Adhaalath Party condemns constitutional ammendment allowing women to run for presidency

"On Monday (14 January), the Special Majlis (constitutional assembly) voted in favour of giving women the right to compete for President. Clause 34 of the current Maldives constitution, which lists the eligibility criteria for presidential candidates, states a person "shall be qualified to be elected" if "he is a male."Forty Special Majlis members voted against a constitutional amendment proposed by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hussain Ibrahim to ban women from standing.Twenty-two members voted in favour of his amendment, while twenty-four abstained." - Minivannews.com

According to Minivan News, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party condemned this amendment arguing that the Prophet Muhammad have said that women should never rule a country, hence making it one which contradicts the Islamic Shariah. While the Foreign minister described the amendment as "a vital step towards a modern Democracy", Adhaalath President Mohamed Didi said that it was "another step away from Shariah".

"Anything forbidden by the creator is not an individual right" Didi was quoted as saying.

In a letter addressed to the Chair of Special Majlis Qasim Ibrahim, the Party have explained with religious arguments why women should never be allowed to rule a country.

Source: Minivannews.com

Non-muslim Maldivians could become stateless with the new Constitution

The Special Majlis (Constitutional Assembly) have passed an amendment stating that only Muslims can be Maldivian citizens. The amendment to Article 9 (Citizens of Maldives) of  Chapter One (State, Sovereignty and Citizens) of the Constitution was proposed by H.Dh member Abdulla Naseer and seconded by G.A member Ibrahim Khalil Abdulla.

Prior to the amendment (following another amendment proposed by Addu member Husnu-Suood) the article was as follows :

(A) The following persons are citizens of the Maldives:

1-Citizens of the Maldives at the commencement of this constitution
2-Children born to a citizen of the Maldives; and
3-Foreigners who, in accordance to the law becomes citizens of the Maldives.

(B) The citizenship of Maldives cannot be taken away from a citizen of Maldives.

(C) Any person who wishes to renounce the citizenship, can do so in accordance with the law.

Abdulla Naseer then proposed to add a 'D' to this list as follows:

(D) even if (A) of this article states so, none except a Muslim can become a citizen of Maldives.

From the 83 members (of the total 112) present at the time of vote; 78 members voted in favor, 2 members voted to remain neutral, but none of the members voted against this amendment.

A prominent lawyer and one of the members who voted to be neutral, Addu member Husnu-Suood said he feared that, with this amendment, a number of Maldivians may lose their right to be citizens of Maldives or even worse; become stateless.

"According to the current Constitution of Maldives, Children of every Maldivian mother and every Maldivian father are citizens of Maldives. Even I know of some Maldivians who are following religions other than Islam. Some of them are living in Australia, some even in Europe.They hold Maldivian passport. According to the current constitution the door to become a citizen of Maldives is open to people of all religions. That door is not closed. Things were like that, but when this was passed today, once the new constitution is passed and comes into effect; some Maldivians will lose their right to remain as citizens of Maldives" said Husnu-Suood. He also said this amendment "will lead to many legal problems".

Another lawyer Raa member and vice president of the Majlis, Shaheen Hameed said this amendment contradicts with the other points of this article. "Now we will have to see who remains as Muslims at the time of adopting the new constitution, before we take them as citizens of Maldives", he said.

Although the current constitution does not specifically mention this, any person found 'guilty' of following or preaching , or simply reading texts of other religions are punished till he or she reverts to Islam. Religious views contradicting the state's version of Islam are also not tolerated and a person can even be punished for praying in a certain way, or carrying a buddha statue, or wearing a crucifix.

[sources: haveeru, majlis website - pdf]

No 'unislamic' clothing inside courts

Ministry of Justice have released a new set of rules (a dress code) to be followed when entering the courts.Among these rules was one which states that the person entering a court"Must not wear; any clothing that typify unislamic expressions, or any of such ornaments on any part of the body".

Even before this, wearing of any such ornament or clothing in the public was not often tolerated those who did may have to face consequences. Many in the past have been summoned to police stations and even punished for such 'offenses' as wearing a crucifix.

Although the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives have not commented on this issue, they have already expressed concern over the banning of Face Veil (Hijab) from the court. The commission described this ban as "a human rights violation". Commission member Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Kareem said ... "if there is need to check their identity, female staff can do so; but face veiling should not be banned completely".

Constitutional Drafting Committee oppose freedom of religion

The Malaysian Professor Mohamed Hashim Kamali, currently in Maldives to advise the Special Majlis' constitutional drafting committee have said that the drafting committee was against allowing other religions to be practiced in the country.

He also said that the new draft constitution is 100% Islamic. Despite this, some members of the Majilis are demanding to make it more islamic it seems. I wonder if they are suggesting beheading of converts and stoning of adulterers.

“In my opinion it is not necessary to include the phrase ‘Islamic Shariah’ in every constitutional amendment. That is because the constitution says that Islam should be the (official) religion of the Maldives,” Professor Kamali said.“Despite my recommendations, it is up to the drafting committee to decide what to include in the draft. The recommendations include how Islam deals with other religions and the problems that could arise in Maldives if other religions were allowed to be practiced” he said.

“Many Quranic verses say so. It recognizes Christianity and other religions. To close the door to them is a disservice to….Islam.” said Kamali. He also warned that Islam does not allow followers to renounce the faith but the 64,000 expatriates living in the Maldives should be able to open schools for their children and practice their faith openly, he urged. However the drafting committee and all the political parties are against freedom of religion even for migrant workers livings in the country.

source: [haveeru] , [minivannews]