By Asif Fuard
As the Maldives sinks deeper into political turmoil with President Mamoon Abdul Gayoom and his political opponents engaged in a bitter clash over reforms, the country is also witnessing the emergence of Islamic extremism. The President, who many call a dictator, survived an assassination attempt recently. The attack came a few months after a bomb went off near a popular park and police battled extremists in an island. These events have prompted the government to take steps to combat the threat of Islamic extremism.
Members of a little known group have taken up arms to defend themselves and promote their version of Islam - Wahhabism -- in the archipelago. The Maldivians say the leaders of the group were educated in Pakistan and West Asian countries and their version of Islam conflicts with the version of Islam stipulated by Maldivian law, according to which preaching of different versions of Islam is a crime.
The Maldivian government has banned the veil as part of security measures to confront Islamic extremism
Reports say India's intelligence arm, Research Analysis Wing, has received information that Maldivian Islamic extremists are purchasing weapons from Indian criminal and terrorist groups while other reports indicate that they were also buying weapons from Indonesia and Pakistan.
These reports also say that Sri Lanka is being used as a transit point in the arms smuggling operation. It is against this backdrop, a few months ago, Sri Lanka and the Maldives signed a memorandum of understanding on intelligence sharing.
Opposition parties blame President Gayoom for the rise of extremism. Gayoom has been ruling this Indian Ocean archipelago for nearly three decades. Of late, he has come under severe criticism from within the country and abroad for the mounting corruption, human rights abuses and social ills such as the growing problem of youth addiction to narcotics amidst a high rate of unemployment.
The opposition's view is backed by research conducted by the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses focusing on the Maldives and Pakistan. The research shows that people resort to extremism when they are faced with a non-democratic political system.
On January 8, a boy scout foiled an assassination attempt on the President's life when he grabbed the assassin's knife, saving the executive from death. The assassin, 20-year-old Mohamed Murshid, unemployed and having no previous criminal record, attempted to attack the President when he visited, Hoarafushi in the north of the Maldives.
Earlier a homemade bomb exploded in the capital city of Male on September 29 last year in what was said to be the country's first act of terrorism after the failed attempt by a Sri Lankan mercenary group hired by wealthy Maldivian to overthrow the President in 1988.
Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed told a news conference that the perpetrators might have had extremist connections."Investigations into the September attack showed that there was fundamentalist thinking behind it," he said. In December, three men convicted of carrying out the September bombing were jailed for 15 years. Although the government may have been worried after reports linked some of the suspects to Kashmiri groups, they have since then taken measures to combat extremism in the island.
The government had taken steps to promote moderate thinking through education and banned the traditional Islamic veil in public places, offices, courts, and educational establishments, Minister Nasheed said. He said the government had also banned Muslim religious gatherings unless permission was obtained.
Foreign clerics too have been banned by the government, because it fears they can promote fundamentalism."We do not have madrassas or religious schools, like you see in Pakistan, from where militant thinking comes in," Minister Nasheed said. "In this country, fundamentalism is not spread through teachings."
"We do not have madrassas or religious schools, like you see in Pakistan, from where militant thinking comes in. In this country, fundamentalism is not spread through teachings." - Minister Nasheed
It is spread by a handful of clerics, according to analysts. The rise of extremism is a threat to the country's tourism industry, one of the pillars of the small island nation's economy. Gayoom has ruled the islands since Nov. 11, 1978, and in recent years has strongly defended the presidential form of government, as opposed to the parliamentary system, which is promoted by the main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The founder for the MDP, Mohammed Latheef, told The Sunday Times the Egyptian-educated Gayoom is the father of the country's extremism as it was he who had brought the Wahhabi (Islam practised in Saudi Arabia) thinking into the country. "Soon after becoming President, he opened the first Islamic schools. Religious scholars from Egypt were brought to 'enlighten' the Maldivians during the month of Ramadan.
“ Some even shocked the moderate Muslim community by preaching men could beat their wives. School textbooks were revised to follow the dictator's version of Islam. Islam is used as a tool of governance in the Maldives and its people are tired of it," he said.
"There is no rule of law or checks and balances in the system of governance in the Maldives. The judiciary, the legislature and the security forces revolve around a single individual who runs the country. “In a state which has no governance one can expect such incidents taking place," he said.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Laws for the Protection of the Islamic Religion and Maldive Honour (Satire)
Entirely convinced that the purity of and enforced adherence to the Islamic Religion is essential to the further existence of the Maldive people, and inspired by the uncompromising determination to safeguard the future of the Maldive nation, the Reichjitungemajlis has unanimously resolved upon the following laws, which are either already in place or have been enacted for ratification by the Reichsuljumhourija
Please visit maldivesroyalfamily.com to read the full satire
Please visit maldivesroyalfamily.com to read the full satire
Join the 21st Century!
Applying sharia to a society is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Such a deleterious outcome is somewhat masked in the Arab Middle East because of oil. Were it not for the black gold, Arabs would be pounding sand.
Perhaps, something positive will emerge if Muslims were to emulate the West. (I know, that's shocking!) For starters, human rights (not treating a female as some property of her "guardian"), rule of law (instead of the age-old wasta), capitalism (as opposed to banning interest), tolerance of Jews (not getting an orgasm while thinking of killing them) and letting go of Arab superiority (which is truly an inferiority complex).
Another thing: most Westerners don't care about Islam and Muslims. If anything it's the actions of the Muslims that is waking up the West and making it notice the backwards umma. Maybe -- just maybe -- if Muslims hadn't obliterated two buildings in New York, murdered Aussies in Bali, terrorized and raped children in Beslan, exploded bombs in London and tried to cause mayhem in Canada, then the West might not portray them in a negative light.
Oh, and passionately advocating for the beating of hijab-free Muslim girls and the killing of those who leave the decrepit religion and perpetual war against non-Muslims doesn't help either.
This juvenile and utterly illogical effort to puff up the West as some evil monster that wants to crush Muslims and which thus must be opposed (or destroyed), so that the umma can prosper is pure poppycock.
Tell your umma to stop causing shit and join the 21st century!
With thanks to Isaac Schrödinger pakistani-born ex-muslim convention-refugee pro-usa
Perhaps, something positive will emerge if Muslims were to emulate the West. (I know, that's shocking!) For starters, human rights (not treating a female as some property of her "guardian"), rule of law (instead of the age-old wasta), capitalism (as opposed to banning interest), tolerance of Jews (not getting an orgasm while thinking of killing them) and letting go of Arab superiority (which is truly an inferiority complex).
Another thing: most Westerners don't care about Islam and Muslims. If anything it's the actions of the Muslims that is waking up the West and making it notice the backwards umma. Maybe -- just maybe -- if Muslims hadn't obliterated two buildings in New York, murdered Aussies in Bali, terrorized and raped children in Beslan, exploded bombs in London and tried to cause mayhem in Canada, then the West might not portray them in a negative light.
Oh, and passionately advocating for the beating of hijab-free Muslim girls and the killing of those who leave the decrepit religion and perpetual war against non-Muslims doesn't help either.
This juvenile and utterly illogical effort to puff up the West as some evil monster that wants to crush Muslims and which thus must be opposed (or destroyed), so that the umma can prosper is pure poppycock.
Tell your umma to stop causing shit and join the 21st century!
With thanks to Isaac Schrödinger pakistani-born ex-muslim convention-refugee pro-usa
Monday, December 31, 2007
The angry beggar at the feast
Recently I was at a community function and seated next to a local beggar who usually hangs around the neighborhood with his hand out always asking for spare change. I can't say the food was particularly good but most people took it in stride, he however lashed out and began shouting that the soda was poison, the food was disgusting and the particular food that he wanted and had been promised wasn't available. Eventually after eating some more, he left angrily.
On a scale of civilizations, Islam is the beggar at the feast. The modern world has birthed an incredible wealth of technologies and products, economic prosperity, human rights and freedoms. Knowledge and communication have been expanded as never before and mankind has gone from the depths of the ocean to set foot on the surface of the moon and within a decade Mars.
Liberal dogma has it that this 'feast' is one that excludes the developing nations and takes place at their expense, but it is not. Israel and Singapore are radically different countries but they are examples of how even small countries can harness technological and commercial energies to become players in the arena. Japan rebuilt itself after the devastation of WW2, two atomic bombs and American occupation to become a technological and economic superpower. Even in the 50's when Israel was less than a decade old and poor, an Israeli university was already running a supercomputer.
Anyone can join the feast, any country genuinely committed to
1. Educating its citizens
2. Progress
(Note that I didn't even include freedom on the list, because Singapore manages to do without it. But even these two terms scare Arab Muslim countries badly enough because they make it difficult to control the population.)
When the 21st century dawned, the Arab Muslim world's response to it in 2001 was the most brutal terrorist attack on a major civilian target in history. A target specifically associated with commerce and prosperity. Since then Islam has brought a new wave of terrorism across the world from Bali to Istanbul to London to Madrid. The bloody tide is supposed to usher in a Caliphate but all it is ushering in is the growing awareness by millions of Americans and Europeans that Islam is incompatible with a 21st century civilization.
Why does the beggar get angry at the feast? It isn't because he doesn't have enough, it's because he chooses not to have enough. There are plenty of people who are deprived, but the professional beggar is an entirely separate category, he transforms his inadequacy into his identity. This is the nature of Islam.
The new Islamic identity celebrates the inadequacies of the Muslim world as virtues. Muslim men can't look at women dressed normally without wanting to rape them, this their Imams transform into a virtue and a reflection of the "immoral women". Muslims can't get along with Non-Muslims, this the Imams claims is proof that Muslims are oppressed. Muslims display intolerance for the everyday practices of the people they live among, including their wine and their pork products, their Imams claim this represents a lack of respect for Muslims rather than the other way around.
Arab Muslim tyrannies can't participate in the 21st century and rather than changing their countries, they funnel dissatisfaction into terrorism against America and Israel and blame the whole thing on "outside interference". The beggar at the feast strikes again.
Islam has made such a natural ally for the left because both reject the idea of progress as immoral. The left has chosen to embrace global warming's call for "Back to the Caves" and the Arab Muslim world is already living there. Both piggyback on 21st century technologies like the internet while furiously employing it to denounce technology and the civilization that generates it. If the left represents the disgruntled epicurean and the Islamic hordes are the barbarians at the gate, their commonality is based on a need to overturn the social, moral and political order of the nation.
The endless Western aid that pours into the Muslim world represents welfare. The Marshall Plan funded the ability of devastated nations to get back on their feet (perhaps excessively so) while the US and the UN's programs continue to pour money in to nations that cannot productively use it and that choose to remain backward. No matter what you give the beggar at the feast, he will stay angry because anger is his identity. It is in the end humiliating to be a beggar, even if one chooses it, and humiliation spawns anger. And that anger burns the keenest and must be directed outward when that humiliation is the product of your own choices.
Islam has chosen to be the beggar of the new millennium and engaged in an orgy of violence to overturn civilization and become its master, building a caliphate of ignorance on the ruins of the civilized world.
With thanks to Sultan Knish
On a scale of civilizations, Islam is the beggar at the feast. The modern world has birthed an incredible wealth of technologies and products, economic prosperity, human rights and freedoms. Knowledge and communication have been expanded as never before and mankind has gone from the depths of the ocean to set foot on the surface of the moon and within a decade Mars.
Liberal dogma has it that this 'feast' is one that excludes the developing nations and takes place at their expense, but it is not. Israel and Singapore are radically different countries but they are examples of how even small countries can harness technological and commercial energies to become players in the arena. Japan rebuilt itself after the devastation of WW2, two atomic bombs and American occupation to become a technological and economic superpower. Even in the 50's when Israel was less than a decade old and poor, an Israeli university was already running a supercomputer.
Anyone can join the feast, any country genuinely committed to
1. Educating its citizens
2. Progress
(Note that I didn't even include freedom on the list, because Singapore manages to do without it. But even these two terms scare Arab Muslim countries badly enough because they make it difficult to control the population.)
When the 21st century dawned, the Arab Muslim world's response to it in 2001 was the most brutal terrorist attack on a major civilian target in history. A target specifically associated with commerce and prosperity. Since then Islam has brought a new wave of terrorism across the world from Bali to Istanbul to London to Madrid. The bloody tide is supposed to usher in a Caliphate but all it is ushering in is the growing awareness by millions of Americans and Europeans that Islam is incompatible with a 21st century civilization.
Why does the beggar get angry at the feast? It isn't because he doesn't have enough, it's because he chooses not to have enough. There are plenty of people who are deprived, but the professional beggar is an entirely separate category, he transforms his inadequacy into his identity. This is the nature of Islam.
The new Islamic identity celebrates the inadequacies of the Muslim world as virtues. Muslim men can't look at women dressed normally without wanting to rape them, this their Imams transform into a virtue and a reflection of the "immoral women". Muslims can't get along with Non-Muslims, this the Imams claims is proof that Muslims are oppressed. Muslims display intolerance for the everyday practices of the people they live among, including their wine and their pork products, their Imams claim this represents a lack of respect for Muslims rather than the other way around.
Arab Muslim tyrannies can't participate in the 21st century and rather than changing their countries, they funnel dissatisfaction into terrorism against America and Israel and blame the whole thing on "outside interference". The beggar at the feast strikes again.
Islam has made such a natural ally for the left because both reject the idea of progress as immoral. The left has chosen to embrace global warming's call for "Back to the Caves" and the Arab Muslim world is already living there. Both piggyback on 21st century technologies like the internet while furiously employing it to denounce technology and the civilization that generates it. If the left represents the disgruntled epicurean and the Islamic hordes are the barbarians at the gate, their commonality is based on a need to overturn the social, moral and political order of the nation.
The endless Western aid that pours into the Muslim world represents welfare. The Marshall Plan funded the ability of devastated nations to get back on their feet (perhaps excessively so) while the US and the UN's programs continue to pour money in to nations that cannot productively use it and that choose to remain backward. No matter what you give the beggar at the feast, he will stay angry because anger is his identity. It is in the end humiliating to be a beggar, even if one chooses it, and humiliation spawns anger. And that anger burns the keenest and must be directed outward when that humiliation is the product of your own choices.
Islam has chosen to be the beggar of the new millennium and engaged in an orgy of violence to overturn civilization and become its master, building a caliphate of ignorance on the ruins of the civilized world.
With thanks to Sultan Knish
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Warning - Vigilance Required
We have recently had an attack. It is quite possible that those kind of elements may be planning an attack on a tourist resort during Christmas. It is a scary thought. But the warnings are out there. The possibility of a holiday strike is there, and we should maintain general vigilance at all times.
There are warnings from Islamic clerics: do not participate in the infidels' festivities, do not wish them holiday greetings, do not endorse or participate in any manner what Muslim hardliners see as celebrations of infidelity and the rejection of Allah. This way of thinking is being reemphasized among Salafist communities and it instills a contempt and hatred for non-Muslims particularly on the occasions of their holidays and could become the rationalization for an attack during the Christmas holidays.
The Jihadists have an eye for the grand symbol, and this could conceivably take the form of a strike around Christmas.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Constitution or Shariah Law?
One of the important developments in our constitutional structure was the establishment of the Special Majlis; as a response to the demand for a strengthening of the checks and balances in the system of state administration and constitutional reform.
The improvement in the constitutional reform situation and the amendment has been very slow and its has been dragging for the last 5 years for petty political reasons by the two main political parties, the main opposition party Maldives Democratic Party MDP and the ruling party Dhivehi Rayithunge Party DRP. Recently, the special Majlis is forced to stay put on disagreements over whether to include Islamic Shariah law in the constitution. Both, main opposition part MDP and the government are equally uneasy of religious dissent apparently on the rise in the Maldives and fearful of the growing Islamic extremism in The Maldives. In this state of affairs both opposition and the government is reluctant to enter a new stage of constitutional reform and practice in regard to fight for the basic right of freedom of religion.
This basic right is clearly stated in international human rights instruments, particularly Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 18 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance". UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948.
Until today, the main problems regarding the protection of freedom of religion have never entered the arena of Special Majlis and in constitutional reform. A constitution as the supreme law of the land sets out the basic structure of the governmental system in every nation. The constitution of every country, however, has different characteristics that can influence the form of the state. As regards the freedom of religion, we often hear about the different concepts of a religious state, secular state and other types of state.
The Indian Constitution, which added the word “secular”, shows that India is a secular state that places special emphasis on the values of freedom of religion and tolerance. The First Amendment to the American Constitution guarantees freedom of religion for each of its citizen.
In relationship between constitutions and freedom of religion, the countries that have majority Muslim populations are divided into four categories.
First, countries that openly declare themselves to be Islamic states.
Second, countries that have officially adopted Islam as the official religion of the state.
Third, countries that declare themselves to be secular states.
Fourth, countries that make no such declarations in their constitutions.
If Maldives belongs to the first category, then the question arises as to what is the real concept of the state that was created by our founding fathers? The question is when did Maldives became an Islamic state and How? What was the religion of our fore fathers? Originally Maldivians followed the Dravidian Mother-Goddess worship and its rituals. The country underwent a conversion to Buddhism about 2,000 years ago which brought about an unprecedented flourishing of the Maldivian culture, including the language which by then developed its own script. Almost all significant Maldivian archaeological remains and cultural accomplishments are from that period. But about 800 years ago the country was converted to the Muslim religion.
A confessional state can only be based on a particular religion, while a secular state prevents religion from interfering with state affairs. Moreover, Can Maldives be or become a nation through its constitutional reform? A religious state that protects and facilitates the development of all religions adhered to by the people without any differences in treatment arising from the number of a religion’s adherent?
In this context, it is essential that the State has a constitutional obligation to protect the freedom of religion of each of its citizens, when the Constitution is held in one of our hands, the holy book must be held in the other hand. This means that these two things have to work in harmony and that one cannot contradict the other.
Maldives is one of the countries that lack experience as regards the protection of freedom of religion through the constitutional reform mechanism. In fact, this mechanism is an important tool in other countries when the freedom of religion finds itself under attack by state action.
Unfortunately, constitutional reform in Maldives is confined to the review of laws. This means that the Maldivian constitutional system and its practice need to be developed more seriously. Due to the lack of constitutional protection mechanisms, there are currently huge obstacles in the way of citizens seeking to affirm their basic rights to freedom of religion.
The Maldives is going through a period in history which the nation has never seen before. Through the constitutional reform Shariah Law is included or not. In a modern and in a liberal democracy the constitution and its government function on basic human right in which includes.
1. A secular state.
2. A just and trustworthy government.
3. A free and independent people.
4. A vigorous pursuit and mastery of knowledge.
5. A balanced and comprehensive economic development.
6. A good quality of life for the people.
7. Protection of the rights of minority groups, religion and women and children.
8. Cultural and moral integrity.
9. Safeguarding the environment.
10. Strong defense capabilities
Out of the above ten most basic human rights. A free and independent people are one of the main principles of Islam and in a constitution. In a Shariah law or in a constitution or both combined, the most important is to create free and independent people. Among the characteristics of these people is that they are creative and innovative. Independent people are able to produce dynamic and positive new ideas which are beneficial for the promotion of individuals, families, society and country. Independent people are not a society which exempted from the rules law and ethics. It must be used as a base to develop a strong society and country. An independent and free people must be able to select and choose for themselves, besides adopt an open attitude towards external cultures and traditions which do not go against values and ethics and that contribute towards the development of the nation. It is not merely slogans and declarations but requires sacrifices and serious efforts which contribute towards the development of the country.
Up to you the people of The Maldives and to The Special Majlis.
IF Shariah Law is to be included in the constitution, what is the reason to make or amend the constitution at all. when rule of law and regulation is written in Allah’s words in Holy Quran?
The improvement in the constitutional reform situation and the amendment has been very slow and its has been dragging for the last 5 years for petty political reasons by the two main political parties, the main opposition party Maldives Democratic Party MDP and the ruling party Dhivehi Rayithunge Party DRP. Recently, the special Majlis is forced to stay put on disagreements over whether to include Islamic Shariah law in the constitution. Both, main opposition part MDP and the government are equally uneasy of religious dissent apparently on the rise in the Maldives and fearful of the growing Islamic extremism in The Maldives. In this state of affairs both opposition and the government is reluctant to enter a new stage of constitutional reform and practice in regard to fight for the basic right of freedom of religion.
This basic right is clearly stated in international human rights instruments, particularly Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 18 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance". UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948.
Until today, the main problems regarding the protection of freedom of religion have never entered the arena of Special Majlis and in constitutional reform. A constitution as the supreme law of the land sets out the basic structure of the governmental system in every nation. The constitution of every country, however, has different characteristics that can influence the form of the state. As regards the freedom of religion, we often hear about the different concepts of a religious state, secular state and other types of state.
The Indian Constitution, which added the word “secular”, shows that India is a secular state that places special emphasis on the values of freedom of religion and tolerance. The First Amendment to the American Constitution guarantees freedom of religion for each of its citizen.
In relationship between constitutions and freedom of religion, the countries that have majority Muslim populations are divided into four categories.
First, countries that openly declare themselves to be Islamic states.
Second, countries that have officially adopted Islam as the official religion of the state.
Third, countries that declare themselves to be secular states.
Fourth, countries that make no such declarations in their constitutions.
If Maldives belongs to the first category, then the question arises as to what is the real concept of the state that was created by our founding fathers? The question is when did Maldives became an Islamic state and How? What was the religion of our fore fathers? Originally Maldivians followed the Dravidian Mother-Goddess worship and its rituals. The country underwent a conversion to Buddhism about 2,000 years ago which brought about an unprecedented flourishing of the Maldivian culture, including the language which by then developed its own script. Almost all significant Maldivian archaeological remains and cultural accomplishments are from that period. But about 800 years ago the country was converted to the Muslim religion.
A confessional state can only be based on a particular religion, while a secular state prevents religion from interfering with state affairs. Moreover, Can Maldives be or become a nation through its constitutional reform? A religious state that protects and facilitates the development of all religions adhered to by the people without any differences in treatment arising from the number of a religion’s adherent?
In this context, it is essential that the State has a constitutional obligation to protect the freedom of religion of each of its citizens, when the Constitution is held in one of our hands, the holy book must be held in the other hand. This means that these two things have to work in harmony and that one cannot contradict the other.
Maldives is one of the countries that lack experience as regards the protection of freedom of religion through the constitutional reform mechanism. In fact, this mechanism is an important tool in other countries when the freedom of religion finds itself under attack by state action.
Unfortunately, constitutional reform in Maldives is confined to the review of laws. This means that the Maldivian constitutional system and its practice need to be developed more seriously. Due to the lack of constitutional protection mechanisms, there are currently huge obstacles in the way of citizens seeking to affirm their basic rights to freedom of religion.
The Maldives is going through a period in history which the nation has never seen before. Through the constitutional reform Shariah Law is included or not. In a modern and in a liberal democracy the constitution and its government function on basic human right in which includes.
1. A secular state.
2. A just and trustworthy government.
3. A free and independent people.
4. A vigorous pursuit and mastery of knowledge.
5. A balanced and comprehensive economic development.
6. A good quality of life for the people.
7. Protection of the rights of minority groups, religion and women and children.
8. Cultural and moral integrity.
9. Safeguarding the environment.
10. Strong defense capabilities
Out of the above ten most basic human rights. A free and independent people are one of the main principles of Islam and in a constitution. In a Shariah law or in a constitution or both combined, the most important is to create free and independent people. Among the characteristics of these people is that they are creative and innovative. Independent people are able to produce dynamic and positive new ideas which are beneficial for the promotion of individuals, families, society and country. Independent people are not a society which exempted from the rules law and ethics. It must be used as a base to develop a strong society and country. An independent and free people must be able to select and choose for themselves, besides adopt an open attitude towards external cultures and traditions which do not go against values and ethics and that contribute towards the development of the nation. It is not merely slogans and declarations but requires sacrifices and serious efforts which contribute towards the development of the country.
Up to you the people of The Maldives and to The Special Majlis.
IF Shariah Law is to be included in the constitution, what is the reason to make or amend the constitution at all. when rule of law and regulation is written in Allah’s words in Holy Quran?
Islam and the nation-state
Throughout the world, one of the most prevalent causes of war, terrorism and political instability is the ongoing weakening of the nation-state system. There are several reasons that the nation-state as a political unit of sovereignty is under threat. One of the most basic causes of this continuous erosion of national power throughout the world is the transformation of minority-dominated enclaves within nation-states into ungovernable areas where state power is either not applied or applied in a haphazard and generally unconstructive manner.
While domestic strife between majority and minority populations has been an enduring feature of democratic and indeed all societies throughout history, the current turbulence constitutes a unique challenge to the nation-state system. This is because much of the internal strife between minority and majority populations within states today is financed and often directed from outside the country.
Traditionally, minorities used various local means to engage the majority population in a bid to influence the political direction or cultural norms of the nation state. The classic examples of this traditional minority-majority engagement are the black civil rights movement in the US in the 1960s and the labor movements in the West throughout the 20th century. By and large, these movements were domestic protests informed by national sensibilities even when they enjoyed the support of foreign governments.
Today while similar movements continue to flourish, they are now being superseded by a new type of minority challenge to national majorities.
This challenge is not primarily the result of domestic injustice but the consequence of foreign agitation. The roots of these minority challenges are found outside the borders of the targeted states. And their goals are not limited to a call for the reform of national institutions and politics. Rather they set their sights on weakening national institutions and eroding national sovereignty.
MUSLIM MINORITIES throughout the world are being financed and ideologically trained in Saudi and UAE funded mosques and Islamic centers. These minorities act in strikingly similar manners in the countries where they are situated throughout the world. On the one hand, their local political leaders demand extraordinary communal rights, rights accorded neither to the national majority nor to other minority populations. On the other hand, Muslim neighborhoods, particularly in Europe, but also in Israel, the Philippines and Australia, are rendered increasingly ungovernable as arms of the state like the police and tax authorities come under attack when they attempt to assert state power in these Muslim communities.
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