""What's there to discuss about flogging? There is nothing to debate about in a matter clearly stated in the religion of Islam. No one can argue with God," he (Maldives Minister Naseem) said."..."Wahhabist Islamic scholars, most schooled in madrassas in Pakistan,
are radicalising Islam in the Maldives," 1/7/2012. Maldives island "is the only Islamic nation where Islamic Sharia has
been practiced uninterrupted for 700 years.”
9/29/15, "Maldives Wants U.S. to Help It Fight Terrorism," Bloomberg, Josh Rogin, commentary
"The Maldives is calling on the United States to help it respond to an
attack on its president, potentially opening the newest front in the
war on terror.
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Sunday narrowly escaped an explosion
on his boat. His wife was injured. Investigators have converged on the
island nation in the Indian Ocean to determine whether the blast is
related to organized terrorism. The government is already rethinking its
security and defense practices; top officials say terrorist recruiting
has been on the rise there.
Maldivian Foreign Secretary Ali Naseer Mohamed told me Tuesday that officials are still piecing together what happened.
“No
group has claimed responsibility," he said. "But we believe it was an
attack directed to the president. That’s the first time the president
has been attacked in that way.”
Ali was in the United States this
week for the UN General Assembly, and he said his government has been
tracking an increased flow of its citizens traveling to Iraq and Syria
to fight there, at least 40 so far. Some are coming back to the
Maldives.
“That is actually the biggest threat that we face as a
nation-state and as a society. That is our biggest fear,” he said. “And
that’s where our security forces are finding quite a challenge.”
An unidentified Islamic extremist group last month threatened terrorist attacks
and attacks against the president in a YouTube video that featured the
flag of the Islamic State. But Ali said that until this week, there had
been no credible information that any terrorist group was operating in
the Maldives. Now the government is reevaluating that.
“Some of
the terrorist groups operating in South Asia and the Middle East have
been able to penetrate to certain individuals," he said. "We know
Maldivians are being recruited. Social media is they key instrument
being used.”
The Maldives cannot tackle Islamic extremism
comprehensively on its own. The government wants more intelligence
cooperation, more security assistance and more engagement from its
international partners, especially the United States.
“There is a
need to cooperate," he said. "And while the Maldives is one of the
smallest countries, the challenges we face are not small.”
The
Maldives, dependent on tourism, doesn’t want its image as a paradise
destination for honeymooners altered by the presence of armed guards
everywhere. But Ali said officials are upgrading security at airports
and tourist destinations.
Ali said the government now has no
choice but to give law enforcement new tools to find those who are
planning to travel abroad for jihad and jail them before they can leave.
New anti-terror legislation has prompted opposition from human rights
groups and the opposition party.
“There is an urgent need to
criminalize not only the actual activity you do, but the intention of
traveling to these places to engage in warfare,” he said. “I hope this
attack will be a wake-up call to the entire society and create a sense
of urgency for everyone.”
There is also a broader argument for
increased cooperation between the United States and the Maldives. The
Indian Ocean will be key to geopolitical balance in the coming decades.
China is increasingly making its presence known there, challenging
India’s traditional dominance.
The status quo in the Indian Ocean
favors the U.S. The two nations' common interest in preventing terrorism
could refocus Washington's attention to the Maldives, securing that
foothold -- if Washington chooses to respond."
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"This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners."
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Comment: The US government has provided the finest in modern weapons specifically to those most likely to be angry and prone to violence. Where does the author get the information that the US is interested in preventing terrorism?
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Added:
Maldives speaks of "shaming" money out of US taxpayers at the Durban 'climate' conference but isn't ashamed of flogging women:
11/26/11, "What's there to discuss about flogging? There is nothing to debate about in a matter clearly stated in the religion of Islam. No one can argue with God," he (Maldives Minister Naseem) said."...Below, angry Maldives Islamists protest UN Human Rights Commissioner suggesting they should not flog women, 11/25/11, Haveeru
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Maldives practices female circumcision and flogging of women:
"The Maldives constitution obliges all Maldivians to be Muslim but the nation also faces a rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism."
1/7/2012, "That sinking feeling," Sydney Morning Herald, Ben Doherty
"The country also has a serious drug problem. An epidemic of cheap heroin has swept through the archipelago and taken root in Male´ in particular. The UN has estimated 40 per cent of the country's youth use hard drugs.
The Maldives constitution obliges all Maldivians to be Muslim but the nation also faces a rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism.
Wahhabist Islamic scholars, most schooled in madrassas in Pakistan,
are radicalising Islam in the Maldives. Female circumcision is
practised and is reportedly on the increase. Across the archipelago,
there are calls for the return of amputation for crimes and for the banning of music and dancing.
- Women are flogged for having extramarital sex.
Every effort to resist this gathering radicalisation is painted by Nasheed's political opponents as an attack on Islam." ...
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"Police are investigating a violent attack on a ‘silent
protest’ calling for religious tolerance, held at the Artificial Beach
to mark Human Rights Day.
Witnesses said a group of men threw rocks at the 15-30 demonstrators, calling out threats and vowing to kill them.
One witness who took photos of the attacked said he was “threatened
with death if these pictures were leaked. He said we should never been
seen in the streets or we will be sorry.”
Among those injured in the attack was Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, a controverisal blogger whose website was recently blocked by the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Rasheed suffered a head injury and was rushed to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
“They started hitting us with bricks. They were aiming at our heads –
we could tell they were serious and wanted to kill us,” Rasheed told
Minivan News from hospital. “I was taken on a motorcycle to IGMH, but I
could see them behind me still hitting my friends.”
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police attended the scene
after the attackers had departed, and were currently investigating the
cause of the violence. No arrests had yet been made, he added.
The protesters, calling themselves ‘Silent Solidarity’, had earlier
issued a press release stating that their intention was to “make the
Maldives and the international community aware of the rising religious
intolerance in the Maldives, and to condemn the Constitutionally
endorsed suppression of religious freedom. We also denounce the
increasing use being made of Islam as a tool of political power.”
“Silent Solidarity will be protesting against discrimination of all
races, gender, sexual preferences and religious beliefs and supporting
freedom of thought and expression. In our silence, we speak volumes,”
the group’s statement said.
The Maldives has come under increasing international scrutiny following an apparent rise in religious intolerance.
Several monuments gifted to the Maldives by other SAARC countries during the recent summit in Addu have been defaced
or stolen on the grounds that they are idolatrous. Islamic Minister Dr
Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has condemned the monuments while the opposition
has hailed the vandals as “national heroes”.
Protests also erupted last month after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay spoke in parliament
calling for the government and the judiciary to issue a moratorium and
debate on flogging as a punishment for extra-marital sex.
“This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading
forms of violence against women and should have no place in the legal
framework of a democratic country,” Pillay said. “The issue needs to be examined, and therefore I called for a
countrywide discussion. It is much better if the issue is transparent
and debated.”
Pillay also stated that requirement under the Maldivian constitution
that all Maldivians be Muslim ”is discriminatory, and does not comply
with international standards. I would urge a debate again on the issue
to open up entrance of the constitution to all.”
Challenged by a local journalist that the Maldives was obliged
to protect the religion of Islam, she replied: “You have a constitution
which conforms in many respects to universal human rights. Let me assure
you that these human rights conform with Islam.”
She added that the Maldives had signed international treaties that
are legally-binding obligations, “and such a practice conflicts with
these obligations undertaken by the Maldives.”
The following day protesters gathered outside the UN building,
carrying placards stating “Islam is not a toy”, “Ban UN” and “Flog
Pillay”, and called on authorities to arrest the UN High Commissioner.
MPs roundly condemned Pillay’s statements.
‘”What we should be worried about holding discussions against the
fundamentals of Islam in a 100 percent Muslim country such as the
Maldives is that we may start questioning about worshipping God Almighty
tomorrow,” said opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr
Afrashim Ali.
Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed
said the Maldives “will never ever open doors for religions other than
Islam in the Maldives. We’ll not give the opportunity to speak against
the fundamentals and principles of Islam in the parliament.”
MP Riyaz Rasheed, from the opposition-aligen Dhivehi Qaumee Party
(DQP) condemned the Speaker Abdulla Shahid from allowing Pillay to
complete her address.
“There is a good chance for us to directly say that Abdulla Shahid
has made a good deal with this government to wipe out the religion of
Islam from this country,” MP Rasheed said.
President Mohamed Nasheed has meanwhile said that Maldivians “should
have the self-belief and resolve not to have our faith shaken by
listening to statements or opinions expressed by others.”
“That the punishments and rulings of Islamic Sharia are not inhumane
is very clear to us,” Nasheed said. “We have the opportunity to show the
whole world how noble and civilised Sharia is. That is because we are
the only Islamic nation with a democratically-elected government.
“Wasting that opportunity in a Jihadi spirit” with the claim of
“defending Islam” was unacceptable, Nasheed said. “Opposition parties
will always attack us by using religion as a weapon. [But] I believe
that this country is the only Islamic nation where Islamic Sharia has
been practiced uninterrupted for 700 years.”
Religious sentiment in the Maldives can often be vocal and heated, but has rarely led to physical violence.
In late May 2010, well-known Islamic preacher 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”.
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.
In July 2010, 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, prior to his death."
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11/26/2011, "Maldives won't allow debates on anti-Islamic issues: Foreign Minister," Ahmed Hamdhoon, Haveeru News Service
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