is implemented in a Muslim society, people’s lives become much easier and they begin to feel a sense of security. Muslim societies will not attain the desired stability, calmness or tranquility unless sharia is implemented. There are many reasons for this, the first and foremost is, a Muslim society without sharia is devoid of the blessings of Almighty Allah (God). There will always be some Muslims who continuously keep building pressure by one way or the other in trying to persuade people to accept sharia as a sole guide.

It is totally absurd that President Mohamed Nasheed openly criticised sharia punishments saying that an executed person cannot be brought back to life from the dead after it has been found that he was innocent. If that is so, is it a fair thing for a person to spend 25 years behind bars and die in prison to be proven innocent later?

It is absolutely stunning that President Nasheed sought assistance from German government to amend or rewrite the little of the remaining sharia law enforced in the Maldives. He did this on the grounds of consolidating the young democracy in the Maldives. After a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Earth Times quotes him saying that he would welcome German assistance in building up a new version of sharia law in the Maldives. The proposed new version of sharia certainly is not going to be the sharia derived from the revealed Scripture because a new version of any book, law or legal document always negates the old version of it.

Seeking German assistance in matters of sharia is a ridiculous thing while there is Al-Azhar University and the Islamic University of Medina, both of which can offer a more sound judgement on sharia related issues. It is better for President Nasheed to stop trying to mess with what remains of sharia in this country and leave it to the legislature and the judiciary.

In Feburuary 2008, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, argued that adopting parts of Islamic sharia law would help maintain social cohesion in Britain. He said Muslims should be allowed to choose to have marital disputes or financial matters dealt with in a sharia court. Not long after Dr Williams said sharia law in UK seemed unavoidable, Islamic law was officially adopted in Britain. In September 2008, sharia courts were given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases and their verdict is binding under Arbitration Act 1996. However, Muslims in Britain still have a long way to go for them to be able to enforce prescribed punishments in Islamic sharia.

The parliament in Somalia, a country with an ongoing civil war, unanimously approved to implement sharia (Islamic law) with the aim of diffusing tension between the shaky government in Mogadishu and al-shabab rebels. Also Sudan, a country with a long history of civil war seems to have become more stable after sharia was adopted.

If prescribed sharia punishments begin to be enforced in a Muslim society, its instant favourable effects starts to take shape on people’s lives. Heinous crimes such as banditry, gang rape, drug trafficking, fraud, murder, etc begin to decrease drastically throughout the country.

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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Palestinian and Israeli leaders meet for Obama’s peace talks

Palestinian and Israeli leaders begin direct talks in Washington today in what US President Barack Obama has described as “a moment of opportunity that may not soon come again”.

Obama intends to forge a Middle East peace agreement within a year, approaching the talks between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II with tempered optimism.

The UK’s Guardian newspaper reported the US President as saying the task would be difficult after so many failed efforts, and that passions and mistrust ran deep. But he said that the occupation and accompanying conflict were unsustainable.

“The purpose of the talks is clear. These will be direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,” said Obama, These negotiations are intended to resolve all final status issues. The goal is a settlement negotiated between the parties that ends the occupation which began in 1967, and results in the emergence of an independent democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with a Jewish state of Israel and its other neighbours,” he said. “We are under no illusions. Passions run deep. Each side has legitimate and enduring interests. Years of mistrust will not disappear overnight …

“After all, there’s a reason that the two state solution has eluded previous generations. This is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult. But we know that the status quo is unsustainable.”

Read more

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UK appoints new British High Commissioner to the Maldives

The UK has appointed John Rankin as British High Commissioner to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Non-Resident British High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives, succeeding Dr Peter Hayes in February 2011.

A statement from the High Commission said that Dr Hayes would be transferring to another diplomatic service appointment. 

Rankin has also served as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Dublin, working on the Northern Ireland peace process, and was Her Majesty’s Consul General in Boston between 2003 and 2007, the High Commission stated.

He joined the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1988 as an Assistant Legal Adviser and served as legal adviser to the UK Mission to the UN and to the UK Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He has been Director, Americas in the FCO since 2008, responsible for a network of over 30 British Embassies, High Commissions and other posts in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

John has a degree in Scots Law from the University of Glasgow and a Masters Degree in International Law from McGill University, Montreal. Prior to joining the FCO he qualified and practiced as a solicitor in Scotland and was a lecturer in public law at the University of Aberdeen.

Rankin said he was “I delighted and honoured to be appointed as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. The United Kingdom and Sri Lanka have close and long-standing links, and I look forward to furthering the partnership between our countries.”

He added that he “similarly looks forward to developing even stronger relations with the Maldives as we pursue together our common interests.”

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Police arrest “top drug dealer” in Laamu Atoll

Police have arrested and identified a man they allege is “the top drug dealer in Laamu Atoll”, during a press conference called by  Head of the Police Drug Enforcement Department (DED), Superintendent Ahmed Jinah.

Jinah identified the man as Hassan Yousuf, 26 of Mathimaradhoo in Laamu Atoll.

“Police and society have recognised him as the top dealer in Laamu Atoll, and he has now been caught for the second time,’’ said Jinah. “A recent case involving him is in trial, and he was again caught with suspected narcotics.”

Jinah said Yousuf was in police custody and the court had granted an extension of his detention to 10 days.

“The atolls are lately being used by the drug traffickers for transportation and establishing hideouts,’’ Jinah said. ‘’We have conducted special operations in the islands to curb the number of users and dealers, which is hard and challenging due to the low numbers of police officers in the atolls and large areas [to cover].’’

Jinah said police had observed that Addu Atoll, Laamu Atoll and Noonu Atoll were being used by dealers and users for transportation of drugs and the construction of  hideouts.

“We do not consider it a failure of police when the courts declare that charged persons cannot be convicted due to lack of evidence,’’ he remarked. “Sometimes when we appeal to the higher courts they invalidate the lower court’s verdict after considering the evidence presented as adequate.’’

Jinah said that police only accept an investigation as failed “when the highest authority in justice declares that the charged person cannot be convicted due to lack of evidence.”

“Police do not have the authority to criticise a court’s decision,’’ he added.

He also noted that although this was the holy month of Ramadan, drug-related crime had not decreased.

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Maldives a 99.41 percent Muslim country, claims RISSC report

The Royal Islamic Strategic Research Centre (RISSC)’s report into the global state of Islam has described the Maldives as a 99.41 percent Muslim country.

RISSC is an independent research entity affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, an international Islamic non-governmental institute headquartered in the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The calculation is a collation of research by Dr Houssain Kettani – who identifies the Maldives as a 100 per-cent Muslim nation – and the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan research body claiming to “promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs.”

The PEW Research Centre’s Forum on Religion estimates that of the Maldives population of 395,921, 389,586 are Muslims, equating to 98.4 percent or a non-Muslim population of 6335.  The RISSC report averages the two figures and arrives at 99.41 percent, or a non Muslim population of 2335.

State Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, described in the RISSC report as one of the world’s top 500 influential Muslims ‘administrative’ category, said according to the constitution of the Maldives the country was a 100 percent Muslim nation.

”The world should know the appropriate information about Maldives before publishing documents about Maldives. Everything in the Maldives is conducted in accordance with the constitution,” Shaheem said.

According to the Maldivian constitution all citizens are required to be Muslim, and the country is always described as a “100 percent” Muslim country.

In late May, famous religious scholar Dr Zakir Naik visited the Maldives and delivered a sermon in the capital Male’. During a question-and-answer session 37 year-old Mohamed Nazim stood up and declared himself “Maldivian and not a Muslim”, to which Dr Naik replied: “So 100 per-cent minus one.”

Nazim’s declaration angered the 11,000 strong crowd, and he was escorted from the venue by police and officials from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs amid calls for his execution.

After two days of religious counselling in police custody, Nazim appeared before television cameras at an Islamic Ministry press conference and gave Shahada – the Muslim testimony of belief – and apologised for causing “agony for the Maldivian people” and requested that the community accept him back into society.

Police submitted his case to the Prosecutor General’s office earlier this week, which is currently deciding whether to take the former apostate to the Criminal Court.

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

“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,” Didi wrote in a letter to an international humanitarian organisation, dated June 23.

Maldives in RISSC’s top 500

Alongside Sheikh Shaheem, President Mohamed Nasheed features in RISSC’s list of most influential Muslims “for being one of the most environmentally conscious state leaders in the world.”

“In the earliest stages of his political career, Nasheed was imprisoned for his criticism of his country’s government and became an Amnesty Prisoner of Conscience,’’ said RISSC. ‘’Today, Nasheed has [pledged] to make the Maldives carbon-neutral within a decade by moving the country’s energy reliance to wind and solar power only.’’

Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, who visited the Maldives in May to deliver a sermon at the invitation of local NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf, was listed under ‘Media’.

RISSC described Philips as “a notable convert and Islamic scholar, Philips is founder of the virtual educational institution Islamic Online University and Discover Islam, an Islamic center based in Dubai.”

The report added that “In May 2010, Philips was the subject of a letter-writing campaign in the Maldives which condemned his preaching as a promotion of religious extremism. He was subsequently banned from entering the United Kingdom.”

Dr Naik was also listed in the top 500 under ‘Preachers’. RISSC describes him as “an Indian public intellectual teaching about Islam. He hosts huge public events where he speaks on Islam, highlighting misconceptions and promoting understanding about the faith.”

RISSC also noted that in June 2010, “Dr Naik was banned from entering the United Kingdom due to ‘unacceptable behaviour’. His public statements on terrorism and Osama bin Laden have contributed to his reputation as a controversial televangelist.”

His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, tops the list of most influential Muslims.

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Comment: Real democracy is when barriers to women’s participation come down

If democracy is to function, barriers to women’s participation have to come down. If the citizens of Maldives are to improve their lives, women voices need to be heard at the political level and the obstructions removed.

Any politician or citizen of good will in the country who wants democracy will need to be honest and understand this aspect, and promote it willingly and without any reservations.

When women who have worked their way up the career ladder are able to be in the front line of the country’s development, can take ownership and are acknowledged for their achievement by political leaders and considered an asset, then it is an indication of a democratic government.

The barrier to this opportunity has not come down in the Maldives. Presently women in the front line are players selected to those positions by the government’s political agenda.

On the broader horizon, the change starts with women. Women need to see that they can do something about improving the quality of their lives, and those of their families and communities, by reaching for political leadership or becoming involved in political and civil activities. Women need to have the will to share and enjoy the privileges and the benefits of a democratic constitution.

How do women think?

The outcome of a woman’s thought is influenced by the role she plays in life. Women’s leadership may not bring all the solutions but then neither does men’s leadership. What makes the difference is the process of decision making and the outcomes when women voice their issues and express what they see as significant to a better environment for living. That is an important difference and must be taken seriously for good governance.

The difference can also be seen as the gender difference. The difference in thinking may be defined in this manner because the woman may have been a mother, or have cared for elderly people, or have experienced marginalisation or exposure to various forms of abuse, etc.

How could a viable political environment be formed without the views, advocacy and judgments that include women’s perspective? Women’s perspective in the Maldives especially is important as it presents grass root advocacy.

Beyond traditional spheres

Being politically active means to reach out to leadership positions and taking a stand for the values of democracy. It means moving into positions that are critical to attain social justice, raising public awareness and accessing visible positions of authority. It means venturing beyond traditional sphere of home and family. It means promoting fairness and no allowance for partiality.

Political engagement does not necessarily mean having a political career, campaigning, and getting into the parliament or the government’s leading positions. You can work up to leadership on the job so that you can implement fair and equal working conditions in your own work environment, you can be socially responsible, you can support people’s development and high-quality resources management.

If you choose to move onto the benches or go into law, you go beyond simply taking voting as your only civic engagement and civic participation, but pursue civil rights for the people and are in a position to advocate for and against implementation of legislative initiatives.

Your political activity may take the form of collective action, by forming associations to reach out to larger groups and transform your society. You would create a common vision, define common goals, invite people with similar aspirations and reinforce each other thus linking individual empowerment to group empowerment.

Moving beyond traditional spheres means change. Today people identify change with empowerment.

Empowerment can be defined as claiming the right by an individual to choose freely and control their own lives. Broadly defined it is the woman’s right to her own body and sexuality including protection against any form of violence, the right to her own income and equal opportunity to earning, power over her resources and fair inheritance, her rights to justice and position in a legal system (including impartiality in the Constitution).

The organisation and political aspects are self-help groups and collective action to bring change. Fundamental to change is the access to information and know-how.

Although this article focuses strongly on women, the content is applicable to men and can help them to become aware of their own disadvantageous position. Without this awareness, neither men nor women can seek empowerment. Empowerment means more than an adequate comfortable adjustment. On a personal level and the community level, it is redistribution of power that does justice to the opportunities and members of the society, does not compromise freedom and does not take happen at the expense of others.

Aminath Arif is the founder of SALAAM School.

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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Man stabbed in Sea House cafe

A 24-year-old man sitting by himself in Sea House Cafe, a popular venue for both locals and tourists above the Hulhumale ferry terminal, was stabbed at midnight on Monday.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told newspaper Haveeru that a group of men came to the cafe at around 1.23am and stabbed the man in two places.

Haveeru reported an eyewitness as claiming that a group of men followed the man into the cafe and chased him outside.

“Presumably they had some sort of quarrel,” the witness told Haveeru.

Restaurant staff saw the  bleeding and sent the man to the hospital, the witness added.

Shiyam confirmed the man was discharged from ADK Hospital after treatment.

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Three men arrested for drug possession

Police have arrested three men in Seenu Atoll for possession of 21 packets of suspected narcotics, reports Haveeru.

A 23-year-old man from Hithadhoo was arrested at midnight on Tuesday with five packets of alleged drugs in possession.

The other two men were arrested with 16 packets of suspected narcotics in their possession during a police operation, Haveeru reported, both of whom have prior drug records.

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