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Friday, December 23, 2011

Maldives- Rallying for Islam

It's not everyday that you even hear of the Maldives. Does anyone even know where that is? In case you don't, it is 700 km south-west of Sri Lanka and 400km south-west of India. Earlier today thousands of people in this island rallied for Islam. But alas, there was also another protest that rallied for a "moderate" Islam. What exactly does that even mean? Does the term "moderate" apply to Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoist or any other religion? Why is it restricted only to Islam? That, however, is for another day's discussion.


Both rallies began at 4PM local time. Many demonstrators held slogans including “We stand united for Islam and the nation”, “No idols in this holy land”, “No to the Zionist Murderers”, “We stand for peace” and “Islamic Shariah is equal to peace” among others. 


Demonstrators, which numbered 3000, also want the country's authorities to stop the sale of alcohol in the islands, as well as to shut down brothels operating in the guise of massage parlors.. both which are forbidden in Islam. 


Maldives' President Mohamed Nasheed stated “We can’t achieve development by going backwards to the Stone Age or being ignorant,” 


Demonstrators who rallied for a "moderate" version of Islam stated that they will "continue to practice a tolerant form of Islam" In other words, any form other than "moderate" Islam, will not be tolerant. Which is incorrect. If one were to study Islam from the authentic sources- the Qur'an and the books of Hadeeth, one can easily come to the conclusion that Islam is a religion of justice, peace and mercy.


With all that is happening in the Arab world, more countries need to rally for an Islamic revival; people need to rally for the Islamic Caliphate... they need to work for it, raise awareness, and invoke God for success to implement Shariah wherever they are.


Muslims make up more than 1 billion of the world's population, and that number is expected to climb in the coming years. If even half of this population were to rally for Islam, to fight against the defamers of this religion and call for the implementation of Shariah, no doubt would great success follow.




A Maldivian woman holds a placard that reads "Maldivians support leaders who follow Islam" during a protest calling on the government to enforce strict Islamic law in Male, Maldives, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011.