This afternoon, the topic of discussion all over the country has been the detention by the Police, of additional “terror suspects” in the unfolding story of faith induced terrorism in Maldives. I would object to call it terrorism by Islamists; Islam is a religion of peace and civility.

The “terrorists” of September 29th and the “extremist” standoff on Himandhoo with the security forces; were staged by activists who believed in a cause. The motive of those activists was driven by a belief that their individual human right to live in a society that upheld the values they would die for, were being eroded. They believed that their way of life is threatened and in jeopardy in the current form of a “controlled society”. They could not tolerate people who did not “listen” to their voices, and where their kind were being persecuted.

The objective has been simple: destabilize the institutions that held them captive to a way of life that was wrong, take action against atrocities that were being committed against their own, and finally overthrow the regime that is responsible and take control to ensure that “good” will prevail. In the worst case, that the authorities will consider them a force to reckon with, hear them out, and meet their demands.

The fishermen of Dhidhdhoo in Haa Alifu atoll and the several islanders in remote island communities across the country who “held the government hostage”, had similar motives for similar reasons.

The practise of destabilizing institutions and creating anarchy for the purpose of putting pressure on the government to bring about the changes we believe in, has become the fashionable way of doing things.

The calls to destabilize the economy and create “civil disobedience” has been an acceptable instrument in the campaign to overthrow and change a “dictatorship” that is worth the sacrifice. We have leaders who can convince people that it is the only way out of the atrocities against our freedom and liberty. It is a scary thought today, to me, that in a while we will have a majority in this country who would sympathize with the September 19th and the Himandhoo “activists”.

The question I have is, some of us seem to think “terror” is acceptable for political reasons but not religous reasons, why? The instance of justifying one and condemning the other is, yet so Maldivian!

What is the Problem?

The problem to my mind is that we are practising alien concepts such as “democracy”, “liberty”, and “human rights”, without a proper understanding of the core values and evolution of those concepts. It is also similar to a person practising “extreme” Islam without a proper understanding of the fundamentals.