Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Worst Islamic Country in the World

And we thought the Soviet Union was repressive! The following are excerpts from an article by Forum 18, the organization in Norway that works to help people gain the right to believe and worship as they wish. The Maldives is the most extreme example of religious repression I have ever read about.
The Maldives is one of the few states — such as Saudi Arabia — that allows only one faith to be practiced publicly, and even insists that all citizens must be Muslims.

The Republic of the Maldives is a collection of 1,190 coral reef islands in the Indian Ocean, south west of Sri Lanka. Only 200 islands are inhabited, with 44 used exclusively as holiday resort islands. The Maldives has a population of about 300,000 citizens.
In the Maldives, citizens cannot practice any other religion than Islam, and they have to practice it in the way the government says.

Due to internal and external pressure to give their citizens freedom of religion, the Maldivian government instituted a reform. But here's how they reformed it: Okay, you can practice any religion you want, but if it's not Islam, you are no longer a citizen.
Maldivian non-Muslims and other Maldivians who do not want to practice their faith in the state approved way cannot practice their own faith. They cannot even pray the way they want. Kneeling down, folding hands or using religious symbols like crosses, candles, pictures or statues can lead to government action. Performing movements in the Namaadu (namaz or Islamic ritual prayer) differently to the state-approved way can also lead to arrest by the police.

Maldivians are not allowed to possess religious material — whether holy books, audio and video tapes, CDs and DVDs, pictures or artifacts — that is not approved by the government. Sometimes private houses and mosques are raided by police in their search for non state-approved religious material. When found, all such material is confiscated. Electronic media, radio broadcasts, the internet, and printed material are all censored by the government.

The luggage of Maldivians returning to the country is searched and all unauthorised religious material is confiscated. Foreign citizens arriving in the Maldives — whether as migrant workers or tourists — also have their luggage searched for "un-Islamic" materials. Small quantities of non-Muslim literature for personal use are generally permitted to foreign tourists.

Maldivians are also not allowed to discuss their faith with anyone. No-one is allowed to discuss religion without the explicit permission of the government. They do not even dare to discuss their beliefs with their spouses and children. The political intimidation of the public and the official denigration of religiously non-conformist people have led to widespread mistrust and fear. Children of people who are suspected of holding alternative religious convictions are sometimes interrogated by their teachers about their parents' opinions and convictions.

Constant intimidation and oppression leads people to act contrary to their own convictions and beliefs. Some people feel forced to perform Muslim ritual prayers (in the state-approved way) to avoid any possible suspicion. They also feel forced to teach their children according to the government's will instead of their own conviction. They are forced to observe the fast during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. After the first week of this year's Ramadan, which began in early September 2008, a Maldivian radio station announced that the police had already arrested 76 people for not fasting.

Maldivians are — justifiably — fearful that they will face severe consequences if they publicly and identifiably defend everyone's right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Because of this fear, Maldivians hope the international community will support their struggle. One step to do this is for states and human rights organizations to urge the Maldivian government to implement the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, in her report (A/HRC/4/21/Add.3).
When I read this last paragraph, I thought, "This is one of those situations where someone is going to have to fight and die for freedom." Probably it will be Maldivians. They have more at stake in the matter than anyone else.

We've seen many times that "international pressure" on Muslims has about as much impact as sticking our tongues out at them. What they need is not international pressure, but guns and walkie-talkies.

17 comments:

Suricou Raven said...

Now listen to the roar of silence.

I'm cynical enough to know that only a few people are going to care, and those few people can't do anything. The only people who could do something are in governmental positions, and their hands are tied by the need to not upset other Islamic countries which are economially important. Besides, voters don't care much about the world outside their borders.

Sorry, but... nothing that can be done. Work on energy independance - the political power of islamic states on the world stage comes almost entirely from their supply of oil. Once politicians don't have to worry that Saudi Arabia has the power to cause the greatest global recession in history by just closeing a few valves, it becomes a lot more feasable to call for reform.

Epaminondas said...

What's amazing is that this physically, A PARADISE.

This could be a very exotic vacation elysium.

Instead it is going to be cultural and economic desert whose existence will probably be possible only thru the largesse of wahabbis and or the mullahs

Pastorius said...

Just in case no one's paying attention, we have a Maldivian blogger here at IBA. His/her name is Dhivevi Resistance.

A very good contributor.

Damien said...

Pastorius,

IF Dhivevi Resistance is posting on this blog, and other anti Jihad, or anti Islam blogs and he/she is living in the Maldives, his/her life maybe serious in danger. I hope nothing bad happens to him/her, he/she is doing a brave thing.

Citizen Warrior said...

Epa, one of the things I was surprised about is I have had picture calendars for the last three years of tropical paradises, and some of my favorite pictures are from the Maldives. When I was searching for an image to put with my post, I came across one gorgeous picture after another of the beautiful Maldives.

Damien and Pastorius, the way I found out about the Maldives is someone wrote to me from one of my non-anti-jihadi blogs (I have three other blogs plus a web site that have nothing to do with Islam) and one of my blogs is about dealing with pessimism.

The guy wrote to me asking if he could print out some of my articles and distribute them there because the people are very demoralized and pessimistic. In my incredible ignorance, I asked him what they are pessimistic about, and he sent me that article on the Maldives.

I want to do something, but the more I think about it, the more impossible it seems to do something. How can they revolt? How can they organize a rebellion? And even if they did, most of them probably are Muslim now. Would a democracy make it? Wouldn't they vote in some Islamist and put themselves right back in the soup?

My frustration knows no bounds. Islam's relentless advance must be stopped!

Citizen Warrior said...

When I started posting this article, I typed in different labels to see what had already been created, and I was surprised to see "Maldives" as an already-existing label.

After I posted the article, I clicked on the label and found only one other article has been published, and it was grim. It was a poem about cutting off someone's head, and seemed very much as if the person who wrote the poem knew from experience what he was talking about.

Awhile back I saw a film of a 12 year old boy cutting off a man's head, and the image has not left my mind. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. The poem really brought the horror up fresh again. Islam's advance must be stopped. More than that. Islam's advance must be reversed!

Damien said...

Citizen Warrior,

The only problem with trying to reverse it, is the same as one as when it comes to trying to stop it, How? Maybe your next post on your Citizen Warrior Website should be about how Islam's relentless encroachment might not only be stopped, but reversed. How do we undo the damage they have done?

Citizen Warrior said...

You can't undo the damage they've done. You can't bring back to life the 270 million people they've killed since Mohammad started this thing.

But we can weaken them and marginalize them. We can cut off their money. We can exert our freedoms and insist they allow freedoms to women. We can force them into the open by actively campaigning against anyone holding those beliefs. We can stop them from building any more mosques. We can stop them from immigrating into non-Muslim countries. We can arrest anyone promoting jihad and sedition.

We have barely scratched the surface of all the possible ways to limit them, lessen them, and take away power from them. Hardly any of us even know what's going on. When 60 percent of the free world knows what Islam is about, how it operates, and what it is trying to do, the number of solutions will skyrocket, and the strength of the free world will be backing those ideas.

And in the process, it will be the end of politically-correct multiculturalism. Good riddance!

Damien said...

Citizen Warrior,

It sounds like that would actually go a long way to toward reversing it and undoing at least some of the damage, the Jihadist have brought to this world.

Citizen Warrior said...

I guess you're right, Damien. It came out pretty well once I got going. I surprise even myself sometimes!

;-)

Citizen Warrior said...

In the Qur'an, chapter 3, verse 85, it says:

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, that's just too fucking bad!"

Okay, that's my paraphrase. The official translation is not much different:

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost."

Pastorius said...

CW,
I think you ought to do your own translation of the Krayon.

Epaminondas said...

"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost."

Like Mother Theresa?
Like Albert Schweitzer?
Like Jonas Salk?
Like Louis Pasteur?

Pastorius said...

Yeah, to hell with the lot of 'em.

:)

Damien said...

Epaminondas,

The Islamic view of the world does not exactly accord with reality. Like all bigots, the Islamists see those that they look down upon, not for who they are, but what they are. I think Robert Spencer said it best "It would matter to them if we were the most virtuous society on Earth, as long as we are not Muslims" Note that I am paraphasing him, since I can't remember the exact quote.

not important said...

Bernard Shaw the philosopher says:" I'v studied Mohammed as an amazing man, and I've found him a way from antagonizing Jesus ,he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. Nowadays Europe starts to understand the faith of monotheism , and may be more than that , it confess the ability of that faith to solve its problems by a way leading to peace and happiness, So through that essence you should understand my prediction"

Goethe says: "we the citizens of Europe with our believes and principles, couldn't reach what Mohammed has reached , and no one will proceed him."
Mohammed is İslam and İslam is all of these. I can say only one difference between you and us, We all love Jesus, Moses and any other prophets as they were the lights of the world,great people(not like you all), however, you blame our prophet Mohammed, even you know anything about him.

Do you know anything about your past? Can you tell me the reason of the invention of "Umbrella"? Rain? Ohh, that is a smart answer but not true. Answer is the rain of shits from the buildings of middle age western civilization. You even didn't know the meaning of toilet while İslamic civilization was in a Golden Era.
http://www.levity.com/alchemy/islam10.html You can see just some of great İslamic Scientists in this site, when you start to learn something, you will understand that today's science is mostly originated from them. There is another option, you will love this, you may close your eyes and continue living unconcious, what always you do...

One more thing and then i will close my cursed mouth. You always talk about islamic terrorism, jihad or many more thing. Have you ever thought or heard about "The Crusades", or Iraq war, or what you do to "Indians", or genocides in Ethopia, africa, algeria? "If you kill an innocent person without him killing or doing wrong on the earth, it is as if you have killed all mankind. If you save one life, it is as if you have saved the lives of all mankind" Have you ever heard this? I don't think so. It is from Qur’an(the holy book of TERRORİSTS!!! according to you). Islam doesn't accept killing innocent. You all say "What about El-Khaida or Usama Bin Laden?", i can hear you. And i say "what about "Loose Change", have you ever watched it or is it forbidden by government?". Real islam doesn't accept Usama Bin Laden, and his kind, but this doesn't mean you will do everything to us, and we will stay calm and thank you. If you are waiting for this response, you are all wrong...

Asho said...

these shows that they are uncivilized peoples...