Trouble on “…the sunny side of life”

I have only been to Maldives once (more than a decade ago) and from what I remember of that time, it is truly a beautiful place with very friendly people, mild-mannered, polite and welcoming to visitors.

I was therefore dismayed to read a string of articles over the last few months that signalled the increasing radicalisation of the local population, influenced by the Wahhabis, supported by oil money and bolstered by “Adhaalath” – a party that is a member of the current ruling coalition & controls the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Below are some excerpts from recent news-reports that paint a troubling picture of these beautiful islands.

The first excerpt from a news-report, Salaf condemns plans to revive “unIslamic” cultural traditions (Hat Tip: Praveen Swami via Twitter):

Islamic NGO Salaf Jamiyyah has condemned plans to revive bodu maaloodh (big feast) in Thaa atoll Kadoodhoo, a tradition that was banned under the previous government.

Bodu maaloodh was traditionally celebrated on the Prophet’s birthday as a social event where people from neighbouring islands get together for a feast.

“Salaf believes it should not be revived and that it is a bidah (innovation),” said Abdullah bin Mohamed Ibrahim, president of the association.

Bidah refers to innovations within Islam that are not part of the religion. In Sunni Islam, innovations in religion are believed to sinful and blasphemous…Abdullah added reviving such rituals in the name of promoting cultural tourism could have “dire consequences” on society as they were in conflict with Islam. “If all such practices are to be brought back, they might even revive old Buddhist traditions,” he said.

…Yousuf Nizar, Kadoodhoo councilor…stressed that the feast would be planned this year only if islanders wanted to resume the practice. In the past, he said, the island ended other practices such as putting up fire lights as it was believed to date back to the time when Maldivians worshipped the sun.

…Izzudheen Adham, communications officer at the ministry of Islamic affairs, told Minivan News..“Our mandate is to protect religion in the Maldives,” he said. “If people are trying to revive it, we will take whatever measures we can to stop it.”

Next, excerpts from An idyllic island and 100 mujahideen a paper by Dr. S.Chandrasekharan:

For a small country of its size and homogenous population, one would expect Maldives to have the least of the problems when compared to other countries of South Asia. But it does not appear to be so.

…there is one area where the government has been slow in even acknowledging that they have a problem- and that is religious extremism.

…Though the problems relating to religious extremism were known in Gayoom’s time and even now, there appeared to be a tendency on the part of the authorities not to play it up and actions if any had been tentative, sporadic and half hearted.

The points made by President Nasheed were

…* There are close to one hundred Maldivian nationals in Waziristan and even in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan.* A hundred more Maldivian nationals have received military training in Pakistan to fight a war or for some other activities.

Next excerpts from two articles by Munirah Moosa. Munirah is currently engaged in research into the ‘radicalisation’ of Muslim communities and its impact on international security and writes extensively on Maldives. Here is the first excerpt from her article titled “To be saved or to let drown, that is the question“:

…What is this ‘Islamic culture’ that Adhaalath accuses the West of stealing from the Maldives? Are they referring to the custom among Maldivian women that dictated they go topless until their first periods, no matter how old or how well endowed they became in the meantime?

…Perhaps Adhaalath is referring to the ‘Islamic culture’ of the free and fiery nature of Maldivian women much admired by Marco Polo in his travels? Or is it the ‘Islamic culture’ in which women reigned as queens for many years?…Or is the ‘Islamic culture’ that Adhaalath talks about the one that is reflected in the Maldivian women’s traditional clothing? You know, the dress with a neckline that plunges so deep that even Dolly Parton would blush, or the accompanying skirt that cannot even be bothered with stitching but wraps around the waist with a slit that goes up to the waistline itself?

…Adhaalath is painting a false picture of a particular kind of ‘Islamic Maldives,’ that has never existed, then accuses the West of stealing it. The Maldives has been an Islamic nation for centuries, yes, but it has never had the culture that Adhaalath laments the loss of.

The next excerpt is from “Silence is not always golden“:

The Maldives is travelling on a road not just less travelled but abandoned by most other nations – the road of regression.

Reading the headlines of a Maldivian newspaper is like travelling back in time. Female genital mutilation (FGM), concubines, under-age brides, calls to bring back capital punishment, deportation of ‘suspect’ foreigners, increasing acceptance of man’s alleged superiority over women… concerned about this state of affairs?

The key, apparently, is to say nothing, because whatever you say is certain to be used against you as evidence of your apostasy.

…Maldivians, until recently, were renowned for their openness and friendliness. The suspicions with which Maldivians now treat foreigners are consequences of this audacious robbery of Maldivian traditions and nature.It is this loss that is being lamented by critics, the loss of the friendly Maldivian.

In this disturbed world, the Maldives – had it been allowed to be itself and practice Islam the way it had done for centuries – could have stood as an example to the rest of the world that Islam is indeed a religion of peace, that it is diverse, and among its many followers are people of distinctive cultures.

Sadly, that Maldives is being taken away, its people being cookie-cutter-molded to fit the appearance and behaviours of a particular sect of Islam.

Finally, from “Maldives faces up to extremism” by Sudha Ramachandran, this excerpt:

The Maldives, which is at the forefront of a campaign to get the international community to act on a looming global warming crisis, has a more immediate problem on hand. A rising tide of religious extremism is driving this tropical paradise of a low-lying string of islands down the road to a new conservatism.

What is more, the spread of militant Islam in the country and the appeal of a radical strain of Islam are drawing Maldivian youth into global jihadi groups.

“Hundreds of Maldivians” have been recruited by the Taliban and are fighting in Pakistan, Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed told the CNN-IBN news channel during his recent visit to India.

…newly democratic Maldives is up against a serious challenge – religious extremism. Maldivians are Sunni Muslim and adherence to Islam is required for citizenship. Historically, religion has been an important part of the daily lives of Maldivians, but the Islam followed here was never rigid or puritanical.

Maldivian Islam is suffused with local cultural practices and faith in Islam has co-existed with the belief in spirits – djinns. Alongside praying to Allah, Maldivians turned to magic and spells for protection against evil spirits.

Traditionally, women did not veil their faces or cover their heads and men did not grow beards. Interaction between men and women was allowed and arranged marriages, practiced in most Islamic societies, was never the norm here.

That is now changing.

A puritanical version of Islam has taken root. Signs of conservatism are more evident on the streets of the capital, Male, today than they were even a few years ago. The number of burqa-clad women has been increasing steadily as has that of bearded men.

…It is not just in Pakistan-Afghanistan that Maldivian jihadis are active. Some were sent to carry out attacks in India. At least two Maldivian nationals are known to have died fighting in Kashmir in early 2007, and Nasheed recently pointed to “a Maldivian connection” to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai a year ago.

As a post-script, some of you may know that the new constitution of Maldives, adopted in 2008, prohibits non-Muslims from becoming citizens of the country.

Prior to the 12th century AD, Maldives was a Buddhist kingdom. Today, its policies are influenced by Islamic law – in some cases, with very unfortunate consequences.

Images courtesy, visitmaldives.com