when Maumoon blocked the anti-regime DO and handed life sentences for writers of Sandhaanu years ago, we pushed forward for democracy & press freedom in the country more relentlessly than before. It paid off ultimately. the state had no choice but to give in as the sentiments of hatred reached boiling point especially after the ruthless murder of Evan Naseem by the cops.
it was only then, 25 years after being in authoritative control, maumoon inititated the democratic reform process.
since then we've enjoyed a freedom unimaginable years ago. gone were the days when reporters and artists were taken in & tortured for expressing even a hint of rebellion.
but now, like a lot of other writers & advocates of freedom of speech, i'm mad cos censorship is starting to take its toll on expression once again. the ministry of islamic affairs is blocking websites that deem unislamic.
among them simon's blog 'randomreflections'. i was a regular at randomreflections but i never felt it was anti-islamic. radicals may think so but i never recalled the author saying anything offensive against islam & i like the fact that the blog opened many issues of religion for discussion.
this is a sad day for democracy.
i'm a believer of islam & i've good friends who arent. they have their basis for disbelief & i've no problems with that. in any case the debate between faith vs science should prevail cos it's a healthy one & it remains a firm test of humankind's ability to accept & tolerate.
yes our country is grateful to Anni & MDP for what we're experiencing today. they deserve due credit for pioneering the long march for freedom. that's why Anni is the top man now.
however when his regime abandons the very ideals the long march was founded upon, it has to be subject to serious scrutiny.
this is a direct result of the growing islamic fundamentalism in the country. i was just reading how Adhaalath & other religious hardliners consistently threatened writers of women's magazine Rasrani since it's inception. even businesses pulled out their ads & the magazine ceased to exist after just two publications. read the details here.
Rasrani wasnt politically or religiously motivated but the fact that it was operated by women & advocated women's rights made a certain fraction of the society uncomfortable.
moreover little girls are kept away from school by their parents who believe a woman needs no education & they belong at home. now that's a whole new discussion by itself.
it wouldnt be a surprise if Anni defends this censorship. afterall many believe he got the edge over Maumoon by playing the religious cards right, which ofcourse was orchestrated by Adhaalath. He owed Adhaalth a substantial degree of authority which he offered by handing them the ministry of islamic affairs.
it was only a coupla years ago when Aishath Aniya, the then MDP's deputy secretary general was blasted by radicals even to the extent of death threats when she published an article on dismissing the veil. Anni & MDP remained silent about her situation & showed no support for her. eventually she resigned from her post.
further, Anni had to renounce Dr. Aminath Jameel as his running mate at the last minute after the religious fraction of MDP declared it was an inappropriate position for a woman. the fact that he didn't stand by Dr. Aminath Jameel clearly showed he would succumb to the pressures of islamic fundamentalists even if it meant going against his will.
this really is a scary thought.
the MDP coalition always insisted on rayyithunge verikan (people's rule) throughout their campaign. i clearly remember Anni saying in a campaign speech, "i'll step behind the people, listen to their chants & repeat it." Now here's a chant we want you to repeat, among others: "we want full freedom of speech. it's a basic human right."
image from my flickr
image from my flickr
Very nicely put mate.
Just one thing - and I'm sure we're all making this mistake cos of the way the current administration seems to have gently diverted our conscience...
It wasn't an MDP coalition - that was decidedly NOT how the card was played - but the current administration seems to, by repeating the MDP coalition/government mantr, have 'made it so'. BUT in reality MOST of the people who voted Nasheed/Waheed voted for something else entirely...
NOT the MDP coalition - it was the 'Wathan Edhey Gothah' coalition.
Least that's what I thought...
Maybe it is the people calling for a clampdown on unislamic practices in our society? I really don't know.
What I do know is that an overwhelming majority of Maldivians are Muslims and Islam will always play an integral part in its governance, as Islam within itself includes methods of dealing with the problems of Muslims, unlike other religions and faith-based systems.
However, what these Islamic Ministry guys have failed to consider is that internet censorship only increases the attention given by public to these websites, since there are means around these bans and ways of accessing the banned sites.
We've finally arrived at a point where I thought we'd be at within the first month of Anni's rule. Interesting times!
This is going to backfire on Anni because already a lot of people I know have lost faith in him and said that they will never support his cause if he continues to turn a blind eye on Adaalath's misadventures. I also will not support Anni until he corrects these wrongdoings. This doesn't mean I am going to support DRP: I can wait until the ideal leader comes along who will defend democracy and free speech with his/her blood.
Hilath. There will never ever come that ideal leader. Not for everyone. Anni is the closest it will get for Maldives. Modern politicians will pursue popular votes, while the likes of Adhaalath claim to work for God's pleasure.
Hello Shaari. With you on most issues, except a few.
1. randomreflexions.com had a number of negative critiques which were generalized enough to encompass moderates, so much so that I would label them as anti-Islamic (and most would not call me a fanatic). I noted this a number of times in comments to posts therein.
2. The author should have kept on operating the site just to show that he had balls, and that people will find a way through the firewalls (technological or others). If physical retribution is feared then the author should know that all moderates are on his side. We would rather use intellectual weapons to win arguments than compasses and sharpened pencils.
3. Rasrani could have persevered (given all their fiscal and operational affairs were in order) despite the abuse from the religiose. The fact that they did not only shows that they simply did not have what it takes to remedy any social stigmas (when history has clearly shown the importance of perseverance in the face of hardships: Gandhi for instance).
4. Everyone (including Anni) would have known beforehand the consequences of striking a partnership with Adhaalath. Furthermore, everyone knew what entailed the creation of an Islamic ministry: oppression for the sake of religious dominance. Why would Anni make a blunder of this magnitude? One reason is to purposefully engineer the demise of Islam by letting the negative Adhaalath sentiments to inadvertently obfuscate the benevolence of the religion (who would not have foreseen this possibility?) Another reason could be to create a future juxtaposition where Anni enters the fray as the 'savior'.
I think I agree too with persona non grata on the 4th point.
Anni is quite a cunning fellow. See how he let Buruma Qasim make his own mess and force himself out of the government without Anni's hands getting dirty?
So this might be Anni's other game: let Adaalath make a mess of itself and throw itself into the frying pan.
In fact, now that I think about it, I think this is the game Anni is playing. He was forced to take up these parties who were really against him, but he has devised an intelligent plan so that these parties make a mess by themselves and get out in disgrace.
What a cunning genius Anni is. I really have to salute him for that.
So, Maumoon is not the only genius after all...
Religion is a tricky issue. When religion comes up you have big strong liberal minded men keeping silent, afraid to debate. (and of course even if a big strong liberal minded woman did debate, she will be disregarded since she's just mere half witted woman) I dont know whats this stronghold religion has on us, the hidden fear and guilt inside us that extremists tap into to turn us like them. Simon was one of the few people who tried to provoke debate and thinking outside the narrow trappings of our minds; the product of our wonderful education system and socialisation. I just dont understand what threat he posed, thinking about religion within the relm of reason and logic does not diminish anything from it.
In anycase, i'm glad he's been unbanned by the higher powers at MOIA. They'll be doing a more useful job if they go around banning those violent jehadi sites that promote such vehement intolerance and segregation...
We're forgetting the fact that a huge chunk that voted for the coalition voted because they wanted Gayyoom out, and not because they wanted Anni as president.
You voted for change. You got change. Had you stopped and thought about the fact that change can be good... and also bad... you might have thought thrice.
I can visualize the previous president cackling in glee, neck wattles flapping, rubbing his hands together and saying that over and over, in a demented sort of way.
If you think it before going to bed, it'll definitely give you an urge to vomit first thing in the morning... not unlike the sort of thing experienced by non-male human beings who are carrying offspring in their innards.
Let's get one thing straight (not what you thought): I don't belive in the previous govt. I believe that this govt is a joke.
I am reminded of hindu pilgrims inflicting pain on themselves for a chance at redemption.
Oh btw, you forgot to capitalize, darling. Many, many times. :-)
Why is Shaatey's blog one of the few blogs Warm Pixels comments in his name rather than anonymously?
@Anon
Oh, google up warm.pixels and you'll see how many times warm.pixels has commented on other blogs.
I rather dislike people who leave anonymous comments. It's like using epithets from behind a face-veil.
quote: 'Islam within itself includes methods of dealing with the problems of Muslims, unlike other religions and faith-based systems.'
OOPS... let me try again.... (my stupid, old fingers gone wild, again....)
Quote: 'Islam within itself includes methods of dealing with the problems of Muslims, unlike other religions and faith-based systems.'
You have no idea of how silly that sounds to a non-Muslim. Oh yes, we read about how Islam deals with the problems of Muslims everyday in the newspapers. It usually involves blood on the floor.
This "Islam is perfect" mentality means there will be no freedom of thought, no equality and no human rights. Things in the Maldives are going to get real bad as radical Islamic doctrines take hold, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. The women, most of all, will suffer. Muslim men, I guess, don't care.
Non-Muslims don't need to worry because they have already been declared unwelcome and have been stripped of their citizenship. How Islamic.
Why is Islam afraid of ideas, opinions and free discussion? You figure it out.
Kactuz
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