Religious unity and freedom of expression -- where to draw the line?
Clause 35 of the regulation specifically prohibits telecasting, broadcasting, and printing of programs that may result in damaging the religious unity of Maldives.
INAYA A SHAREEF reports on the newly drafted Religious Unity Regulations in the Maldives.
With the Maldivian President's Office holding back from publishing the newly drafted Religious Unity Regulations in the Government Gazette, it seems there might still be hope for freedom of expression in the country.
Although freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 27 of the 2008 Constitution, there aren't any laws or regulations safeguarding this provision. And over the course of the last year and half, freedom of expression has meant different things to different people.
Radio waves operated by opposition sympathizers allow members of the public to rant uncensored against the government and its policies, mostly calling for the resignation of the President, while the online media has been taken over by pro-Islamic bloggers, who flood any blog operated by those with a more secular approach to religion with death threats, obscenities and hate speech.
The People's Majlis has yet to deliberate on the media-related bills already tabled at the Parliament, while other related bills are still in drafting stages. The transition period for the enforcement of the 2008 Constitution is coming to a close in the early weeks of August, and the Majlis is backlogged with working on the bills necessary for the effective implementation on the new Constitution.
The Religious Unity Regulation was drafted following consultation with local scholars by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, with input from the Maldives Police Service and other government bodies. It is no surprise that extensive revisions were made to the document, following discussions with one of the more local religious NGOs, Jamiyathul Salaf, accused by many as an extension of the Adaalath Party, which heads the religious Ministry under President Nasheed's shaky coalition.
(Click here to read an unofficial English translation of the regulations. The original in Dhivehi, is available on the Ministry's website)
According to the Ministry, the regulation was drafted to ensure that the religious harmony of Maldivians is maintained, to solve disagreements and conflict arising on certain issues among scholars, and to ensure that information on such issues are disseminated to the public without sowing discord.
Quite effectively with this regulation, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs headed by the religious right, Adaalath Party becomes the ultimate authority to propagate Islam and dictate its principles to the public. A party which has been notoriously associated with decrying active female participation in society, calling on for complete veiling of women, and condemning the appointment of female judges to the judiciary calling it unIslamic, will become the custodians of Islam for all Maldivians.
An all-male Maldives Figh Academy was established by the President in 2008, to issue religious advice and fatwa on contemporary issues of conflict, but according to the new regulation, an Advisory Board formed with the advice of the Ministry would be formed to maintain and implement the Religious Unity of Maldives. Critics of the regulation claim, such a clause allows the Ministry to steer religious debate according to their wishes, and with implementation of this also under their belt, can result in autocratic enforcement of the regulation as they see fit, as it stated that the President of the Advisory Board should be from the Ministry.
The Islamic Foundation, another religious NGO, has raised concerns on the criteria set out by the regulation on who will be allowed to give sermons, preach and issue religious rulings, saying that it expressively limits the scope of freedom of expression provided by Article 27 of the Constitution. The stipulation that any person convicted under the Religious Unity Act means one of the most firebrand preachers who has been gaining popularity among the public for his misogynist stand on women's role in society, and a scholar who incidentally is closely associated with the NGO would find himself without a license for preaching.
The number of foreign preachers brought to disseminate religious advice has been rising over the past years. It is organized by the religious NGOs, and the amount of funding that they receive to conduct these large-scale concert style sermons is questionable. While last year saw, Dr. Bilal Phillips making an appearance, this year Dr. Zakir Naik of Peace TV will be conducting three sessions over three nights, exclusively facilitated by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
The regulation stipulates that all foreign preachers should have an understanding of local customs and norms, traditions and social etiquette. How much this can be enforced remains questionable!
Chapter 4 of the Regulation remains the most ambiguous stipulation in the whole document, obligating every single Maldivian to protect the religious unity of Maldives, again the question of implementation and enforcement of it can be raised, with the sole power vested in the Ministry.
Most critics of the Regulation cite Chapter 6, which lists prohibited activities under the regulation, as those that will provide for exploitation of the freedom of expression as granted by the Constitution. For example, Clause 32 states, it is illegal to utter words or commit an action that insults the Quran, Islamic mosques, and other Islamic slogans. The words other Islamic slogans, leaves the clause open for any interpretation as willed by the Advisory Board at the time, and does this mean that the public can't even question the architecture of a mosque, in case it becomes an insult?
Clause 35 of the regulation specifically prohibits telecasting, broadcasting, and printing of programs that may result in damaging the religious unity of Maldives. It goes one step further by making it "illegal to use the Internet, blog, newspaper, or magazine to publish any material that might harass Allah, the Noble Prophet or any of his Companions, or the Noble Quran, or the Noble Prophet's Sunnah or the Islamic religion. And it is illegal to show or spread sound bites of programs on religions other than Islam, and any such literature, drawings, advertisements, music, and songs."
The implications for this clause are without a doubt terrifying. Should all advertisements, television programs, and radio sound bites be cleared through the Advisory Board before it is broadcasted to the public, to ensure that it is not damaging the religious unity of Maldives? How much exploration can one do in their own personal blogs regarding certain issues, before it infringes on the sensitivities outlined in this clause? Would music and songs which has already been denounced as haram by the eminent scholars of Ministry of Islamic Affairs suddenly fall into damaging religious unity of Maldivians and effectively be removed from the social fabric?
In a press conference earlier this week, President Nasheed stressed the importance of the Cabinet discussing the implications of the Regulation before it is published in the Government Gazette, however, with the major Opposition Party, DRP politicizing the issue by questioning the President's commitment to Islam by delaying its publication; it is inevitable that this regulation would soon come into force. Whether it comes into force with major amendments or as it is, remains to be seen.
Although freedom of expression is enshrined in Article 27 of the 2008 Constitution, there aren't any laws or regulations safeguarding this provision. And over the course of the last year and half, freedom of expression has meant different things to different people.
Radio waves operated by opposition sympathizers allow members of the public to rant uncensored against the government and its policies, mostly calling for the resignation of the President, while the online media has been taken over by pro-Islamic bloggers, who flood any blog operated by those with a more secular approach to religion with death threats, obscenities and hate speech.
The People's Majlis has yet to deliberate on the media-related bills already tabled at the Parliament, while other related bills are still in drafting stages. The transition period for the enforcement of the 2008 Constitution is coming to a close in the early weeks of August, and the Majlis is backlogged with working on the bills necessary for the effective implementation on the new Constitution.
The Religious Unity Regulation was drafted following consultation with local scholars by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, with input from the Maldives Police Service and other government bodies. It is no surprise that extensive revisions were made to the document, following discussions with one of the more local religious NGOs, Jamiyathul Salaf, accused by many as an extension of the Adaalath Party, which heads the religious Ministry under President Nasheed's shaky coalition.
(Click here to read an unofficial English translation of the regulations. The original in Dhivehi, is available on the Ministry's website)
According to the Ministry, the regulation was drafted to ensure that the religious harmony of Maldivians is maintained, to solve disagreements and conflict arising on certain issues among scholars, and to ensure that information on such issues are disseminated to the public without sowing discord.
Quite effectively with this regulation, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs headed by the religious right, Adaalath Party becomes the ultimate authority to propagate Islam and dictate its principles to the public. A party which has been notoriously associated with decrying active female participation in society, calling on for complete veiling of women, and condemning the appointment of female judges to the judiciary calling it unIslamic, will become the custodians of Islam for all Maldivians.
An all-male Maldives Figh Academy was established by the President in 2008, to issue religious advice and fatwa on contemporary issues of conflict, but according to the new regulation, an Advisory Board formed with the advice of the Ministry would be formed to maintain and implement the Religious Unity of Maldives. Critics of the regulation claim, such a clause allows the Ministry to steer religious debate according to their wishes, and with implementation of this also under their belt, can result in autocratic enforcement of the regulation as they see fit, as it stated that the President of the Advisory Board should be from the Ministry.
The Islamic Foundation, another religious NGO, has raised concerns on the criteria set out by the regulation on who will be allowed to give sermons, preach and issue religious rulings, saying that it expressively limits the scope of freedom of expression provided by Article 27 of the Constitution. The stipulation that any person convicted under the Religious Unity Act means one of the most firebrand preachers who has been gaining popularity among the public for his misogynist stand on women's role in society, and a scholar who incidentally is closely associated with the NGO would find himself without a license for preaching.
The number of foreign preachers brought to disseminate religious advice has been rising over the past years. It is organized by the religious NGOs, and the amount of funding that they receive to conduct these large-scale concert style sermons is questionable. While last year saw, Dr. Bilal Phillips making an appearance, this year Dr. Zakir Naik of Peace TV will be conducting three sessions over three nights, exclusively facilitated by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
The regulation stipulates that all foreign preachers should have an understanding of local customs and norms, traditions and social etiquette. How much this can be enforced remains questionable!
Chapter 4 of the Regulation remains the most ambiguous stipulation in the whole document, obligating every single Maldivian to protect the religious unity of Maldives, again the question of implementation and enforcement of it can be raised, with the sole power vested in the Ministry.
Most critics of the Regulation cite Chapter 6, which lists prohibited activities under the regulation, as those that will provide for exploitation of the freedom of expression as granted by the Constitution. For example, Clause 32 states, it is illegal to utter words or commit an action that insults the Quran, Islamic mosques, and other Islamic slogans. The words other Islamic slogans, leaves the clause open for any interpretation as willed by the Advisory Board at the time, and does this mean that the public can't even question the architecture of a mosque, in case it becomes an insult?
Clause 35 of the regulation specifically prohibits telecasting, broadcasting, and printing of programs that may result in damaging the religious unity of Maldives. It goes one step further by making it "illegal to use the Internet, blog, newspaper, or magazine to publish any material that might harass Allah, the Noble Prophet or any of his Companions, or the Noble Quran, or the Noble Prophet's Sunnah or the Islamic religion. And it is illegal to show or spread sound bites of programs on religions other than Islam, and any such literature, drawings, advertisements, music, and songs."
The implications for this clause are without a doubt terrifying. Should all advertisements, television programs, and radio sound bites be cleared through the Advisory Board before it is broadcasted to the public, to ensure that it is not damaging the religious unity of Maldives? How much exploration can one do in their own personal blogs regarding certain issues, before it infringes on the sensitivities outlined in this clause? Would music and songs which has already been denounced as haram by the eminent scholars of Ministry of Islamic Affairs suddenly fall into damaging religious unity of Maldivians and effectively be removed from the social fabric?
In a press conference earlier this week, President Nasheed stressed the importance of the Cabinet discussing the implications of the Regulation before it is published in the Government Gazette, however, with the major Opposition Party, DRP politicizing the issue by questioning the President's commitment to Islam by delaying its publication; it is inevitable that this regulation would soon come into force. Whether it comes into force with major amendments or as it is, remains to be seen.
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