Friday, May 01, 2009
On religious fractionalism


  • Way before Anni was even thinking of the MDP primaries people knew the dangers of burgeoning fundamentalist factions of Islam in Maldives.

  • By the time Anni was campaigning for the big job, Adhaalath had gained enough momentum to give the moderates a cause for concern.

  • During the runoff campaign, Anni allied himself with Adhaalath for want of their party constituency.

  • The alliance struck with Adhaalath manifested itself in the form of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, a non-existent entity at the time of Anni's inauguration.

  • The creation of the MoIA enabled Adhaalath to infest its extremist agendas on the state platform in the form of statutory regulations.

  • Anni's supporters refuse to accept that he is to blame for compromising his stance on religious issues (if there was one in the first place) by associating with Adhaalath.

  • Talk in town is now suggesting that Anni's obedience to the Adhaalath agenda can be attributed to the respect he has for religion.

  • Some minority looks to be exploiting this situation to put the blame on religion, which in turn is the same as putting the blame on God, which is akin to believing in a deity, thereby confusing themselves of their own beliefs.

  • In the end, the majority accepts the theory that religion failed them (not people), hence burying all history of corruption and injustice under an involuntarily murmured 'alhamdulillah'.

  • It will not be surprising if, in the confusion of this theological chutzpa, a new autocracy rears its ugly head and the old oligarchies nestle into another cozy 30-year ride.

  • Who will facilitate this? Those who attribute everything to religion and God (atheists and theists alike). God is not directly interacting with humanity (even believers should understand this from their respective scriptures). People commit crimes of their own accord. Whoever is intentionally attributing crimes to religions or God are as naive as the believers and as diabolical as the criminals they help purify (intentionally or not).

3 comments:

Khilath Rasheed - journalist and blogger from Maldives said...

Humans like to believe they can do no wrong. If they make a mistake, they would like to believe that it was not of theirs, but of someone else's. And if a someone else cannot be found, they would like to believe it to be the work of forces beyond their comprehension.

Anonymous said...

Kon beykaaru angaeh galhaakah.Mihaaru miyothee kaleymen edhunu "change' aissa ennu.Then thibey Dhivehi raajjeygai alah "Islamic Sainthood" hadhaigen-aharumenves balan thibeynan vaagoey!
-Theduveri Dhivehi Dhariyeh-

persona non grata said...

Anonymous,

Maldivians were not wrong to vote for change. They are not to blame for the failures of the current government. When they elected Anni they entrusted him with the leadership with goodwill and blessings. Anni did not have to go and abuse this trust.