Fear of Faith
Why are we so concerned about the so-called Christian missionaries or the fact that some Maldivians have embraced Christianity? Are we of such feeble religiosity that we fear conversion? Or do we fear interfaith violence or is it about something sillier?
We have a predefined view of ourselves. The off-the-shelf Maldivian is by default a devout Muslim, obedient, conforms and is a member of the DRP. Any modification to these specifications would be begging for controversy.
It will probably take many decades for us to be comfortable with the notion of “Maldivians” of other religions. In fact, I think it will take a giant leap of evolution to make that possible. We are programmed to do one thing very efficiently – think only within the box – and we breeze through life armed with one unifying vision – tunnel vision. Our view of us as soft-spoken, obedient and conforming citizens has been hardwired over decades of careful coercion and controlled education. This is why if we start thinking outside of the box (so to speak) obedience and conformity seem to act as detrimental forces.
We are quick to defend the default faith when the issue of its tolerance comes up. We say it is a tolerant religion because we heard someone mention that it says so in the Holy Quran. That is all very good but the reality is that we as followers of Islam display an unusual amount of intolerance. I suspect that should there be interfaith violence at some point in time it is highly likely that it would be instigated by intolerant followers of a tolerant religion. But we’re a peace-loving and mild-mannered people.
So assuming that our belief in Islam is ironclad and we’re mild-mannered we can safely conclude that it is not fear of other religions that bothers us. Instead, I think it is simply the fear of losing the dubious title of “100% Muslim” country.
Proponents of this title might point out that we are the only country on the planet that can claim to be 100% Muslim and so we should be proud of that. The same proponents also forget that we are just over 300,000 in numbers – a handful if you consider the population of other countries. It is sort of like taking 100 Arsenal fans and claiming they are 100% fans of Arsenal only until few of them defects to ManU.
But of course, we’ve got a convenient solution in place. To be a citizen of Maldives it is compulsory that you are of Muslim faith.
This, of course, is quite a baseless requirement because there really is no way to determine if a person is a Muslim or not because faith cannot be detected from looking or having him recite the “Shahadat”. This is mainly because faith is a matter of belief.
Unless birth certificates and documents proving your citizenship can miraculously change or be rendered void when you change religions I don’t think there is a need to consider anyone’s religion as a determining factor for their citizenship. Who can tell if you’re a Christian pretending to be a Muslim or not just for the sake of citizenship?
Obviously this “we’re 100% Muslim” charade can go on forever and is one of the innumerable lies that we live daily. And interestingly enough it is a lie that our beloved leader and defender of faith wields wherever he materializes. I cannot fully grasp the exact use of brandishing that title around as if we’re going to acquire special concessions on the Islamic Judgment day.
Is it not enough to know that Ahmed Citizen’s capacity to work and contribute to the betterment of his nation has very little if not nothing to do with his faith? In that respect I cannot understand why we should be so adamant about us being a 100% Muslim country. It is a useless title. There is nothing we gain from such statistically inaccurate nonsense.
A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side. - Aristotle
ano-fucking-nymous | December 14, 2006 5:18 AM | Reply
I sense hot water coming down this way.
TheDA | December 14, 2006 9:25 AM | Reply
nice roundup simon. both of us could get along real nicely. btw maldives is NOT a 100% muslim country anymore. the last time i checked the encarta encyclopedia it was something like 95%
M | December 14, 2006 9:32 AM | Reply
How dare you criticise the beauty of the ways of us tuna blooded, killi munchers?
Religion has nothing to do with why we are intolerant, the same way religion has nothing to do with pretty much anything else we do around here. Maldives was, is and aspires to be a 100% [pretend] Muslim society. Regardless of which faith one believes in or what ideology people use in their ethics and morality, we prefer to be called Muslims.
And in answering to your allegation of existence of people following "other" faiths in Maldives, it still does not change the fact that Maldives is a 100% Muslim country. That is, the country is Muslim - same need not be of its citizens.
Our conformity does not lie with set rules. Rather, we kinda like to conform the rules to fit into our needs and opinions.
It is very amusing to see that Maldives are so phobic of Christianity while all other religions are free to roam and settle down here. When decades of Hindi movies have taught us the Hindhu religion, a mere glimpse of the Pope would get bleeped out. IMHO, I thought all the other relgions had to fear being taken over my Islam, and not the other way around.
Further, this article you have written is grounds enough to conclude that you are a Christian Missionary. Consider your birth certificate terminated. You have been erased. Please have over your ID card to the Dept of National Registration asap... unless, of course, you join a certain political party. Then, you shall be more equal than others.
Bwahahahahahahahahaha.
am | December 14, 2006 10:51 AM | Reply
Be careful simon !! You may end up in dunidhoo,guradhoo or someplace like that.In this country you may be serving life for just saying a word :)
nass | December 14, 2006 11:50 AM | Reply
"How dare you criticise the beauty of the ways of us tuna blooded, killi munchers?" LOL
Beautiful!
nadha | December 14, 2006 12:54 PM | Reply
Given religious tolerance and given the freedom to choose one's own way of life, I wonder how many would actually opt for Islam? Or a theistic religion for that matter?
bulhaa | December 14, 2006 1:11 PM | Reply
[smiles an annoyingly all knowing chesire cat grin]
subcorpus | December 14, 2006 2:50 PM | Reply
simon, be careful, be VERY careful ...
I'm suprised none of our more tolerant people have posted any comments ...
most of them comments are bound to be nothing remotely associtated to what you were talking about ...
bro, have a nice time defending and explaining your self ...
whoa ... this gonna be good ...
wouldn't miss this for the world ...
Ismail Rasheed | December 14, 2006 7:40 PM | Reply
Maldivians are afraid to discuss the subject of other religions or examine Islam with a rational mind because Islam preaches a thing called "murthaddu' and "kufur". People are afraid that they may step outside the boundary set in Islam regarding free thought and speech and forfeit their chances of going to heaven. And worse - the fire that awaits them in Jahannama. These are scare tactics work on ignorant people.
Simon, it was not hindhi movies that taught us Hindhu religion. We are vedic people from India. Our old religions were Hindhuism and Buddhism. Our moderate and tolerant attitude comes from this background. There are tolerant people, but Islam is not a tolerant religion. As we are witnessing now that maldivians have gone to the lands of Islam to learn it and bring it back.
Hamza | December 14, 2006 7:51 PM | Reply
I think it's retarded and (for some odd reason) pretentious if anyone switches Islam for Christianity or Judaism for that matter. All three are basically the same with a little window-dressing thrown in to claim some sort of originality, as far as I'm concerned. If anyone wants to give up hating gays, subjugating women and thinking Mohamed is their savior just to hate gays, subjugate women and pick Jesus as their mascot well then kindly explain why you'd do it because the reasoning behind it escapes me. Although, I get your point about having the freedom to choose. If faith IS truly a personal matter I guess we Maldivians have as much free rein as anyone else. Until they start hiring telepaths for the police force! Those damn mind-readers. No respect for people's privacy.
moyameehaa | December 14, 2006 10:12 PM | Reply
hmmm...nice one...and gud question!you know,what these 'christian missionaries' are?...they are Emmanuel Goldstein and gang!yes, the two minutes of daily hate!...how else can they do it?without an enemy,how else can the janavaaru(this time i really, mean it!) be a protector of islaaamu dheen,gaumee vahudhathaa,ebbaivanthakan,ebbaeh vahthakan,..etc...
it is important for it to create this hatred and fear...and for the Pro-janavaaru comentors,i would like to remind them before they say anything to my comment, YES...he started all this!he is the one who calls suicide bombers as 'mijaahidhun'.he is the one who made all maldivians to be muslims..(yeah he changed the constitution).and he is the one who tortures maldivian christians,Prez nasir allowed christian missionary work in maldives...and yes he did the only quran translation in dhivehi language!
but why so much hate for christianity?it is the closest religion to islam,they and jews are special in islam,known as the people of book.and islmail rasheed,vedic peoaple we are?yes we were,but no one remembers that fact now.and M, thats a gud point...all other religions can be shown on TVM...and satellite channels...and now that reminds me gud joke...cable net didnt show akbar and birbal cartoon from cartoon network ..thinking that it was a hindu religous one..haha...so i had to call and remind them akbar was an indian muslim king..heheheh..
then...whats wrong with christian message?its a religion,it calls for better manners and morality.so when maldivians 'so-called muslims' are going away from teachings of islam and even away from all religions (even hindu religion's reachings are basically about good morality).SO which is better?freedom of religion will give them the chance to control some drug addicts and criminals...what about child abuse,rape...etc
what is the most boring class in school? Islam...thats for sure...for almost every one...haha...but they are hating christians for that...its not their problem...its urs!how many books have been written on islamic topics?how many modernday problems have been answered?the only people attempting these now are extremists ..hence they get some followers...and when christian missionaries have completed much of the translation of bible....maldivian islamic scholars have FAILED to translate the Quran.why wait for qayom to do it? why cant they just do it and publish on the internet..like maldivian christians have done?
but he plays the game good.he is the one who said on 8th november 2004 that maldivians must have the right to freedom of religion...but later(after it was translated to english and published for the international media)he said...he didnt mean it..it was the journalist who mis-interpreted his comments!
so the problem has it roots in the janavaaru (like almost all other social-or any- problems in maldives)and his beloved verikan....and it have been done by years of....work,via TV,Radio,3 damned daily papers,and friday sermons and islam teachers...so, lot of effort and enlightenment is needed to change this!..BTW...what to we call this hatred..well..for jews its anti-semetism...and for christians?haha...find that word...and almost all maldivians are in that category!
ashraf | December 15, 2006 12:28 AM | Reply
mankind has been on this planet for long enough and still haven't figured out the so-called universal answer because it is simply impossible. who cares what Maldivians are believing in? i certainly don't. with all due respect, i must say that i think this debate (including this comment) is just lame.
when a muslim or a christian becomes and athiest he might say that he got out of the box, but hey he just ended up in another one! switching faith schools is like moving left or right when you actually need to go forward.
anonymous | December 15, 2006 1:19 AM | Reply
Certainly a title like 100% Muslim will not work to leverage tourism statistics.
A shop has it's own manufactured product showcases as well as separate showcases full of foreign products that get filled every December to March. Can this shop be called a 100% self manufactured products shop?
Fear of anything won't lead to productivity.
When the Danish printed the cartoons Muslims should have just kept their tolerance within. Certainly we Muslims don't talk ill of the Jews. do we?
I don't have a problem with being a Muslim, and i agree with the context Simon is shedding light on. We don't need a brand that doesn't fairly portray what Maldives is.
99% Water
1% Sun
100% Muslim Country
cyberkit | December 15, 2006 10:47 PM | Reply
I agree with anonymous.
Q | December 16, 2006 11:04 PM | Reply
moyameeha,
Christianity and Islam are very different in message. One is about love. The other is about submission.
Jesus preached non-violence. Mohammed commanded violence against all those who rejected his religion.
Maybe the Koran is the corruption of the Bible.
Simon | December 18, 2006 9:38 AM | Reply
Ashraf,
It is a common mistake of many (most common among believers) that atheists and atheism somehow constitutes another religion. It isn't a religion and nor is it a belief in God. In fact, how do you "disbelieve" in something you have no concept of? How can disbelief in anything even remotely constitute anything similar to belief?
It is when atheist speak against religion or belief that they start to sound like religious preachers - except they are preaching for something entirely different.
So in reality they ARE outside the box except the view from inside the box is still the same. Ie. It looks like they moved left or right. The reality is also that they didn't move forward either. They are just outside the box.
rxs | December 18, 2006 9:38 PM | Reply
interesting debate.. i remember having this debate with a bunch of we-think-we-are-philophers bunch (me inclusive) .. at a cool-coffee in a trendy restaurant..
politics.. religion has been politicised way too much.. much like the niqaab/hijaab issue in Europe..
there's no answer to this ... it will go on as long as mankind lives.. and i agree very much to Moyameeha and Ashraf!
finally simon is growing up!
Simon | December 19, 2006 11:06 AM | Reply
Rxs,
The difference between the we-think-we-are-philosophers bunch at the cool-coffee in a trendy restaurant that you were part of and what I write here is that what I write here is not limited to the cool-coffee in a trendy restaurant.
For everything there is an answer but what is different is how that answer is accepted by people. It is, I agree, very subjective.
But it is different from saying that it is something that will go on as long as mankind lives or saying who cares what Maldivians are believing in. This is very narrow, selfish and is the kind of apathy that is prevalent. Why? Because obviously most people DO care about it. Having said that you'd naturally think "if it is prevalent why bother?". This is exactly the kind of attitude I'm talking about, my friend.
And if you think about what Moyameeha wrote you'd think that without religion humans are incapable of morality. THat without it there will be child abuse and rape etc. As if the butchering, genocides, the ethnic cleansing, sectarian killing has nothing to do with religion. Oooh we're so afraid of child molesters and rapists. There are armies of them, isn't it? Basically without religion we humans become barbaric and violent.
Ironic when you think about today's world.
Thesinningslave | December 21, 2006 2:53 PM | Reply
Ahoy there mate...
Well everyone has the right to follow his own path...ok now take it this is this way..for example Mr.X chose to be an athiest(that is ok if he CHOSE it..)..and Mr.Y chose to be a muslim (im saying CHOSE..not that he inherited islam from his parents)..the thing is Mr. X shudnt poke his nose into Mr. Y's beeswax saying that growing the beard in islam is extremism...and yeah it goes the other way round too...and yes even this is so they can discuss about their beliefs in beautiful speech without resorting to killings and bombings (yeah unlike Mr. Renegade Ibn Laden) ..well i dont know if u all get what the sinningslave is saying here..hehe
m mighty tired...aaah bye bye..its a long hectic day
jamaal | December 22, 2006 8:56 PM | Reply
sinningslave,
I like the idea of not poking your nose in other peoples affairs. But if we find someone ready to butcher and eat someone saying its their religion, we should intervene.
The islamic mullahs are now practising genital mutiliation of women. Should we allow it saying that it their own affair when the poor girl who is losing her clitoris is a child and has now way to decide for herself?
Somethings just cannot be allowed even as religious stuff.
I hope we can ban this cruel custom.
You, educated women, say something!!!!
nanna | December 23, 2006 3:04 PM | Reply
Dear Jamaal
I like to think myself as an educatied women. And by no mean is female genital mutilations part of religions. well Islamic religion that is. I have done quite a bit of research, and so far have found nothing in the Quran or in any book of Hadiths, saying that you have to remove the female clitoris. If you want to do it, all you are required to do it, prick and draw a drop of blood, that is also not necessary. BUT female genital mutilation is part of culture in the African continent, and elsewhere. So don't mix up religion with culture, there is a Big difference there.
Thesinningslave | December 24, 2006 2:52 PM | Reply
yeah Jamaal...Nanna is totally right..
sojourner | December 24, 2006 4:16 PM | Reply
Moyameehaa! You claim that Mohammad commanded violence...So where in the Koran did you find Mohammad commanding violence! People were so afraid and jealous of the spreading of Islam (just like present day) that they fought with Mohammad, and at many instances his life was at risk that he migrated from time to time. If any, he has only fought as self-defence. Even then, he has put his sword down when his enemies have lost in the battlefield. And he showed love, and commanded that to his followers.
Islam and Mohammad taught tolerance, love, forgiveness and empathy. If you study Islam with a critical mind you will understand this. But of course, you won't if you have already got stereotyped generalisations bogged in your head about Islam
Abt Jesus, of course he taught us love, empathy, and tolerance too. After all for us Muslims, they are prophets of Allah. Therefore, Jesus, Mosses, or Mohammad, they all taught us love, tolerance, and empathy.
Hence, doesn't matter how much you claim to prove that Islam is about submission and Christianity is about love, the reality is as much as Christianity, Islam is about love as well.
Ofcourse, Islam clearly says Allah is God, and it does not provide any room for us to accept that Jesus is Son of God, or that no matter how hard human beings try they will sin and therefore Jesus saved his people from all the sins. Islam does not teach its people this kind of fatalism. Instead, Islam reinforces that all human beings are created with the ability to choose their own path, we humans have that power. It's a choice we make. And, this is the main difference between the two religions.
Thesinningslave | December 26, 2006 10:20 AM | Reply
Three cheers for Sojourner :)but u have taken Q to be Moyameeha..check again do a lil edition brother
sojourner | December 26, 2006 3:19 PM | Reply
Thanks for that. My comments actually refers to Q. Apolgies for that! Must be my sleepy eyes...lol.