Islamic Foundation calls for Minivan News website editor to be deported

The Islamic Foundation has called on the Government to deport the editor of Minivan News website, Maryam Omidi, for publishing a reader-submitted letter on the website which talked about legalizing homosexuality in Maldives.


Speaking at a news conference held at Dharubaaruge, the Islamic Foundation’s spokesperson Ahmed Shain said that their investigation to discover the reason the letter had been published on the website had revealed some interesting details.


Shain said that their investigation had revealed that Maryam Omidi, a resident of UK and the editor of the Minivan News website, had worked as a journalist for one of the largest European online websites that endorsed equal rights for homosexuals. He further said that she had written and published 37 articles endorsing homosexuality between 22 October, 2007 and 17 January, 2008.


When contacted by Haveeru via email, Maryam said that she had not written any articles on homosexuality while she was in Maldives.


“The Islamic Foundation has taken it upon themselves to initiate a malicious campaign against Minivan News for personal and political reasons,” she said in her email. “Minivan News considers their continued attack to be detrimental to press freedom, especially important in a fledgling democracy. A reader’s letter on homosexuality was published on Minivan News, which we took down as soon as we realized it had caused public offence and to ensure the website operates within the tenets of Islam.”


She further said that she wasn’t the current editor of Minivan News.


Source: Haveeru

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Posted in: News

MPs vote for harsh penalties for sex offenders

By Ahmed Naish | November 4th, 2009










A bill on child abuse was passed by parliament today with amendments to increase jail terms for sex offenders.

Of the 60 MPs who participated in the vote, 58 voted in favour, two voted against and one abstained. The two MPs who voted against were Bilendhoo MP Ahmed Hamza and Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).


Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed, an independent, who drafted the legislation, proposed a raft of amendments to reverse the changes to the jail terms made by the committee that reviewed the bill.


A total of 36 amendments were passed.


The bill was passed with longer jail terms than those decided upon by the committee, which set a minimum sentence of one to two years for some offences.


The bill specifies various categories of offences, including molestation, performing a sexual act in the presence of a minor, forcing a minor to watch a sexual act, child abuse by a person in position of authority or trust, exhibiting genitals to a minor, incest and abusing a minor after forcing them to take an intoxicating substance.

The jail term for incest will be between 20 and 25 years, while the sentence for paying a minor for sex will be 15 to 20 years and those convicted of abusing a minor after forcing him or her to take drugs will get 25 years.


Other amendments passed include: empowering criminal court to detain a suspect after investigation; the establishment of a mechanism to make information on sex offenders available; and a provision for child witnesses to give testimony on camera outside of court.


Final words


During the final debate before today’s vote, some MPs expressed concern that the jail terms or penalties were too harsh and said offenders should be given opportunities for rehabilitation.


Several MPs argued that the harsh penalties could be used unfairly or for political purposes.


Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed, a member of the committee, said the chairman of the Judicial Services Commission, the prosecutor general and other stakeholders were consulted.

They said they believed there should be limits in specifying sentences. So the committee decided limits of between 2 to 15 years, 2 to 18 years and 2 to 25 years,� he said.


Riyaz said MPs should consider the competency of the judiciary in delivering fair trials.


We agree to sentencing a person to even 40 years if it [the charges] can be effectively proven against him…because we were afraid that a person might get a long sentence for just tickling, the committee thought about it and formulated the bill this way,â€� he said.


Ungoofaru MP Dr Afrashim Ali said a person unjustly accused of inappropriately touching a child and a sex offender who leaves the child with severe injuries should not receive the same sentence.


Hamza, one of the two MPs who voted against the bill, said a fundamental principle of the criminal justice system was that it is better to let 99 criminals go than unfairly punish an innocent person.


As a father, he said he agreed that tough measures needed to be taken to combat child abuse, but MPs should put reason ahead of their emotions and consider the judiciary’s capability to deliver fair trials.


Several MPs said laws to give harsher penalties to people who abuse children were urgently needed due to the gravity of the problem in the Maldives.


Nasheed said he accepted there may be teething problems in enforcing the law and he would support strengthening legal procedures.


Presenting the bill in July, Nasheed said common complaints about law enforcement included lack of funds, facilities and expertise.

“I have drawn up a timetable to fully implement everything in the bill within three years,” he said.

Nasheed added he would submit his “action plan� to the committee to place obligations on the government to implement the law.


Special procedures and guidelines


The bill proposes jail terms without the possibility of parole or early release, and suspends the right to silence and release from detention while investigation is ongoing.


Further, under the bill, children under 13 cannot give consent for sexual acts, while consent given by children between 13 and 18 will not be deemed legal unless proven otherwise, “in clear terms�.

The bill specifies special categories of evidence to be admitted in trials of child sex offenders – such as narration to third parties – while courts would be asked to accept lesser standards of evidence.


Victims will be provided avenues to seek financial compensation from the offender and the state shall provide security, rehabilitation and counselling to the child.


The law will classify the victim’s information from public access or the media. If passed, failure to alert the authorities of a child sex offence will be deemed itself a punishable offence.




via minivan news

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Posted in: Politics / Religion

HRCM should comment on homosexuality: Islamic Ministry

State Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheed Ali Saeed has said that the ministry was very worried about the fact that the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) was not concerned about the issue of homosexuality as they were concerned about the issue of child concubines in Maldives.


Speaking at a press conference yesterday State Minister Shaheem said that the issue of child concubine was only based on hearsay. He said that the Ministry has been unsuccessful in their attempts to find the truth of this matter and that this makes one doubt the authenticity of the this talk of child concubine.


Shaheem further said that they had a lot of work by contacting Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), to find the truth about child concubine case and that so far they have no evidence to prove that this actually happened.


State Minister Shaheem said that while HRCM had been very outspoken in the media about their concern for this case, HRCM has not said anything against the recent news in the media about permitting homosexuality in Maldives. Shaheem said that this questions HRCM’s role in such issues.


Source: Miadhu News

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Posted in: News,Politics / Religion

Islamic Ministry criticizes HRCM

State Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheed Ali Saeed has said that the ministry was very worried about the fact that the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) was not concerned about the issue of homosexuality as they were concerned about the issue of child concubines in Maldives. 

Speaking at a press conference yesterday State Minister Shaheem said that the issue of child concubine was only based on hearsay. He said that the Ministry has been unsuccessful in their attempts to find the truth of this matter and that this makes one doubt the authenticity of the this talk of child concubine

Shaheem further said that they had a lot of work by contacting Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), to find the truth about child concubine case and that so far they have no evidence to prove that this actually happened.

State Minister Shaheem said that while HRCM had been very outspoken in the media about their concern for this case, HRCM has not said anything against the recent news in the media about permitting homosexuality in Maldives. Shaheem said that this questions HRCM’s role in such issues.

Speaking about Islamic fundamentals in Maldives, Shaheem said that from the very beginning, Maldives has dealt with Islamic scholars very strictly and because of this, there are some people who are trying to maintain strict Islamic policies. Shaheem said the Ministry was trying to reform these people and that HRCM was not appreciating the work the Ministry was doing to this end.

Shaheem said that they were successful in their efforts is islands such as Himandhoo. He said some members of the Figh Academy and also he himself went to Himandhoo and advised to the islanders and now more children are being sent to the school. Shaheem said HRCM has not appreciated such improvements.

Alif Alif Himandhoo came to national focus during 2006 – 2007 when some religious extremists refused to pray in a mosque built by the government saying that it was built upon a former cemetery and therefore was against the preaching of the prophet Mohammed. And some of the islanders built their own mosque named, “Dhar-ul-Khair” where these people prayed in separate congregation. Religious extremism plagued this island during this time.

State Minsiter Shameem said that a lot of these people who previously prayed in separate congregation in this island have now started to participate in prayers with the majority people in the government built mosque. Shameem said that this was a major achievement of the ministry.

Shaheem further blasted the HRCM saying that the Commission was saying whatever came to their mind without seeking proper information from the ministry.

Source: Miadhu News

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Posted in: Politics / Religion

Islamic Affairs Ministry seeking legal action against Minivan News website

The Islamic Affairs Ministry has asked the Ministry of Tourism and Arts to take steps against Minivan News website for publishing a comment letter about legalizing homosexuality on its website.


Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, State Minister for the Islamic Ministry, said that they had sent the letter asking the Tourism Ministry to take steps against the website last Monday. He said that the Ministry condemned the letter on homosexuality that was published in the news website and that the letter should never have been published.


The State Minister said that they had noticed that some foreigners were trying to undermine the country’s stability and that such people should not be allowed to work in Maldives.
“Even foreigners have to respect our religion,” he said. “Otherwise they should not be given the opportunity to stay in the country.”

The letter published on Minivan News website was from an anonymous source and addressed to the editor. The letter said that the biggest reasons homosexuality was not accepted in Maldivian society was because it was a Muslim country and added that there, however, were some countries that had found a way to make it acceptable.
A statement issued by Minivan News said that the letter was a reader contributed comment and in no way reflected the views of the website.


Shaheem said that they were looking to see what legal action they could take against the website.
Source: Haveeru

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Posted in: News,Politics / Religion

Islamic foundation condemns Minivan News for publishing letter on homosexuality

Islamic Foundation of the Maldives has condemned Minivan News for publishing a letter- to – the – editor that supported gay rights in Maldives. The said letter was written by an anonymous person on the 26 September 2009.


The foundation, in a press release issued yesterday, stated that homosexuality was against human nature and that it was forbidden in Islamic Shariah as well as a criminal offence under the Maldivian constitution. This foundation also called upon Maldives Police Service to investigate and find out the people involved in encouraging homosexuality.


Responding to the press release issued by Islamic Foundation, Minivan News made a statement in the website saying that all letters to the editor were submitted by readers and were published by the website as long as they were not defamatory. The statement stressed that the views and content of the letters do not represent the views of Minivan News.




Source: Miadhu News

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Posted in: News,Politics / Religion

Minivan News should republish the Letter on Gay Rights

by Invisible Pink Hollow Prophet
 

We call upon Minivan News, the only truly independent newspaper in Maldives, not to submit itself to Islamists' pressure, and to republish the Letter on Gay Rights.

This is a sad day indeed for democracy and human rights in Maldives.

We can't have these extremists ruining our freedoms.

This idea that a religion, a philosophy, an idea, an ideology, etc, can be insulted (are those conscious living beings?) is a silly joke, an excuse taken up by religious bigots to exert power and unleash violence on ordinary people. This is a direct attack on basic civil rights.

If anyone is offended by an idea, he should seek psychiatric help, from a professional counselor, desirably from overseas, since most Maldivian counselors wear hijab and we can't expect delusional people like that to understand human psychology and human nature.

The Islamic Foundation of Maldives can go fuck itself and its bigotry. It's repressed gays can have an orgy with the Mahaa Firihenkulhi Seyku Fareed (no offense intended to peace-loving unrepressed gay Maldivians who are comfortable about their alternate sexuality).

Peace.


Via Kiss The Crazy Maldivians

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Posted in: Society

Homosexualization of Muslims

by Minivan Ibrahim | October 19, 2009 | via Minivan Ibrahim

CHSE students should feel lucky that Maldives police do not come and take them away everytime a boy and girl sit together on a bench in Sultan Park.

But if the Talibanisation of Maldives continues, we can expect scenes from like this investigative photo essay on BBC website. Check it out!

In a normal world, and I am talking about the West here because that is the only sphere of the world where people have basic freedoms like choice of religion and sexuality, only around 1 out of 10 people turn out to be bisexual and/or homosexual.

But in most societies like Maldives and Iran, the forced homosexualization begins with sex segregation in schools.

As a result, during the period of adolescence when children grow up, their sexual curiosities mostly blossom towards the same sex, because they are prohibited from mingling and getting to know the opposite sex.

So it is no wonder that in countries like Maldives and the Middle East, our bisexual and homosexual population is way higher than in a normal society. In fact, only 1 in 10 Maldivians may be truly strictly heterosexual. Most men and women of Maldives are bisexual and homosexual, I strongly suspect, though they have to remain closeted due to Constitutional restrictions. If historical writings about Maldives gives a clue, it is that promiscuity is widespread in Maldives and that most Maldivians are very comfortable being bisexual. In other words, any kind of sex is OK for the average Maldivian as long as it is sex!

But when we now call for the Government to get rid of this age-old sex segregation in our schools, extremists voice against such a move. Ironic! Why should they support the forced homosexualization of Maldives? LOL

Thanks to a friend for sharing this link.

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Posted in: Gossip