Friday, September 11, 2009

Islam in Maldives

2835426200_d9de41ff60I just read this article on Minivan News from the Maldives which gives details of an interview the paper had with a prominent Islamic scholar Salih Yucel. This article is an interesting read, as Maldives being a so called 100% Muslim country, at the same time claiming to practice a moderate form of Islam is now in a period of radical change politically which, certainly influences freedom of religion in Maldives to some extent.

The constitution of the Maldives states that, in order to become a Maldivian citizen a person must be a Muslim which, in my view has some limitations to basic rights of human beings in general, as accepted by the modern democratic societies today.

In Maldives one can see that religion is very much politicized, and sometimes being used as a propaganda tool by politicians to win over the unsuspecting Maldivian public in general.

10 comments:

  1. do u know da meanin of Islam? Islam & democracy will never match.

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  2. we have to know the meaning of both Islam & democracy i believe..not just islam

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  3. not only Islam but any organised religion and democracy will have issues.

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  4. It is not about having issues or problems here i blieve...it is about giving people their rights...basic rights to live and express themselves...Democracy being the form of government now in use in Maldives, religious freedom must also be given with equal rights.

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  5. when religion is organised. it does become an issue

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  6. Is democracy better than any religion? what does the democracy bring in? and what does the religions tell us? You cannot match these two, religion is a direction, its a pathway towards some goals. Democracy talks about freedom and equality, which we never have. Since I was born I have been fighting for some freedoms, the freedom to live forever, the freedom to stay healthy. I am a democracy lover, the democracy or the western freedom could not help me achieve my freedoms.

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  7. Re: Anon @ 4:31 AM
    I think we cannot compare democracy with religion because democracy is merely a style or brand of governance and religion is all about faith. Democracy brings us equal rights to freedom. Religion tells us to control our freedom by following government's rules and regulations and laws so that we do not abuse it. So democracy is like a watch dog to keep us within certain boundaries so that rights and freedom are enjoyed equally by all.

    Why fight for unrealistic things? And why wait for somebody to come and help us when we can help ourselves? Besides democracy is not a charity or organisation to provide help for seekers. And stay healthy by eating, drinking and living healthy.

    Good luck

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  8. It is true that democracy is taking the people's rights by not giving a chance to choose their own religion . But if we are to have only Islam in our country , it is best to follow the Islamic law. Right now , as i believe, we don't really have a complete governance since we follow half of democracy and half of Islam

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