Sunday, May 30, 2010

First prisoner of conscience in Nasheed's Maldives

Mohamed Nazim, a man who posed a question to Wahhabi televengalist Zakir Naik has become the country's first prisoner of conscience since president since Nasheed took office in 2008.

Nazim asked Naik the verdict in Islam for individuals who were still struggling to decide on faith in a country such as the Maldives, where most people practise religion not by choice but because they inherited it from their parents.

Naik's jumbled response that the Maldives government should decide the plight of such people suggests that he hadn't properly researched the country to which he had come to lecture. Clearly unused to intelligent debate, Naik then went on the insult Nazim's knowledge of Islam and education.

"Don't try to be too smart," he told Nazim. "I have to educate you from scratch."

Following the exchange, a section of Naik's auidence hounded Nazim and allegedly attacked him before police took him away.

The latest news is that police have now obtained a court order to extend Nazim's detention. But Maldivian judges have not extended similar cooperation to police for people accused of murder, child abuse and rape.

Mohamed Nazim did say he was not a believer of Islam, but it could be argued that he was speaking hyphothetically to elicit an answer from Zakir Naik. Only Nazim himself can verify his religous stance.

Nazim has effectively become the country's first prisoner of conscience since Mohamed Nasheed, a self-professed champion of free speech and democracy, took office.

While Article 9 (b) of the Maldives constitution states a citizen of Maldives may not be deprived of citizenship, 9 (d) states that a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives. And, Article 10 states that state religion is Islam and that no law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted in the Maldives.

However, the Quran, the most important tenet of Islam, makes it clear that religion cannot be forced on people.

According to verse 2:256:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out from error. Whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all."

The Maldives is also a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects the freedom of thought, conscience, and religious belief.

But at the time of uploading this post, Anni's government and the Maldives human rights commission have not publicly stated their position on the incident.

To my knowledge none of Nazim's alleged attackers have been arrested for taking the law into their hands, even though they must have been caught on TV.

Meanwhile, although Naik himself is reported to have said things which might be contrary to Maldivian law, such as promoting under-aged marriage, no one has called for the arrest of the preacher yet.

41 comments:

  1. what a nonsense contents is this supporting to an atheist. Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a frameworks Jews and Christian please try to apply this to them not Muslims. Human right cannot be accepted without self defense this is not existed. We Muslim should only take care on Quran and Authentic Hadeesh. If any movement or event deviated from this should be justified within the islamic legal framework. Haqqu should alway be prevailed. Democracy is really a rubbish of jews and christ. Salaam2all

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  2. anony above: so u saying that the verse "there shall b no compulsion in religion" is from bible or what? im sick of hairy chests like u...

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  3. The first Anony's comment states the Universal declaration of Human Rights is a framework of Jews and Christians. I wonder why the Maldivian government was so proud of getting elected the UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL which is founded on the said declaration, does this mean that the government has signed to follow the framework of Christians and Jews!!!!

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  4. The PROBLEM is with these “Mullahs & Modernists”. THEIR aversion to each other & THEIR need to prove/establish THEMSELVES/THEIR views as the ABSOLUTE, ULTIMATE truths. Oh the hypocrisy & sheer irony (just how alike these two groups are, DESPITE their efforts to "dis-associate" with one another)!!! The "average" Maldivians are unfortunately caught in the vortex of this hatred that these “philosophers” incite. I, for one, AM SICK to the core by their actions & words. Too many cooks spoil the broth-now this must be why they say “ignorance is bliss” ;)

    But seriously though, we must learn not to let these “Mullahs & Modernists” dictate our way of life for us. Sadly, the word “moderation” is highly underrated these days :( Why do we feel that we must ONLY be at one extreme to get any attention/be taken seriously/lead a happy, “successful” life?!?

    That being said, I still have COMPLETE FAITH in US as a people (not especially as “individuals”). JUST STOP THINKING YOU ARE EITHER SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR TO OTHERS-WE ARE ALL EQUALS AS CITIZENS OF MALDIVES! Sometimes, we MUST put the COLLECTIVE ahead of the INDIVIDUAL. BEWARE of BOTH passive "non-conformism" & active "extremism"! I truly believe we could do so much better IF we CHOOSE to eliminate these self-appointed “factions” amongst ourselves.

    Good luck to us ALL!

    -Theduveri Dhivehi Dhariyeh-

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  5. Those UN conventions are not compulsions either. And all those conventions recognise that each state have their own laws...

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  6. For all those who commented that UDHR is a Jewish/Christian conspiracy...here is a news flash...

    They were prepared by people of many faiths...incluing your brotherly muslims from Pakistan, Iran, Egypt.....

    As for people who claim democracy is a jewish/Christian conspiracy.... most of the teaching of democracy...have been outlined in Quran and Hadiths.... and just imagine when Maldives did not have a democracy....you guys would not have been able to freely express your views the way you do today.....

    So be greatful for what you have...what democracy has given you...such as freedom speech/expression...today you lived in country without these freedoms these blogs might not be accessible as it might be blocked by your government...but fortunately things are different in the maldives today...so before you bash something just do little bit of thinking....

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  7. According to these fundies, democracy is great when it serves their purpose, but then when it starts benefiting others they claim (their narrow version of) Islam is the only way!

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  8. Stop talking nonsense and think critically. We know who are behind all this, it’s not a secret. We know who talked nazim into this. Anyway nazim did not use his freedom of expression but rather he abused it. What nazim did was not freedom of expression. The meaning of freedom of expression is misunderstood by many people. For example you don’t go into a church full of prayers and declare that you do not believe in god or Jesus. If you do such a thing you are violating the freedom and the right of others. If you want answers for your misconceptions than you meet with a priest alone.
    Nazim did not pose a question but he made a statement.

    Nazim is a confused man and I believe he is mentally unstable too. He wants to know his verdict in Islam. This is hilarious. He says he doesn’t believe in religion and I wonder why he wants to know his verdict in Islam or any other religion. This was something planned and we know the people behind this. Later Nazim says he needs to study all religions to decide what religion is most suitable for him. He is contradicting what he said before. He said he don’t believe in any religion. Hahahaha dhen lalalalaa

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  9. I have read many comments on this matter from people who state that Nazim is a confused and illogical person.

    Why not let him be?

    Shouldn't you just be happy that you are smarter, saner and wiser than he is and thank God for that? Shouldn't you be celebrating and praising God your good fortune?

    Why do you have to attack Nazim for being confused? Why do you need his head on a plate? Do you score any points with that? Allah will be pleased?

    And does it matter to you whether he believes in a religion or not? How does that affect your relationship with God?

    Does Islam really ask its followers to go find people who claim to not believe in the religion and chop them into little pieces? Or is there a version of Islam that asks for that?

    And which version is Zakir Naik promoting. What does he read? What are these right books about? He clearly supports Usama Bin Ladin and the 911 attacks. Where can we learn to do that? (actually I don't want to know that)

    Why do Maldivians want to listen to him? Why is he getting the airtime? The Islamic ministry agrees with him?

    What is that you are not telling us, Zakir fans? You'd enjoy killing innocent people too? And all in the name of the peace loving religion?

    hmmm.

    I guess everyone needs a Hero.

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  10. what is problem?one person say point of view that different from other so what?when mullah and some wahabith abuse childs and became a member of Maldivian homoseXualist party EVRY THING IS OK NO DEATH PUNISHMENT,when drugs spread on every road of Male it is ok and drugs dillers is holy man,but when person say what he think about this religios madness it is fucking haram?what is halal?be like a fuckin taliban?

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  11. Well. Sappe is self declared atheist. He does not believe in a religion because he saw an imam having sex with a young lady in Kuwait. lol

    Now. I was born and raised as a Muslim. But I did not just stay as a Muslim. I learned and read about other religions. The only thing I found was they are confusing, very conflicting and full of fuss. For example, in Christianity, the story of lut (Lot) mentions that his daughters intoxicated him and had incest sex with him.???!!!

    So, I knew I am following the perfect religion, the religion that does not interfere with my life or that of my progress in life.

    No one asked us to come to this world. We knew we are in this world when we get consciousness and find us in the middle of all these.

    It seems this guy is very frustrated about his quality of life and have not achieved what he wanted. May be he is angry with God. My question is why would he even think about God or read about any religion when he clearly does not want to believe or believe in a religion? When something goes wrong people rush to blame God for not being kind enough.

    Now the fact is we will have to live here, face the misery of life, and perhaps face miserable old age and MUST DIE!

    WE ARE HERE TO DIE! AND WE ALL WILL DIE!

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  12. That guy is mad. I know him. He has married five different and everytime the marriage ends up in a big crime. That guy brought a Chinese to his house and had sex in front of his wife Shaheen. His guy dream is too high and spend more time in soliciting his body to girls, borrwing money and faking everything in life. He is not the best person to talk about ethics or religion. Come on! to be an example or rational prove who you are. Damm it, he God cannot be blammed for his failure.

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  13. That guy is mad. I know him. He has married five different and everytime the marriage ends up in a big crime. That guy brought a Chinese to his house and had sex in front of his wife Shaheen. His guy dream is too high and spend more time in soliciting his body to girls, borrwing money and faking everything in life. He is not the best person to talk about ethics or religion. Come on! to be an example or rational prove who you are. Damm it, he God cannot be blammed for his failure.

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  14. That guy is mad. I know him. He has married five different and everytime the marriage ends up in a big crime. That guy brought a Chinese to his house and had sex in front of his wife Shaheen. His guy dream is too high and spend more time in soliciting his body to girls, borrwing money and faking everything in life. He is not the best person to talk about ethics or religion. Come on! to be an example or rational prove who you are. Damm it, he God cannot be blammed for his failure.

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  15. What is this Muslim non Muslim; all the people on earth are human being have same purpose like any other animal, survive and reproduce. Nazim as a human being has the right to live freely, his thoughts are irrelevant. If all thoughts of human race are contradicted and the upper handed enforces his ideas to be right than where is the democracy which is the modern form of human culture.

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  16. Nazims comments to Naik were both brave and relevant. Truly a hero amongst the tunnel visioned masses. President Nasheed ought to be ashamed of his governments handling of this matter as this is the height of hypocrisy for a champion of free speech. As for Nazim, shine on you crazy diamond!!!

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  17. His close friends know that he always complain about things not going as he plans or fails in most of the things.

    Simply, he frustrated with his own failures. If you keep on blaming others for your own failures this kind of thoughts will come.

    The religion has nothing to do with anyone's failures!

    The reality is these people get frustrated too soon when they cannot achieve what they want with a blink of an eye.

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  18. Dear All
    I believe and respect all Religions, all speak truth and logic. But so far what these "Wahaabees" or "Mulhas" or "salafees" etc.. what they are preaching don't make sense.I think they are a Cult of looser.Too Many Sheiks not good for the Economy.
    I think MR NIKIE wants a resort a muslim resort.That is the purpose of him coming here and to promote himself. Wanna be Jeedath. sadly he is not a quality personality. For me he looks like a "Bora viyafaari veriyeh selling the religon".He insulted Nazim and also a lot of other Maldivians, a learned Person don't speak like that. Mr Nikie looks like a cross between Zizzi top and Michale Jackson every dude with a microphone is not a star. No thank you. MORE OF ANYTHING IS LESS OF SOMETHING ELSE..

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  19. sAPPEY ... U SPOKE TO NAZIM BY PHONE BEFORE HE ASKED THE QUESTION AND ALSO U MET HIM THAT AFTERNOON...
    WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A COMMUNITY NOW N YOU BROUGHT HIM OUT COS YOU THINK THAT GOVERNMENT CANNOT DO ANYTHING BCOS OF INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE...
    YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG...
    I AM MEMBER OF MDP AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PPL WHO WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS..
    SAPPE YOU GO N LIVE IN UK, ITS GOOD FOR YOU...
    WE MALDIVIANS ..WE DONT WANT ANY OTHER RELIGION....
    WE WILL WAIT N SEE WHAT GOVERNMENT SAYS ABOUT THIS...

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  20. For all these years we lived in peace and harmony. There were people who followed the religion without harassing or forcing others to accept their way of Islam. There were no separate mosques or places of worship other than established mosques.

    Equally, there were no people who abuse freedom of speech and tryIng to impose their way of life on others. There were no one who would do anything to break the harmony. Everyone know there were lot of people who do not pray whatsoever, but never bother to tell others not to pray. Religion was so individual and it is a fact that you get the punishment for what you do.

    I believe the two groups mentioned here are the problem. Both mullahs and apostates/atheists. These two groups have to be eliminated to claim our way of life back.

    ANYONE AGREE?

    ~gee~

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  21. Don't be ridiculous .. Naik was good at answer the question. He wanted to know why he didn't believe a relgion and asked Nazim to tell anything that was illogical about his speech. Nazim couldn't say much, he said he didn't believe that a robber can be convinced that there is an after life. And Zakir asked him to tell how else can Nazim prove that to the robber that robbing is bad for him. Nazim said he don't know and the he was not there to prove anything. Then Zakir naik said Nazim was thinking illogically cause Nazim didn't want to reason things out. That's why Zakir said he should start from scratch from school. And about apostacy Zakir said just because someone converts from islam to another relgion death penalty is not the verdict.

    So arresting Nazim now has nothing to do with Zakir. It is simple politics. Maldives was written to be an Islamic state in the last constitution. This time MDP wanted people support and thought they would be 1 step above DRP if they say they want to write in the constitution that every maldivian should be a muslim. And there goes the reason why Nazim is still arrested.

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  22. Every Maldivian is castrated and lobotomized. There is no cure or procedure or or re-boot.

    A handful of Maldivians escape this lobotomy and castration. But they are soon devoured by the cannibalistic mob of castrated and lobotomized zombies

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  23. Hey Sappe, what about the guy who was claiming to be Jesus. He was arrested yesterday. Can u please fight for his release as well.

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  24. "religion not by choice but because they inherited it from their parents"

    We did not even come to this world by choice..so who made us to come to this world? Parents? God? Obviously it is parents who run the tools to conceive and thereafter someone puts something invisible called "spirit,life or whatever"

    Why those children stricken by poverty, violence has to face the misery when they did not come to the world by CHOICE????

    Simple answers:
    Even though you were made a Muslim not by choice but by inheritance you have the choice to learn!

    Even if you did not come to the world by choice and is made to face the misery, you have every choice to make your life better.

    Can we blame our parents for bringing us to the world because it was not our choice???

    Whether you like or not, you will have to live in this world. Otherwise, get a rope, take some painkillers and commit suicide.

    As simple as that.

    NAZIM clearly wanted to provoke. Why should he ask the question in the first place when he does not want to believe in Islam? He asked the question because he wanted to learn and follow it, that's my guess.

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  25. Ahmed seems to know many ways to kill a person and one or more of them involves death too?

    Watch some horror movies and jerk off.

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  26. -Theduveri Dhivehi Dhariyeh- Your comment is what I aslo wanted to express.

    I completely agree with you. These two groups are the problem, we were living in harmony and never did force anyone on something.

    I can remember those days when we celebrated the Eid with so much of fun and play.

    There were religious scholars too and ordinary people, we had no problems. Now these two groups are trying to break the harmony and our way of life.

    We all like-minded Maldivians must stand up against these two groups and contain them.

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  27. He is not any NAZIM he is Satan himself in disguise.. what else you expect from it? Dr. Zakir Naik is still kind with him or else he could have drive the crowed to a frenzy that no one can avoid his death except Allah.
    Be Thankful now at least he will live in the hands of faithful but merciless to Satan NSS guards for the rest of his life.

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  28. Visit the website www.faithfreedom.org to get a clear understanding of Islam

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  29. Those who oppose to Islamic ideology are either brain washed or indulged in a corrupted form of another foreign ideology.These "Frogs in wells" depend on the aimless modern civilization that accommodates the thoughts of bankruptcy that leads to nowhere but to a limited momentous enjoyment in this world.These jokers are in a superiority complex and assume that they are heroes in intelligence and in a so called advanced society which welcomes atheism that embraces nudity in thoughts.Thease are the results increasing crimes such as drug addiction,killings,molestations, child abuse etc. etc.

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  30. Reading this blog, I had no idea that the Maldives had so much problems. But then again I shouldn't be naive, every country has it's issues. This man Nazim is a brave soul.

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  31. Your telling that audience allegedly attacked him! uh! but don't u know that Nazim allegedly attacked our Maldivian rights and dignity that we among the Islamic countries. Isn't it a problem or against that barbaric democracy? shouldn't take any action for that? give us an answer!!!

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  32. Religion is a pact between god and the person,
    nobody not me, not you or not even these so called wahaabi of islam has the right to intervene between god.
    by intervening between them he is claiming responsibility for what is not his! remember god does not need your help in anyway.. neither does the prophet!

    read the quran.. thats the absolute truth.. the prophets words ,, though as good as they are .. will get corrupted by peoples mouths and with time.(remember all the past prophets)
    trust in which god has sworn to protect.

    stupid heathens and pretenders thats what you all are! (semi/extremist muslims)
    couldnt even stop an indian who insulted your own people.

    that man who said he is not muslim, he brought that up on himself and himself alone.. no one but himself will be held in account for that stunt!

    the poster has provided the verse from the true words of the almighty!
    i'd like to see what smart mouth has anything else to add to that..
    correct gods mistake people... thats what you people are there for!! (thats sarcasm, barbarians)

    ps: true what "naked swimmer" tells. its sad and unfortunate/ but very true.

    ahmed who said "kill him to death": you are a fool. you dont even know whats really in his heart.. and by islamic starndards you have to repent for writing that.. so repent! :)

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