HOW DR. AFRASHEEM WAS STABBED IN HIS GRAVE

Written by: Ali Assad

Dr. Afrasheem Ali was controversially one of the most prominent Muslim scholars in recent history of Maldives.

His fascinating style of revealing Islam through argumentative answers lured a huge fan base, while creating an ever-growing number of hardliners hell-bent in staining his credibility and even disowning him as a Muslim.

The way Dr. Afrasheem portrayed his religious answers using critical thinking; the Quran, Sunnah of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and analyzing the views of major imams/scholars of Islam was astoundingly beautiful. His stunning explanations untangles many misconceptions, misunderstandings and also closes the doors to extreme thinking in the religion of Islam.

Difference between Dr. Afrasheem and existing Islamic scholars in Maldives was that his answers were not limited to a black and white line between halal and haram. His explanations dived deeper into the turbulent differential opinions of the leading Islamic scholars in debatable topics of Islam. Based on these views, the predominant view that is most harmonious with the Quran and authentic Sunnah of the prophet is presented to his audience captivated in awe to decide.

To some, he was an oasis to quest their thirst and enthusiasm for religious knowledge.

On 2 October 2012, Maldives woke up to the shocking sad news of the brutal and violent murder of Dr. Afrasheem. He was hacked to death by multiple attacks on the head and upper torso using a machete. In the record books his name will be written in blood as the first Member of Parliament to be killed in Maldives. He represented Raa Atoll Ungoofaru Constituency, in the 17th sitting of the Maldives Parliament.

The Burial service of one of the bravest Muslim scholars of Maldives was seen by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Adhaalath Party (AP) - as the opening ceremony of the blame game.

As soon as the dust settled on the grave of Dr. Afrasheem, supreme leader of MDP and former president of Maldives, Mr. Mohamed Nasheed was quick to declare that the killers have already left the country and were residing in a Middle Eastern country and that they were affiliated to the extremist elements of AP.

Sheikh Imran Abdullah the leader of AP squashed such assaults claiming MDP and Nasheed were the harshest critic of Dr. Afrasheem and thus, didn’t have any room to loosen the noose of suspicion around their necks.

How Nasheed was able to prophecies such valuable information must be considered the 8th Wonder of the world, considering the fact that the investigation of the murder of Dr. Afrasheem was carried by Maldives Police Service with close collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of United States.

At that time, the president in office was Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and his government launched the largest most intensive investigation with the highest manpower in the history of Maldives. They were vigorously looking for the perpetrators and promised to let no stone unturned in apprehending the slaughterers.

Why MDP and AP tipped the scale as prime suspects for foul play in the homicide of Dr. Afrasheem is well known by most Maldivians.

Initially it was AP members or sheikhs closely associated with AP that denounced Dr. Afrasheem as a true Muslim scholar. They went as far as nicknaming him “Ibileese”, which in English means devil.

The way Dr. Afrasheem answered religious questions was new and alien to the existing old religious scholars.

During Friday prayers, he was once verbally abused and physically assaulted while his young scared son stood crying by his side.

MDP came into a head-on collision with Dr. Afrasheem, as soon as he walked into politics.

Dr. Afrasheem became the most vehement critic of MDP and he was very outspoken about it. He even called for the investigation of Mr. Nasheed over accusation of drinking Sula Shiraz, while on a state visit to India. Drinking alcohol is haram in Islam.

When Dr. Afrasheem was appointed Vice President of Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Ms. Velezinee (Nasheed’s appointed president’s member) was accused of allegedly pushing a pencil inside her private parts and shoving it towards Dr. Afrasheem’s face. A strong MDP parliament then removed him from JSC claiming that he was destroying the judiciary.

Used engine oil referred to as “kalhu theyo” by Maldivians was thrown at his car by MDP demonstrators and his car window was also smashed in another attack by MDP demonstrators.

During live programs by Dr. Afrasheem on TV channels such as DhiTV, MDP supporters gathered outside the station protesting against him.

Rajje TV, a pro-MDP channel funded by MDP elite ran the most hostile anti Dr. Afrasheem reports and programs.

After the disputed resignation aka “coup”, Nasheed’s increased the tempo of attacks against his arch-enemy. The feeling was mutual as Dr. Afrasheem revealed that while in JSC, Nasheed ordered him to cooperate to remove Judge Abdullah Mohamed from office.

The battle progressed with attacks by Dr. Afrasheem for Nasheed’s support of Ms. Navi Pillay’s (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014), to her contradictory speech against Islamic Sharia and values. Verbal aggression amplified to such extents as Dr. Afraheem suggesting that Nasheed might have gone outside the boundaries of being a Muslim for his speeches against Islamic law.

Nasheed was summoned to court for his role in the kidnapping of Judge Abdullah Mohamed, and subsequently during a MDP rally in GDh. Fares Maathodaa, he got the last chance to strike the final blow in a speech reiterating his claim that it was Dr. Afrasheem who ruined the judiciary while in JSC.

Soon afterwards Dr. Afrasheem was neutralized.

Police apprehended the killer in the early stages of the investigation and identified as Mr. Hussein Humam of H. Lobby. While in police custody Humam confessed to the crime. According to Humam’s confession, he had an accomplice and a lookout placed outside Dr. Afrasheem house. The alleged accomplish and lookout were apprehended. Furthermore, two hardcore MDP activists were implicated from his story and also the high-ranking son in law of then Vice President of MDP, were arrested. Another person who acted as an agent to broker the deal was also arrested.

Even Humam later confessed in front of the judge and also asked forgiveness from Dr. Afrasheem’s family.

According to Humam, 4 million Maldivian Rufiya was proposed as the contract price to kill Dr. Afrasheem by Jaa, the son in law of MDP Vice President.

It was a planned attack and the police were unable to find enough hard evidence to convict the other arrested alleged suspects in a court of law.

Unfortunately for Humam, blood on his clothes linked him directly to Dr. Afrasheem’s murder, plus his initial confessions to police and in front of the judge was enough to guarantee a conviction.

It was much later that Mr. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was introduced into the scene as a scapegoat by a fierce opponent. The competitive battle for the presidential ticket of 2013 from Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), contended by Mr. Yameen and Mr. Umar Naseer, became the center stage used by Umar to hint that his challenger was somehow involved in the death.

Later Umar apologized and retracted his comments explaining it was purely for political purposes as a last-ditch effort to beat his powerful opponent.

Damage was done; accusation was enough fuel for political rivals to produce flimsy stories and unjustifiable tales to implicate Yameen.

Adding fuel to the fire, Mr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who was at that time the Home Minister of Dr. Waheed’s cabinet, stated that Maldivians will be surprised if they knew who was behind the attacks. The reaction from Dr. Afrasheem’s family was unanticipated by Jameel and he was quickly forced to shamefully admit that it was just political rhetoric and apologized to the family.

These remarks provided enough breathing space for MDP and AP on whose doormat laid the bloody wreaths of suspicion. MDP propaganda machines started rolling slowly and it was in full gear by the time Yameen became president.

The final and most lethal attack was from the former Commissioner of Police Abdullah Riyaz, under whose close supervision the whole investigation was carried out. His cunning and devious statement to the effect that he will reveal the truth when the time is right was enough, to sow the seed of doubt even in diehard president Yameen’s supporters.

However, when the final verdict of the Supreme Court delivered the death sentence to Mr. Humam, unbearable pressure pressed down on Riyaz to reveal the truth.

Opposition and especially MDP supporters played the drum roll to a crescendo and when the curtain opened to the truth, it was just a ‘pop’- the soap bubble of false hope for the opposition burst into nothing.

Riyaz reluctantly admitted that president Yameen had no implication in the murder of Dr. Afrasheem.

Why any of these allegations failed to permanently dent the president’s reputation was the simple fact that the opposition could not come up with any concrete motive for their case.

Allegations such as that it was because Dr. Afrasheem had higher political ambitions does not carry any weight because even when he was given the opportunity of Deputy Leader of Z faction of DRP he said “let me be as I am”.

Another reason was that initially MDP painted a picture that the murder was by religious extremists who had gained a foothold after overthrowing Nasheed’s government. The murder was also used by Nasheed to justify and sell his version of religious extremism in Maldives.

Even though all the suspects apprehended were from MDP and the suspicious fact that Mr. Humam’s lawyer is a founder member of MDP, the highest step in the ladder of suspects, was the son in law of MDP chairperson and went no further. There is no concrete evidence that it was orchestrated by Nasheed.

From the information unearthed, the likelihood is that this was just a politically motivated revenge killing for maligning their political camp by a lone group of individuals who acted alone with no affiliation to their political party.

We may never know the real reasons why Dr. Afrasheem was killed, a wife widowed and his children orphaned or all the killers involved might never be caught and their ugly secrets might stay hidden in Dr. Afrasheem’s grave forever.

But what is most disturbing is that, Dr. Afrasheem is being politically stabbed in his grave not only by his enemies but also by his so called “friends”.

Written by: Ali Assad

Is President Nasheed a friend or foe of Israel?

Let’s dive in and see the famous Island President for what he truly believes in based on facts and facts only.

Maldives and Israel first established diplomatic relations in 1965, the year in which Maldives gained independence and joined United Nations. Many countries were opposed to such a small nation joining the UN and it is widely believed that Maldives made a symbiotic diplomatic deal with Israel for acceptance in the UN. Israel was the third state to recognize the Muslim island nation and its ambassador was the first to present his credentials.

However, after the Arab-Israel war of 1973, Maldives suspended diplomatic relations with Israel in 1974.

Following Israel's recognition of and entering into negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), their relationship with Maldives can be best described as unofficially cordial-at the best of times, from around 1993 onward.

After 35 years’ ties improved again; the 2008 government of Mohamed Nasheed started maintaining a healthy relationship of appreciation and friendship with Israel.

In 2009, diplomatic ties with Israel were established again and in May 2011, the Maldives’ then-foreign minister, Kerefa Ahmed Naseem (Nasheed’s uncle), became the nation’s first top official to visit Israel. During his four-day stay he met with President Shimon Peres and then-foreign minister Avigdor Liberman, laid a wreath at Yad Vashem and visited other sites throughout Israel.

During Nasheed’s short term in office, the two states signed three agreements in the fields of health, tourism and education.

A delegation of eye doctors from the Israeli humanitarian aid organization Eye from Zion visited the Maldives and performed eye operations. Israeli tourists were now able to visit the Maldives without a visa. Nasheed even tried to facilitate direct transfer of Israeli flights to Maldives which were halted largely due to opposition from the general public, who had negative sentiments towards an unexpectedly hurried, suspiciously over friendly relation with Israel, while the Palestine situation was deteriorating.

Nasheed’s friendship with Israel became so strong that he betrayed Palestinians in the UNESCO vote to admit Palestine. It was rumored by Maldivian opposition that USD900 million payment was agreed with Nasheed for the vote sale and subsequent unconditional support of Israel.

All this changed, when pro-Israel stance Nasheed was replaced by Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik in 2012. An independent inquiry commission report into the resignation of Nasheed rejected the allegations of coup.

In stark contrast to Nasheed’s uncle Kerefa Naseem’s visit to Israel, President Mohammed Waheed Hassan’s four-day visit included trips to Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and laid a wreath at the grave of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He skipped visiting Israel altogether.

To the present day, the atmosphere remains as nothing more than “plain diplomatic relations”.

So why did President Nasheed call for Jihad against Israel?

The answer lies in the 2014 Gaza war, also known as Operation Protective Edge and local Maldivian sentiments of a 100% Muslim nation.

The predominant view or belief in Maldives is that Israel must lift the siege in Gaza and accept a two-state solution. The versions that Israel is “defending” itself against stone throwing Palestinians using state of the art sophisticated military weapons is not digested well locally within Maldivians.

To please the masses, Nasheed’s first tweet on 9 July 2014 condemned Israel - “I call on Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza. Both sides must work for peace, a two-state solution & credible Palestinian state”.

Maybe due to backlash from Western friends and the United States, the tone in Nasheed tweet changed the very next day. It was very diplomatic and balanced, denouncing violence from both sides - “All human rights defenders must raise their voice against the indiscriminate killings in Gaza.”

From the experience of the first tweet on the subject, a far more enlightened Nasheed was clever to use the Maldivian language Dhivehi as a smoke screen to fool internationally the Israelis and the West, while generating support from the local masses. The same day the tweet in Dhivehi was a far cry to the one in English.

Translation of Nasheed’s second tweet on the same day on 10 July 2014: “I request the people of Maldives to raise their voice against Israel, for the crimes against humanity conducted by Israel in Gaza.”

As the war progressed and the calls for peace reverberated, so did the ferocity of Nasheed’s local rants and tweets conducted safely in Dhivehi, even calling on the Maldivian National Defence Force to wage war against Israel. With the new-found courage in the protection of the language barrier camouflage, his tweets climaxed by calling his political party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members for Jihad against Israel.

Translation of Nasheed's tweet on 13 July 2014: “In 1943, 12 Maldivians went to defend Ceylon. Today there is no reason why an MNDF squad should not be sent to Gaza. MDP is ready to go.”

Translation of Nasheed's next tweet on the subject on 17 July 2014: “The current (President Yameen’s) government cannot care for Gaza. I request for volunteers from MDP, who must be the first to recruit “Human Shields” and arrange to send to Gaza.”

The so-called friend of Israel even rallied to boycott Israeli goods and stop Israeli tourists visiting Maldives.

Translation of the final tweet on the subject on 29 July 2014: “The current (President Yameen’s) government has lied to its people, saying that they have stopped trade with Israel. Israeli tourists are coming to Maldives.”

Clearly Nasheed is neither a friend or foe of Israel and even though he looks beautiful in his democracy makeup, he is nothing more than just a political prostitute.

A Westerner new in Maldivian politics might get deceived by Nasheed’s web of lies that Islamist radical elements within President Yameen’s government is waging war against Israel and the West. The reality is that the so called “radical Islamists party” claimed by Nasheed, the Adhaalath Party came to power in coalition with Nasheed in 2008. And what’s more, they are currently in a coalition with Nasheed to topple Yameen off his office.

President Nasheed is a vulture disguised as a white dove, circling the political arena, scavenging for wealth and power.

Why is still US Foreign Policy DICTATED by a celebrity?

Amal Alamuddin Clooney has been twirling her fingers around US foreign policy in Maldives.

Like most human rights activists’ wildest dreams, Amal’s resume reads working for the UN, defending ambassadors and heads of states.

The term “human rights lawyer” is sometimes misunderstood by the general public to mean an “angel.” Her list of clients whose human rights violations make it clear that she is their defense lawyer, not prosecutor. Questionable characters like the King of Bahrain, Abdullah al Senussi and Mohamed Nasheed, shadows her illusion of an innocent image.

She served as Bahraini King Hasan bin Isa al Khalifa’s legal advisor. Yet in this context, Alamuddin worked not on behalf of the violated but the violator, advising the King on human rights, presumably in order to absolve him of as much responsibility as possible, as any good defense lawyer does. Bahraini security services are accused of crushing the 2011 Bahraini protesters using excessive force, killing many civilians, and wounding and jailing thousands. The Bassiouni Commission itself found that people had been tortured to death in police custody.

Abdullah al Senussi, another one of Clooney’s clients, served as Muammar Gaddafi’s intelligence chief and was captured in Libya in 2011. The International Criminal Court charged him with crimes against humanity in 2011 for his role in Gaddafi’s brutal government as well as the Lockerbie bombing.

In Maldives, she chose to defend the democracy advocate turned dictator President Mohamed Nasheed. Notorious for his human rights violations. Literary speaking Nasheed’s 3 years’ reign of atrocities is far worse than the 30-year authoritarian rule of President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. Corruption, suppression of press, arbitrary arrests, arbitrary detention, kidnapping and crackdown on protesters peaked during Nasheed’s regime. Not to mention his coalition partner Adhaalath Party or more popularly known as the Islamist Party. During Nasheed’s Presidency they were given the Islamic Affairs Ministry and a say within the Education Ministry! The radical indoctrination that went to schools and mosques were the same! From a fatwa by Islamic Ministry, one cannot hold any party or concert in Male’ during Nasheed’s tenure! The result was very obvious, radicalization of the youth in the Maldives. The current administration had to deal with the consequences of his blunder. And who is putting the blame on the current government of radicalization of the youth? Non-other than Ms. Clooney. What a travesty!

Amal stepped into the limelight when she became involved with superstar actor and famous bachelor George Clooney. The couple was married in Venice, Italy, in September 2014 and shortly thereafter moved to a multimillion dollar estate built on a small island in the Thames in London

What makes a great Human Rights activists? Wearing a £925 red Dolce & Gabbana dress, a £625 Jimmy Choo bag on the hand and huge sunglasses worth more than the annual income of a poor family.

The UN’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council announced that Amal would serve on a three-member commission of inquiry looking into possible violations of the rules of war during the Israeli offensive against Hamas. But hours later Clooney’s Hollywood agent, issued a statement on Amal’s behalf saying she had declined the post because she was too busy.

Amal Clooney looked as though she was strolling on the Red Carpet of a Hollywood event rather than on her way to meet a jailed convict Nasheed, when she arrived in Maldives. Maldivian government allowed and bend rules for Amal to visit Nasheed, though foreign lawyers have to be registered in Maldives to advocate. She didn’t had the decency to even acknowledge the security and usual Maldivian hospitality that was extended to her, instead, she accused that Nasheed’s conversations were ‘tapped’ in his prison, that was the best she could come up with. She failed to share that Nasheed was kept in a 2-bedroom apartment with his own garden, 20 meters away from the beach!

Of course, there are plenty of clever lawyers out there, many with considerably more impressive human rights records than Amal Clooney, but they are not married to a Hollywood heart-throb called George Clooney, hence, the fees she commands on such work is in millions.

The only reason Amal gets high-profile cases is because of the publicity to their case, as she is married to George Clooney. It is nothing more than an advertising gimmick. Lets not talk about the undisclosed ‘fee’ Ms. Clooney received from Nasheed for her work.

Therefore, it is high time that people like the US Ambassador to Maldives, Atul Keshap to stop releasing Hollywood style stories fed by a celebrity. The time has come to premier a balanced report based on actual facts on the ground rather than releasing fiction. One can understand why US Ambassador to Maldives wants to take snaps with Amal Alamuddin Clooney. But I wonder how the new US President Trump would see it. President Trump came on a platform to free US foreign policies from these celebrities endorsed views. President Trump wants to remove the lobbyists dictating US foreign policies. But the sad reality is that some are still stuck with their old habits.