Veils of Deception
The Age reported on the 31st of October that Afghan police working at a highway checkpoint noticed something odd about a burga clad woman passenger in a vehicle. She was unusually tall and when questioned refused to answer. The report goes on to say that when the veil was eventually removed, police found not a woman but a 27 year old Siberian man with a long red beard.
The most startling discovery, of course, was the 500 kg of explosives inside the vehicle.
While I most respectfully honor the rights of women to dress as they want as long as it fits in with norms of any civil society, I also see why government policies against veiled women may have come about, along with those regarding broadcasting of images and glorification of suicide bombers, given the situation after the bomb of 29th September.
Many of us have already forgotten about that terrorist act and many more have already brushed it aside as an inconsequential event – as something that may never happen in the future. We can give this kind of indifferent thinking leverage only once the forces that conspired towards this terrorist act have been fully accounted for and all possible networks thoroughly investigated and put under surveillance. That is, if it is ever possible. Given the latest reports about the extent to which the perpetrators of the bomb have had connections to international terrorist organisations, full surveillance and control may never be possible at all. That should be worrying for everyone, every citizen.
We should realize that this event has (or should have) completely shaken and taken us by surprise and has forever changed the course of our small country. For a country like ours, when faced with the unknown and unknowable size and operations of sinister international terrorist organisations, this means treading in completely uncharted territory. The heavy-handed reaction from the government we see today is, I believe, a result of this.
On the 29th of September we should have been woken up to the realization that the world is now a place where our lives and those of our loved ones could be destroyed by selfish and barbaric men any time, any day,– regardless of our religion, colour or creed. Men, - it must be noted and vividly imagined - like the one stopped at the Afghan checkpoint, who have no reservations about wearing a burga and posing as a woman for a solely destructive purpose. A purpose that is inspired and powered by dangerously irrational religious beliefs. There is no man that can stop a divinely ordained mission on earth, is there?
There is no doubt that women have the right to wear the veil on religious grounds but unlike many other religion inspired attire the full veil is possibly the only one worn exclusively by women that can also be abused by men. Whether we like it or not there will always be the uncertainty of who is really behind the veil. Having said that I believe the government’s policy on veiled women can be described as childish. I believe there are other measures that can be taken to root out extremist terror ideologies.
A public ban on all popular fatwa CDs can be one - and there are many, many out there. The Ali Rameez fatwa CD is said to have converted many, otherwise moderate (or irreligious), women and men and pushed them towards the religious right of the belief spectrum. How so many were so easily coerced into a fundamental (and often extreme) belief system by an uneducated pop star should have been a wakeup call for the government. (It is also as a result of feeble religious knowledge, ignorance and credulity of many to start with).
Whatever we think of these government policies we have to realize that terrorism has arrived on our shores in full force. Whether its arrival is as a result of negligence or oversight by the government or not it is here and the veil and the feminine identity associated with women who adorn it can and has been stolen by selfish and barbaric men towards heinous crimes against innocent people. The reality, and one can blame a million things for this, is that the veil, the beard and the sawed of pants has become the uniform of the Islamist terrorist.
Dr.Freex | November 20, 2007 4:09 AM | Reply
Indeed.
Not at all surprising that this was by an extremist few who having studied from some 'school' in Pakistan or the like, or following in the words of some Islamic sheik-cum-saint,and having made to believe that blowing up innocent bystanders will give us victory or a place in heaven...absolutely misguided notions of Islam that some Maldivian hill billies have embraced!
http://www.twf.org/Library/Violence.html
Which is why I don't think we should send our students to Pakistan or any neighboring region to study Islam;Malaysia maybe a better option. In fact I'm all for a complete overhaul of the system in which theology and religion is taught in this country and the wider Moslem world,for it is the blind reliance on the clergy and our refusal, through a perceived self-inadequacy, to study Islam and the word of God, as Moslems believe to be- The Qur'an.
[If this is to coincide with Badr, then did they not read on the speech that Islamic traditions purport the prophet to have given before battle; that women and children and the elderly and the innocent NONCOMBATANTS, peoples homes and places of worship are not to be touched!!!!!!]
The moderate majority needs to voice their opposition to such acts and not give external forces any opportunity to place the blame on faith as the root cause for such evil..this is a battle, a 'jihad' that needs to be waged on the Intellectual battlefield with a vigor that outdoes that of any IED!
Moslem's need to take their Holy Book out of their 'recitation classes' and from the clutches of their 'keepers', into their own hearts AND MINDS!!!!
Indeed there maybe a growing decadence and love for vanity that is gripping the middle class in the Maldives..BUT there is also an element of misguided indoctrination in twisted versions of Islam going on on the other end of the spectrum, and this is a far greater threat than so called 'secularism'; after all secularism doesn't kill in my name! In fact, neither can be divorced wholly from either.
Our education in Islam seems to be CNN/Hollywood and the wholly inadequate national curriculum and failed 'Islamic' states (whose despotic rulers are kept in office by the powers that be), where the ignorant masses are blindly subservient to a clergy whose divine status rivals that of any Christian Pope!
Yes, to assume that women wearing Buruga's is a sign of extremism is wrong; and it may be equally wrong to assume that it means people are becoming more God fearing. At least not in the sense it is meant to be..
Of course,there could be other explanations to this as well...a Government conspiracy to crack down on any elements of Islamic extremism in the country prophylactically; this would not be the first instance in history when governments have instigated acts of terror(false-flag)in the name of fighting terror...'Fear' can be THE force behind 'control'
Even if placed within the context of Intra and International plutocracy, and the invisible politics of world affairs, OR without; what cannot be denied is the very real threat WE, as a nation and people face now that we've embraced an outside world in all it's complexity and for all it's grotesque-the good the bad & the very ugly...
Only through individual striving & effort(aka Jihad)can the community mobilize as a single entity;blame the government and we too are included, after all what is a government, if not by the people, of the people and for the people?
http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2007/11/ansar-almujahideen-targets-the/
Mohamed Hilmy | November 20, 2007 7:48 AM | Reply
The root causes of terrorism which has gained its foothold on our shores goes far deeper than the full burga that symbolises the image of radicalism. Whether there are socioeconomic grievances, political marginalisation or extreme poverty, nothing justifies the killing of innocent people in Islam or the spreading of hatred.
When Muslim preachers go down the path of fundamentalistic unquestioning acceptance of religious precepts, then their followers embrace dogmatism and rigidity of thinking. Very often this is where the problem starts. We need to avoid this death trap in our society by having strong religious institutions that will take proactive action and avoid the society falling into a crisis in religious belief.
This is now an intellectual battle and it cannot be won by practising double standards in human rights, social justice and economic empowerment that we see happening and destroying many Muslim countries.
In Maldives, politicians should be warned not to use Islam as a political tool or to mainipulate the religion to diminish opponents. Politics should be fought on issues and its impact on society.
We should oppose all acts of violence and hatred. When our politicians and religious authorities fail to do their part we should express our outrage and call them to action.
jaa | November 20, 2007 6:22 PM | Reply
Maldives was and is already sinking in quicksand. Islamic extremists have hijacked the minds of most Maldivians with their unhampered distribution of magazines, websites, cd's and books. They've carved a niche for themselves and made themselves very comfortable. The government and politians are helping this change in every way. The amendment regarding Maldivian citizenship and Muslim faith that was just recently incorporated into the new constitution is like wriggling fast and furious to sink deeper into the quicksand. To me, the future of Maldives looks even bleaker now...
inayaa | November 20, 2007 8:23 PM | Reply
I have to agree with jaa. grandstanding and emotional speeches in the majlis to garner the attention of a certain group of ppl has made a mockery of the constitution.. have to say the new one might just turn out to be worse than the one we already have!
nass | November 20, 2007 10:06 PM | Reply
Veils don't have anything to do with terrorism. Terrorists are getting smarter, that's all. Don't blame Islam for their actions.
Banning CDs? They used to ban Dhivehi Observer website too. So good luck with that.
Suhail | November 21, 2007 12:55 AM | Reply
Islam is not to be blamed for anything. Islam is not the problem nor Islam is the solution for our stupidity. The problem is abusing Islam. The only solution for our problems is take religion out of constitution and out of politics.
However long we try we will never achieve the freedom and the liberal democracy as long as we remain hypocrites. We all are. We say one thing and we practise another. The only way to achieve real changes is through struggle and the sad thing is the only people willing to struggle are the jihadists, who will impose a harsher life on us if succeessful, so let us be as we were. I think the majority of Maldivians have no stomach for real change, only cosmetic is what they prefer. So off with democracy for that matter Liberal Democracy.