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?

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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Fighting and Killing is an Islamic Principle.

The God of Islam in The KURAN (Quran) says:
Then Fight and slay the Pagans (every non-muslims) * wherever ye find them, and Seize them (altawba 9:5)
Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (altawba 9: 29)
Allah told them to kill non Muslims any where and they will get many Virgins Girls (from 41 to more than 12 500 Virgins Girls for each Muslim man ) in their Paradise as a Reward for obeying Allah and killing the non Muslims people in there Holy War: i.e. THE JIHAD
Look to some Kuran Teachings that Teach Musilms
To Fight and Slay the Non-Muslims
The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians). (alfatiha 1:7)
Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you (to victory) over them, heal the breasts of Believers, (altawba 9: 14)
And yet another translation
Fight against them so that Allâh will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of a believing people, (9:14)
But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans * wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); (altawba 9:19)
And yet another translation
Then when the Sacred Months have passed, then kill the Mushrikûn wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and give Zakât, then leave their way free. Verily, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (see V.2:105) (altawba 9:19)
(V.2:105) Neither those who disbelieve among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) nor Al-Mushrikûn (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh, idolaters, polytheists, pagans, Christians how worship Jesus as God, etc.) like that there should be sent down unto you any good from your Lord. But Allâh chooses for His Mercy whom He wills. And Allâh is the Owner of Great Bounty. (albaqara 2:105)
And in the following verses you will see that Muhamad identified Christians as Disbelievers and Mushrikûn because he did not understand the Christian faith neither the Trinity - the Godhead in the Bible - nor the personality of Jesus Christ as the Eternal Son of God. Therefore, Muhamad considered Christians as Mushrikûn.
According to him, disbelievers are those who say:
"Allâh is the third of the three (in a Trinity)." But there is no ilâh (god) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but One Ilâh (God -Allâh). And if they cease not from what tthey say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them. (almaida 5:73)
They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah (God) is the Messiah (Jesus Christ ) , son of Mary (almaida 5:17)
Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (altawba 9: 29)
The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;(almaida 5:33)
Fighting is prescribed upon you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not. (albaqara 2:216)
O Prophet! rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the Unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding. (alanfal 8:65)
Based on the previous verses, we conclude that Islam considers Christians as Pagans, Disbelievers and Mushrikûn, because they:
1- Believe not in Allâh of the KURAN, nor forbid what has been forbidden by Allâh of the KURAN and his Messenger.
2 - Do not accept Muhamad as Prophet and Messenger from the True Allâh (LORD God )
3 - Acknowledge not the religion of Islam as it is From God.
4 - Worship Jesus Christ as the Eternal Word of God.
5 - Believe that the true Allâh is the One True God In His Trinity as revealed in the Holy Bible.
Thus, Islam teaches that Christians and others should be Killed in the name of Allâh.
Islam pushes Christians to believe that Jesus Christ is not more than a prophet otherwise they will be KILLED by muslims.
Again
Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (altawba 9: 29)

The conversion obsession

The Islamic world is truly obsessed with conversions. At least 7 Islamic countries apply the death penalty to those who convert from Islam: Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mauritania. But in other states, like Egypt, converts are condemned to prison, not as apostates but for contempt of Islam, as Hossam Bahgat, a member of the Egyptian Initiative for personal rights, explains.
According to government daily Al-Massa’, all imams are unanimous on the need to kill the apostate Hegazi. They say that sharia (not the Koran) must be enforced and it calls for the death penalty.The more moderate say: if the apostate hides his conversion, does not broadcast his decision, then it is not necessary to kill him; he can live. If he lets it be known, then he causes scandal (fitna) and must die.

from: Asia News

Islamic and Christian proselytising

Islam protects itself against conversions by putting apostates in prison or by killing them. But its obsession with conversion includes a series of privileges it claims for itself. So much so that in many Muslim countries, even those that are supposedly secular, the right to promote the Islamic faith is taken for granted and is not enshrined in law. Conversely, the right to promote any other religion is considered de facto and de jure unacceptable.
Islamic propaganda is part of the state’s mandate. In Egypt for example public institutions disseminate songs, prayers, movies and written material that praise Islam and denigrate Christianity. Inevitably this favours conversions to Islam. By contrast, Christian propaganda (tabshīr) is banned by law.
Recently in Algeria, a new law was approved that condemns anyone promoting the Christian faith and anyone who converts to Christianity. Of course, some might say that this kind of law is directed only at Protestant proselytising. True! But Muslims proselytise as well? Should the law not be the same for everyone?
Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly the country where double standards in matter of religion are the most glaring. One example: Saudi Arab Airlines’ website explicitly warns its passengers that Bibles, crucifixes, and any other non-Muslim religious symbol are prohibited on board. If any are found they are confiscated. Another example is when two pieces of wood happen to end up across one another. However inadvertently that may have come about, the resulting cross becomes ipso facto a religious symbol and police are known to have ordered people who happened to be nearby to step on them.
Anti-Christian propaganda is also found in how words are used. In Arabic Christians are called Massihi. In Arabia they are also called Salībi, crusaders, and Nasrami, Nazarenes. Interestingly, at the time of the Crusades Christians were by and large referred to as Faranj or Franks. But the most commonly used word today is kuffar, unbelievers who must be killed. For the past 30 or so years, its use has increasingly spread around the Muslim world.
By some estimates, the number of Christians who convert to Islam in Egypt is around 10,000, usually prompted by practical reasons like the need to divorce, or to marry a Muslim woman (or man), or to get a job. Rarely does faith come into the picture.
More recently there has been some talk about thousands of Muslim converts to Christianity. Protestant missionary centres, based in the United States (the Zwemer Institute* has been mentioned), are said to offer money, apartments, passports, etc in exchange for conversion to Christianity. Such charges have often found their way into the Muslim press in relation to the Hegazi affair.
In Arabic Tabshīr means ‘evangelisation’ and has taken on negative connotations. In Egypt and other countries anyone guilty of Tabshīr can end up in prison or pushed out of the country. On the other hand, dawah, which means a call to join Islam, has positive connotations and is seen as duty for every Muslim. In some Muslim countries dawah has its own ministry (or Ministry of Islamic Propaganda, a bit like the Vatican’s dicastery De propaganda fide).
When shall there be a spiritual Islam?
Leaving Islam is seen as a religious, social and political outrage.
From a religious point of view, converts abandon the true faith for a false one. Indeed, the Qur’an itself warns that “The only religion approved by GOD is ‘Submission’ (Qur’an 3:19),” and “Anyone who accepts other than Submission as his religion [. . .] will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will be with the losers” (Qur’an 3:85).
From a social point of view, someone who converts to Christianity and encourages others to follow him or her becomes a cancer on society.
From a political point of view, anyone leaving Islam is a traitor, a spy against his own nation who deserves death, because Islam is always viewed as a community, the Ummah.
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Read the full report here

Intolerance Warning

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has begun. In addition to fasting from dawn to dusk, Muslims are obligated to read the entire Koran during this month. Non-Muslims should be aware of some of the things their Muslim neighbors will be reading in the Koran:
The unbelievers among the people of the book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. (98.6).
Surely the vilest of animals in Allah's sight are those who disbelieve. (8.55)
The unbelievers are your inveterate enemy. (4:101)
Mohammed is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (48:29).
It is unlawful for a believer to kill another believer, accidents excepted. (4:92)
Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. (5:51)
Make war on them [non-Muslims] until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme. (8:40)
Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme. (2:193)
The true believers fight for the cause of God, but the infidels fight for the devil. Fight then against the friends of Satan. (4:76)
We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. (3:150)
I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers. (8:12)
When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. (9:5)
Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given as believe in neither God nor the Last Day, ... until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued. (9:29)
Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. (9:73 and 66:9)
Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. (9:123)
When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads. (47:4)
These and other passages in the Koran, which are considered Allah's literal word, will be important to non-Muslims until the imams preach to their congregations that these passages are no longer valid. So far, it has not happened.

By Carl Goldberg

Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith

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“Sharia schools say that they will kill the ones who leave Islam. In the West people get threatened, thrown out of their family, beaten up,” Mr Jami said. “In Islam you are born Muslim. You do not even choose to be Muslim. We want that to change, so that people are free to choose who they want to be and what they want to believe in.”
Mr Jami, 22, who has abandoned his studies as his political career has taken off, denied that the choice of September 11 was deliberately provocative towards the Islamic Establishment. “We chose the date because we want to make a clear statement that we no longer tolerate the intolerence of Islam, the terrorist attacks,” he said.
“In 1965 the Church in Holland made a declaration that freedom of conscience is above hanging on to religion, so you can choose whether you are going to be a Christian or not. What we are seeking is the same thing for Islam.”
Mr Jami, who has compared the rise of radical Islam to the threat from Nazism in the 1930s, is receiving only lukewarm support from his party which traditionally relies upon Muslim votes. His outspoken attack on radical Islam has led to a prelaunch walk-out from fellow committee founder Loubna Berrada, who herself rejected Islam.
She said: “I don’t wish to confront Islam itself. I only want to spread the message that Muslims should be allowed to leave Islam behind without being threatened.”
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By the Book
— 14 passages in the Koran refer to apostasy
— According to Baidhawi’s commentary, Sura 4: 88-89 reads: “Whosoever turns back from his belief, openly or secretly, take him and kill him wheresoever ye find him, like any other infidel. Separate yourself from him altogether. Do not accept intercession in his regard.”
— The hadith, tradition and legend about Muhammad and his followers used as a basis of Sharia, tells of some atheists who were brought to “’Ali and he burnt them. The news of this reached Ibn Abbas who said: ‘If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah’s Apostate forbade it . . . I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah’s Apostate, ‘Whoever changed his [Islamic] religion, then kill him’.”
— According to hadith, a special reward in Paradise is reserved for the killer of apostates
Source: Times archives; Barnabas Fund

with thanks to Times Online