Maldives: Man Attacked, Threatened with Death, for
Freedom of Conscience

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
http://www.realcourage.org/2010/05/mohamed-nazim/

In the Muslim-majority nation of Maldives, a man stunned
an audience during questions and answers period in a lecture
given by an Islamic cleric, by stating that he had chosen freedom of
conscience not to follow Islam. The man, Mohamed Nazim, was promptly
attacked, taken into custody, and has been threatened with death and
beheading, or other punishments for choosing
his freedom of conscience. Maldives media are reporting that it is
the first time in many hundreds of years that a Maldivian has publicly
renounced Islam, since Sultan
King Hassan IX converted to Christianity in 1552 and was deposed.

The Maldives
constitution mandates that all citizens of Maldives must be
Muslims. A December 2009 study showed the Maldives (with a 99 percent
literacy rate) to be in the
top 5 percent of the worst nations for religious freedom. It is a
nation that has been
building its criminal law based on Sharia law, and whose Parliament
bans non-Islamic houses of worship. There have been repeated
reports
on Maldives government publicly
whipping of women and the Maldives is in the bottom
rankings of nations with a global gender gap.

The Maldives is also a nation that, on May 13, 2010,
was elected to be part of the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC).

The Haveeru
newspaper reported that Mohamed Nazim came up to ask a question of Islamic cleric
Zakir Naik, stating "Dr Zakir Naik. I am a Maldivian. I am still
struggling to believe in religion. That is why I just came to the front
of this row. I was born a Maldivian. My parents taught me the religion
of Islam. They are good practitioners, actually. I read a lot of
books. I have read the translation of Quran. Yet, I still do not
believe in a religion. So what do you say, [about] my verdict in
Islam?"

: Mohamed Nazim
(left/standing), who declared his atheist status to the public,
questions Dr Zakir Naik during the Q&A session. (Photo: Maldives
Haveeru Newspaper)

Islamic cleric Zakir
Naik asked "are you a Muslim?" and Mohamed Nazim replied "I am not." Zakir Naik has a
long history of calling for the death penalty for "apostates" in
both Muslim majority nations and other parts of the world.

The Haveeru
newspaper reported that Zakir Naik responded by stating: "according
to Prophetic traditions, every child is born as a Muslim and that a
Muslim is one who submits his/her will to God. In Islam, death penalty
should not necessarily be evoked on every person who leaves Islam, but
to those who propagate the non-Islamic faith and speak against Islam, he
added."

The Haveeru
newspaper report states that his question "sparked comments of
hatred from an angry crowd of around 11,000 with many calling to kill
him and attack him, while Naik was answering the question. Several
people rushed towards Nazim, who was sitting at a back row after moving
away from the microphone, as an official of the Islamic Ministry tried
to escort him out. Police, however, came between Nazim and the crowd
and escorted him into custody." The Haveeru
newspaper report also stated that a crowed gathered outside the
police station and demanded that Mohamed Nazim be handed over to the
crowd. The Haveeru
newspaper report stated that "They shouted anti-atheism slogans
and called for Nazim's beheading."

In a separate report, the Haveeru
newspaper stated that Maldives Islamic Ministry would arrange for
religious "counseling" for Mohamed Nazim while he is in custody.

Another
report by the Haveeru newspaper stated how Maldives lawyers felt
that Mohamed Nazim deserved such counseling before receiving the death
penalty or other punishments, stating that: "While some local lawyers
claim Nazim is eligible for punishment both by Maldives laws and Islamic
Shari'a, others argue only Shari'a could be evoked on him. Mohamed
Ibrahim Waheed, a defense lawyer said Nazim must first be counseled
giving him the chance to repent before considering capital punishment.
'First, he should be counseled. If he does not take the advice and
repent, the penalty stated in Shari'a should be evoked on him.
According to Shari'a, the punishment for apostasy is death,' he said.
Waheed further argued that Nazim could be charged under the Religious
Unity Act, for disrupting the religious unity of the country. A state
prosecutor who wished to remain anonymous said Nazim could be
prosecuted for legal disobedience."

The Maldives
newspaper Minivan News reports that a Maldives Islamic group is
calling for the death of Mohamed Nazim. Minivan
News reports that "The Islamic Foundation has called for
self-declared apostate Mohamed Nazim to be stripped of his citizenship
and sentenced to death if he does not repent and return to
Islam...Today the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives issued a press
statement calling on judges to give Nazim the opportunity to repent
'and if he does not, then sentence him to death as Islamic law and
Maldivian law agree.' ''The Islamic Foundation believes that the
person who announces apostasy should be punished according to Islamic
laws,' the NGO said, warning that Nazim represented 'a disturbance to
the religious views and the religious bonds that exist with
Maldivians.' 'Hereby if this man does not do his penance and come back
to the Islamic religion, the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives calls
to take the citizenship away from this man as mentioned in the
Maldivian constitution.' If case crossed into areas not covered by the
laws of the country, 'then the judges should rely on Islamic law,' the
NGO stated, as per article 142 of constitution which says judiciary
shall look into Islamic shar'ia on matters not covered in law, and
sentence accordingly." Malaysian
Miadhu news also reported on such calls for the death of Mohamed
Nazim in their
story "Islamic Foundation calls on death sentence for Nazim, if not
repented "

According to the constitution
of Maldives, "The judges are independent, and subject only to the
constitution and the law. When deciding matters on which the
Constitution or the law is silent, judges must consider Islamic
Shari'ah."

The speaker
at the Maldives event that Mohamed Nazim
attended, Zakir Naik, has a long history of calling for violence
against those who choose their universal human right of freedom of
conscience and leave Islam. Religious supremacist Zakir Naik has
repeatedly called for denying human beings their universal human rights
of freedom of conscience, calling those who leave Islam as
"traitors." The London
Times has quoted Zakir Naik as stating that "People who change
their religion should face the death penalty."

In a widely broadcast
video, Zakir Naik has called for the death penalty for those who
leave Islam and promote another religion as "apostates." In the broadcast,
Zakir Naik states "if a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim and propagates
his/her new religion, then it is as good as treason. There is a 'death
penalty' in Islam for such a person. In many countries, the
punishment for treason is also death. If an army general discloses his
army's secrets to another country, then there is a 'death penalty' or
life imprisonment for such a person according to the laws of most of
the countries. In the
broadcast, Zakir Naik also states that the death penalty for leaving
Islam ("apostasy") should also apply to "non-Muslim countries." Zakir Naik also
challenges other "Islamic scholars" who believe in such death
penalty for "apostates" to extend such defiance of religious freedom not
just to Muslim majority nations, but to the entire world. Zakir Naik
states "If these scholars are really righteous people then they must
welcome their own principle (of death for apostates) in the non-Muslim
countries as well."

Zakir Naik has also
reportedly stated that women must cover themselves, and reject
"revealing Western dress," or they are "susceptible to rape." Zakir
Naik is infamously
known for his defense of Osama Bin Laden and stating that "every Muslim
should be a terrorist."

Zakir Naik has recently been given
permission to give a tour and speak on his interpretation of Islam
throughout the United Kingdom.

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Responsible for Equality And
Liberty (R.E.A.L.) promotes freedom of religion and freedom of
conscience as our
unqualified, universal human rights. We challenge those who deny
such universal human rights, including
the right to change one's religion as defined in Article 18 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article
18 of the UDHR reads: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance."

===================================

Media Reports:

Haveeru:
Maldivian renounces Islam, gets attacked by Zakir Naik audience

Haveeru:
Islamic Ministry to counsel Maldivian who renounced Islam

Haveeru:
What will happen to the Maldivian who renounced Islam?

Minivan
News: Islamic Foundation calls for death sentence if apostate fails to
repent

Miadhu:
Islamic Foundation calls on death sentence for Nazim, if not repented

Miadhu:
Dr. Zakir Naik Confirmed to lecture in the Maldives

London
Times: "Muslim preacher of hate is let into Britain" -- Zakir Naik

R.E.A.L. Maldives Reports:

Maldives:
Man Attacked, Threatened with Death, for Freedom of Conscience

Maldives:
English Teacher Deported for "Anti-Islamic" Passage