When I was growing up, my mom would say, that we were 100% muslims. I always assumed that people had the 100% tick. So one day I asked my mom, are there any 90% or 50% muslims, and she told me to shut it and not to ask any stupid questions. So I asked her why it was a stupid question (in my child's mind it made perfect sense!), she told me to go read the Quran and drive Satan away from my mind. Her answer didn't make sense to be, but I did as i was told, but the question didn't go away!
After a couple of years I realised or rather understood, that the label was for Maldives and not necessarily Maldivians - to simply denote that, there was no other religion (allowed) to practice in the Maldives. I learned at this young age that , to be a Maldivian you first have to be a Muslim.
So I guess my question is, In this day and age, do we still need to hold on to the 100% title? I know plenty of people in the Maldives, who practice other religions. Both in open and in hiding. In hinding because these people fear Maumoon's wreath. In a recent visit to Maldives, I saw statued of the virgin mary and yeah plenty of crosses on sale in the jewellery shops and gift shops. This woudn't be the case as recent as a few years ago! I remember that anything to do with the church or the pope were censored out of Public TV. And talking of television, can you believe the amount of Ganesh, temples, and all the hindu ceremonies shown on tv? A few of the taxi's I travelled in had hindi devotional music blasting off. and yep, a lot of buddhist values and chants are making the rounds as well. If I didn't know any better I'd say, Maldivians were becoming more accepting, while in actual, Maldivians don't regard Hinduism or Buddhism as relgions or rather religions that poses a threat to their faith or the 100% status. But yeah, Christianity does. But then again it doesn't explain the sale of "christian stuff" in the shops.
Again, do we need to keep the status of 100% muslim status, when as a country we are obviously not? Do we really want to be hypocrites to the very religion we represent? what do we have to gain by keeping the status (other than the implicated Saudi dollars). What effect is it having on famlies that do have converts within them? what about these converts themselves? what happened to their rights? And what about all those people who define themselves as "non-practising" muslims (which there are plenty to be found in the Maldives).
Its all very nice and good for the people who are self righteous to say, I should go to hell for even bringing up this topic (again), but hell they are talking about is not in this world, what about the people who feel like they are living in hell already? I say this with the utmost respect, we as Maldivians have to learn to respect other religions and other cultures. That is, if we want to respect ourselves as human beings , and most of all as Muslims.
ANYWAY ANOTHER RANT ....
to be a Maldivian you first have to be a Muslim!!
ReplyDeleteeither im not a maldivian or some nutcase might want to execute me!!o.O
its ridiculous the amount of hindhu propgenda they promote and anything to do with the pope even if its in the news gets cut off.. downright ridiculous!!
ReplyDeleteYes you'v voiced out my thoughts.. I dont see what these people are so scared of, we talk about equality in every other aspect so why not in religion..besides Islam is a religion of tolerance as far as I understand...
Free thinker - if I were you I would go with the Nutcase theory - for your own safety that is
ReplyDeleteShanu - Yeah I believe that Islam is a religion of tolerance (although I hate the word) and peace. I think people are scared of suddenly people converting to other religions, But if we have a good foundation to begin with, we have nothing to fear, but fear itself. Its crazy! I don't believe why it became such an issue, when they formulating the constitution, and translating the human rights declaration.
We Maldivians have to discard this Arabic culture to even begin respecting other religions and cultures. I mean, where's our culture and our traditions? They've been replaced by Arab ones. If we've lost our own identity how the hell are we going to respect anyone else's?
ReplyDeleteTo be Muslim means, by the doctrine of Islam, to become an Arab. Period! Everything is in Arabic - a foreign language that is difficult to learn. Nowhere in Islam, Quran or ahadit does it call to preserve the culture and identity of one's own people.
In fact, if Islam can have its way it will wipe out the offending culture so as to establish their own. This has happened in the past.
Hence, the root of this 100% Muslim ideology lies in there.
You do have a very valid point Simon.
ReplyDeleteI acually don't know how to differentiate the imported culture and what our unique Maldivian culture is.
But then again, do we have a unique culture of our own? there is such a mixture of hindi, western and whatchamit.
Strictly in my opinion, we have been robbed of our culture, stripped and made bare, so much so that we don't know whats what!
And yeah its sad to see that a lot of Maldivians even today believe that to be a muslim is to imitate the Arabs and their culture.
The Arabisation of Maldives' culture is what is now driving our youth insane. We have lost our identity and is wandering helplessly around. A desert culture is definitely not proper for an island culture like us. In fact, that is what is missing. There is no semblance of an island culture in our islands. Look at Jamaica for instance. The younger generation of this country is now restless because of this. No wonder so many young people are going into drugs.
ReplyDeletedo they still make such claims? its obvious that we arent. even lil kids know it now. i guess they dont want temples and churches being built which are justified with the phrases "freedom of religion" though i dont see much difference anymore.
ReplyDeleteI believe this 100% Muslim thing stems from fear mongering. We seem to think that if our neighbour decides to follow another religion - than we ourselves as Muslim would be cast to hell! Hmm, I wonder..
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, this hundred percent is just ludicrous. What drives me around the bend is that religious right claims that there is no compulsion in Islam..yet if you convert to another religion, you are supposed to be murdered!
I agree with Simon to an extent that Islam and Arab culture have become so inter-mingled that it is difficult to differentiate. Having said that, I dont agree that to be a Muslim, you have to follow Arab culture. I mean if Muslims in Bosnia and Turkey can maintain their own culture and still follow Islam, why cant we? Iranians are muslims (albeit Shias) but they still celebrate Nowruz or the ancient Persian New Year.
Now anyone game for Koadi Kedun and Fen Kulhi for Eid?
Btw, Athena hell is not such a bad place. Trust me, as the Devil, I should know. Come over and we'll have such a welcome party the kind you've never seen hehehe
I would say there is no problem with being a non Muslim Maldivian if you have some guts and come in to the front and try to get your rights rather than writing some blog, hiding your identity.You dont get rights like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for Maldives being a 100 percent Muslim country, America and EU really fears this.And they will go on influencing this indirectly at the moment.
I would say if non Muslims such as Simon wants their rights should reveal their identity.
Hlath - yes I agree, not having a culture or our own is driving our youth insane! Not having that sense of belonging is disconcerting.
ReplyDeleteKaiza Shozey - yes they still do make those claims. And listen to those political speech/answer from politicians, how they squirm. And or how they bend over themselves to prove to the public how much they are committed to Islam and keeping the 100% state.
Maldivian Devil - Well I am supposedly going to hell too hehehe so might as well join you.
Anonymous - Well, How come you didn't put your name to begin with? And if you don't have a problem with non Muslim Maldivians, why the challenge?
And wow you did make a Huge assumption about Simon. And in case you didn't know, he does blog in his own name.
I smell fear ....
Athena,
ReplyDeleteYou have hit a topic very close to my heart, as you well know. Just about to go out for lunch. Will respond tonight, if I finish an assignment.
I don't think "Anonymous" will have the intelligence to understand your last statement about Simon's blog. He probably still thinks "Simon" is Simon's nickname (that name does sound rather kuffar). You will have to rub in "Anonymous's" eyes (if he has the guts to show it) that in fact "Simon" is Simon's legal name.
For the record, Simon, is one of the most brave and intellectually sincere Maldivians around and indeed he was the first Maldivian ever to have a presence in the worldwide web.
Athena my dear friend,
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit simplistic to blame Maumoon’s wrath for non-Muslim Maldivians’ reluctance to come out in the open. That’s true, Maumoon used Islam to consolidate his power, and both he and the opposition parties are using Islam to their own political ends. The 100% Muslim Maldives myth by far predates Maumoon and it is the Muslims in the Maldives who can be blamed for this. Ultimately the blame goes to Mohamed and the precedents he set. People often quote
لَآ إِكۡرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِۖ
Quran 2:256 (There is no compulsion in religion…) is a Mecca verse and Mohamed composed it to appeal to his tribe to stop persecuting those who followed him. Once he moved to Medina and established his empire through war, rape and pillage, he abandoned this principle. Those who reverted to their ancestral faith were all put to death. He never allowed anyone to leave Islam, after having become a Muslim. This is where Islam’s intolerance comes from and no one else; be it Maumoon. Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari, Bin Laden or any other person can be blamed for it.
The fact that you have stumbled upon statues of the Virgin Mary, Buddha or Ganesh in Male shops only means that Muslims are unable to think for themselves. It would take fanatical mullahs to tell Muslims that these things are haram before people would start smashing them. Remember what happened after the Mohamed cartoons? Even Egyptian and Jordanian newspapers published them in the weeks following their original publication and no Muslim took any notice. Mullahs had to tell these Muslims what the cartoons represented before public outrage took place.
I remember years ago going to a mosque in Male and finding packets of jos sticks depicting images of Vishnu, Ganesh, Krishna and other Hindu gods. When I asked the mudhimu why he had pictures of “budhu” in his mosque, his reaction was similar to your mum’s. He told me he had no such thing and that I was just being a kaafaru by saying so. That mudhimu was not any more accepting of Hindu deities than present day Male shopkeepers. They were just being typically Muslim, unable to think for themselves.
You are right when you said that Buddhism and Hinduism pose no threat on Islamic sensitivities. It is just Christianity that seems to be the threat. Among the large Maldivian populations in Colombo and Trivandrum there are many people who openly practice their newly adopted Buddhist and Hindu faiths and no Muslim is ever disturbed by that. On the other hand Maldivian Christians in these places have to go to church via a different route every Sunday because of constant surveillance by other Maldivians.
Perhaps the reason is the active and successful proselytising movements by Christian Maldivians as compared with virtually no such activity by Buddhists and Hindus. Dhivehi Christian literature is freely available via online book suppliers such as Amazon and through the Seedha Hithun radio station and web site www.sidahitun.com.
You are one of those rare Muslims (if in fact you are so as you often claim) who feel it is acceptable for Muslims to leave Islam. You have confidence in your Islamic beliefs. Surely, if Islam is the true faith no one has to be forced to stay as Muslims- any sensible person would be a Muslim. It is amazing how insecure the supposedly educated people who drafted the new constitution are. While they think they have sealed the Maldives for eternity as a 100% Islamic state with all citizens being Muslims, just about every other article in the constitution proves that this is not the case. Those foolish Majlis members and officials responsible for the document, some boasting masters and PhD degrees, don’t realise how much egg they have thrown on their own faces by endorsing that silly document.
Maldives does indeed have a cultre. Its a distinctly unqiue and island based cutlure. Some of the endearing examples include making a specific sound (hoahgovun) before climbing a tree and listening for an answering sound back. Another examples, going next door when you run out of onions or sugar, chilli etc, neighbourhoods getting together to organise wedding celebrations of thier neighbour, where their road is changed to an impromtu reception hall and the whole island is invited.
ReplyDeleteThese aspects of our culture is still being sustained in some islands. However, there are two things that are happening that is wiping them out.
One is modernisation and urbanisation. (supposedly) simple changes like making the traditional 3 feet boundary walls of houses to 6 feel ones (by regulation) is cutting off neighbours from each other. also the migration to Male' and other urban centres doesnt help.
Second is the arabisisation of our culture by the bearded gangs, causing change in our dress and our lifestyles. I could go on and on ranting about this, but this comment has become long enough as it is : )
Precisely Athena, what are they so afraid of? Of being sorcerer d into another religion? God forbid the pope will cast a spell on you through the TV screen!! Are these ppls faith so fickle?
ReplyDeleteThe sad bit about ppl like anonymous is that,just because we express a view its assumed that, we all have become non muslims by virtue!
Dheen badhal kureema nimunee.
ReplyDeletebeykaaru angathalhaa ekan justify kuran hadhaanekameh netheh noon doa adhi ehenmeehun magufuradhdhan ulheynekamehves neiy.
Dheen badhalkohllaigen sirru kohggen adhi dhuvaskolhaku kehkohllaa.
Maldivians seems to have lost a lost of culture, some of the earlier culture which we retain is solely incorporated into Islamic days such as Eid. Activities like bodu mas duvun and baibalaa. Also one positive culture we got from a muslim observance is roadha mas, well i enjoy the month with all the feasting games sports and other stuff.
ReplyDeleteone other thing that drives me crazy is the notion that there are Arabs in Maldives.People with a Nordic norse mainly descendants of dutch and English sadly mistaken to be arabs by these wishful thinking arabized maldivians. I just want to shout at them that there is no arabs here "arabin naa laa halanwee ehnnu"
There may be true Yemeni descendants but all there marriage and genealogy records are available and still can claim to be Arabs. No disputes there. Maldivians needs to get over this Arab mania. And this reminds me about Bodu fenvalhugey Seedi claimed he was a direct descendant of Mohamed through Hussein son of Ali who was married to Fathimath son of the prophet. lol i had a laugh out of this. Apparently Seedi's family still maintains this.
The second to last "Anonymous" is telling thousands of non-Muslim Maldivians to shut up and practice their various faiths or no faith in secrecy. Like many other Maldivian Muslims s/he is asking them to be patient for a while. What is going to happen over this time? Are they going to permit non-Muslim Maldivians to build their churches and ashrams and eat publicly during Ramadan? I don't think as long as Islam remains the official religion and as long as the Sharia is enforced this will ever happen.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how ignorant people have become as to what constitutes the Maldivian identity as opposed to Islam. We should be proud that we resisted the Arabisation of our writing system. While we compromised with the mullahs by inventing the right-to-left Thaana script in favour of our Indic Dhivehi letters, unlike other peoples who were colonised by Islam, such as Persia and parts of the Indian subcontinent, we did not adopt Arabic letters. Until recently our women were proud not to be dictated by mullahs and did not pander to the buruga of the Islamic supremacists. Until 1932, the Sharia only applied to family law and certain types of financial disputes. Civil law prevailed in all other aspects of life. Until relatively recently Maldivians were not forced to give their children Arabic names.
So yes, we do have a proud heritage and there is indeed a Dhivehi identity quite distinct from Islam. There was a time when Maldivians were able to be Dhivehi without being emotionally Islamic at the same time.
If you discard that Islamic headgear of yours and study our history a bit more, you will be able to learn how to be Dhivehi without being a slave to your Arab masters. Athena my dearest friend, please consider regaining your ancestral pride and standing tall as a Dhivehi woman!
Athena's friend well can you elaborate on what your saying. Almost every historical writing on Maldives reflects Islam.
ReplyDeletehappy to have historical sources cited.
History Buff, I have said a lot and so exactly what do you want me to elaborate on? Please tell me how "Almost every historical writing on Maldives reflects Islam".
ReplyDeleteI am flat out until after Sunday and so may not be able to reply in detail
Yeah about how to be dhivehi or dives without islamic slant of course with mention of some historical scources.
ReplyDeletethat would be great.
My dear friend - My intention wasn't Maumoon Bashing. But since I have never seen anyone as the president, it is only natural that I form that association. As for the threat associated with Christianity, I have to blame the media and the government and the Mullahs in 'Islamee kanthah thakaa behey majlis". As the majlis strength grew, so did the sensorship. I remember singing 'jingle bells' in kindy, something ont likely to happen today. Movies shown on TV - I remember sister act (whoopi movie) her singing scenes in the church were cut out - how crazy was that!. And then there would be friday sermons on the evils of Christianity and how Christians were trying to always convert you. The fear was there so much, so that people didn't even dare mention it. My mom quite proudly had framed pictures of the Virgin Mary and portraits of her with Baby Jesus. I remeber asking her why we had that picture up, and she would say that was Mariyam ge faanu and Isaa gefaanu. She treated them with utmost respect. Not because of the christian importance, but because of the status they were given in Islam. And my mom was being the best muslim she could be. and oh yeah she had the winged horse too. But today, if the same pictures were left up like that, people would blame you for being a christian. (the pictures did disappear as the tides changed, and in its place, calligraphy of Mohammed and Allah went up). I saw in my mom's behaviour the slow change in attitude or the slow transition.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for Hinduism and Buddhism - I don't know, but my understanding is, that most Maldivians don't consider it a threat largely due to the fact that, they don't fear that these idol worshipping religions as 'proper' religions. Plus nobody really cares - therefore who gives a sh--t who converts in and out?
People do blame that western culture is replacing our culture, but have you opened your eyes and seen how Indian culture has taken over? Look at our weddings! our clothes , our choice in music, our choice in movies and dramas! need I say more????
ANd yes I still am a muslim, and nobody can tell me any different. It is infact being a muslim that makes me want to promote justice. I know very well what the official Islamic stance is on people who convert to other religions. As you very well know, I am against take the good with the bad cliche'. I say keep the good and work with the bad. People leave Islam becuase they coudn't find what they wanted in it. If people can be better humans following another religion or way of life - is that so bad? ( I konw its a hard concept for a lot of people to swallow!). And if they do want to come back to islam the door is always open. Humans were not created perfect, then why expect them to be perfect? I expect people to accept me for who I am AND what I believe in, so shouldn't I have the courtesy to return that? This is just me, I say live and let live. People should not be judjed. period.
And we have had the 'buruga' conversation till we have turned blue in our faces. I am not taking it off to fit into or assimilate into NZ. And this is my choice.
Shanu - you are so true, I don't know how many times I have been called a non-muslim for advocating for the rights of all people and freedom of religion.
Anonymous - don't konw which anonymous you are - but yeah I find the fact that people take pride in being a Sayyid beyfulhu hilarious!! (I want to put up a post on that topic so won't linger here much)
And we have a political party that has official links with christian missionaries
ReplyDeleteBuruma - care to elaborate?
ReplyDeleteActually the Isdu loamafaanu talks about pre-Islamic History and how the Buddhist rulers ruled our country. So not all our history is reflective of Islam.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lot of non-Islamic/Arab culture which is totally lost now. I remember my maama talking about how they had "kandhi dhuvas" and "foa kekkun". the latter i believe is related to Poya. I maybe wrong ofcourse but not one these have any Arab relevance as far as I can research.
Even in the previous translation of the Quran, we had words such as "iba swaameenge" in reference to God..swami is clearly borrowed from Hinduism. I heard that apparently the Haabees have made so much noise that no such references to infidel gods are there in the new translation.
Arabisation or Arabisation? Bloody Hell!!
History Buff... it is easy to be "Dhivehi without Islamic slant". Just convert out of the cult. Ask a silly question, History Buff, and you get a silly reply.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Maldivian Devil, you won't have to go that far back as the Loamaafaanu. I have just had a look at the following books in a friend's private library and they hardly have any Islamic "slants"
Tutthu, N. Dhiyoage Raivaru
Sodig, A. Dhon Hiyala aai Alifulhu (which is a rendition of the Ramayana)
Didi, M.I. Bappage Handhaan
Didi, M.A. Dhivehiraajje Hanguraamaige Vilaagandeh ge Dhashugai
Didi, M.I. Motaruboatuge Gadubadu
Didi, M.M. Kaamasthura (what can be any less Islamic than the Kamasutra?)
Latheef, M. Kaaveneege Ufa (another more contemporary sex manual)
The list goes on. There were also whole anthologies of verse of the types known as bereki and farihi that were the bane of the mullahs.
P.S. Naibu Tutthu was just the editor of a manuscript of the Dhiyoage Raivaru. The author was, of course, Bandeyri Hassan Manikfan.
ReplyDeletePPS: Yay! This one beats them all. I have just stumbled on a book of Dhivehi expressions; a lexicon of sorts. Written by Malin Moosa Maafahaiy Kaleyfaanu, Dhivehi Bas Foiy lists the correct usage of hundreds of words including the words (listen to this History Buff) fui and lalhi. Does that sound like Islamic slants other than the fact Mohamed may have had these organs in mind when he described the exploits of men in his paradise?
ReplyDeleteDear Athena,
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to publish this, but you may find Forum 18 News Service's religious freedom survey of the Maldives of help. It is at:
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1203
Forum 18 will continue to publish occasional analyses on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in the Maldives.
Anyone may subscribe free of charge to the weekly or full editions of the news service at the website www.forum18.org . Material may be freely reproduced or quoted from, with due acknowledgement to Forum 18.
I hope that this is helpful.
Anonymous, you must be one of the good guys who visit Athena's blog. The report you mention has already appeared in one well-known web site and a less well-known blog. We need more support such as yours from Europe for our cause of religious freedom. Athena, don't you agree?
ReplyDeleteIt was only 5 years ago that Maldives authorities thought that "party" meant an occasion where tea was served and musical chairs were played. Thanks to lobbying by European countries, they have now embraced political parties.
Right now they insist that freedom of religion means the freedom of Maldivian Muslims to force other Maldivians to pretend to be Muslims and bang their heads on the floor in worship to an entity they don't believe in. With your help, these Maldivian Buddhists, Christians and other non-Muslims will be able to gain the dignity that European and other countries offer Maldivian Muslims who visit and live in Europe, North America and Australasia. Athena herself will vouch for this because New Zealand permits her to worship and dress freely in public as a Muslim.
Maldivian Muslims must learn the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like them to treat you. [Matthew 7:12]
Please keep lobbying your government, Anonymous!
Dear Athena,
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to publish this on your excellent blog, but you may find Forum 18 News Service's latest article on freedom of religion or belief in the Maldives of help. It is at:
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1257
Anyone may freely reproduce or quote from Forum 18 material, with due acknowledgement.
I hope that this helps.