The Maldives is probably one of the most faithful supporters of Palestine, and our relationship with the people of Palestine goes beyond diplomacy. Maldivians see Palestinians as their ‘Muslim brothers and sisters’ and as long as I can remember there has always been a prayer for the people of Palestine included in our Friday sermons. We have vowed to ‘stand shoulder to shoulder with Palestine’ in its bid to gain full membership at the UN and it would not be an exaggeration to say that our loyalty to Palestine has become part of our national psyche. Similar to the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’, we seem to believe that there is a ‘special relationship’ between the Maldives and Palestine based on brotherhood, respect and just cause.
A good friend of mine, who is also a prominent Palestinian activist, was pleasantly surprised to hear about the love and prayers Maldivians have been sending to Palestinians for decades, all the way from our tiny islands. But little does she know how our relationship in support of Palestine plays a crucial role in Maldivian politics, or that in our land, the Arab-Israel conflict is used as a tool to rile up emotions by politicians and religious scholars. My worry is that little do we know that our love for Palestine is inadvertently crossing into racism at times.
More recently the term anti-Semitic (hatred of Jews) has been used in association with our country and I find this extremely shameful. This association is mainly due to the folly of our politicians and the actions of religious fundamentalists in the Maldives, in their drive to gain moral authority over each other. But the fact that our name is written in the same sentence as anti-Semitism today is a disgrace and begs the important question, are Maldivians really anti-Semitic? After much thinking, my answer to this question is no. There is recent evidence to counter my answer, but I believe Maldivians are essentially not anti-Semitic. Ignorant and misinformed some of us may be, but we are not as a nation anti-Semitic. When I say this I am not speaking on behalf of the minority of brainwashed religious mullahs in the Maldives, but on behalf of ordinary Maldivians. If I ask my mother what her views of Israel are, she would say that she hates Israel for the suffering of Palestinians. This answer stems from a longstanding loyalty to Palestinians and Muslims and not because of a deep-entrenched hatred of Jews.
Dislike of Israel is not equal to anti-Semitism; people are allowed to scrutinize and dislike the state of Israel for the countless atrocities they have committed against the people of Palestine, and many western organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are critical of Israeli war crimes and discrimination against Palestinians. Since 2003 the UN has passed 232 resolutions with respect to Israel, of which a large majority are very critical of Israel. Their criticism is not considered anti-Semitic. Equally, our continuous support of the Palestinian cause should not be considered anti-Semitic.
Having said that, how do we explain the common use of language such as ‘yahoodhi kaleyge’ when we insult a person, or our tolerance of anti-Jewish slurs by our religious scholars? If the country is being perceived as anti-Semitic because of the actions and words of some Maldivians, it is important that we ask ourselves why this is the case. Has our support for Palestinians unfortunately laid the foundations for hatred towards Israelis and Jews? If Maldivians have any anti-Jewish tendencies, it is because our religious upbringing required us to look at Jews differently using religious justifications, and because our education system limits us to knowledge of Islamic and Maldivian history. I am sure there are many Maldivians who to this day would not have heard of the Holocaust or the fact that not all Israelis are Jewish! I am tired of listening to rhetoric and sermons by political and religious morons who are incapable of understanding the difference between racism and diplomatic support for Palestine. We have tolerated the indoctrination of our children with subjective and wrongful interpretations of Islam by bigoted so-called religious scholars for too long!
After more than 50 years of conflict, today most people recognise that the state of Israel has a right to exist (even Yasser Arafat accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242 in 1988!) as much as Palestine. As a small nation state we need to remember that such conflicts are controlled by forces way beyond our influence and status, and the only thing we can do is support Palestine in spirit and by diplomatic means. But this support should not be on the basis of hating Jews. The Arab-Israeli conflict should not be a cause for us to degrade ourselves and be viewed as anti-Semitic. As importantly, it should not be cause for us to squabble mindlessly amongst ourselves over which party supports Palestine more!
Similar to Western countries that impose sanctions or halt all diplomatic ties where they find injustice and violence, many Muslim countries refuse to establish diplomatic ties with Israel because they find Israel ‘aggressive and oppressive’ in the Arab-Israel conflict. There are also some Muslim countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. Historically the Maldives has chosen to reject diplomatic ties with Israel but it does not mean it has to be this way forever. We should be able to discuss this issue in the Parliament or any forum as responsible citizens without resorting to racism. Whatever our government chooses to do, it should represent the views of the people and it certainly should not be a cause for conflict amongst ourselves.
I am a firm supporter of Palestine’s right to self-determination and have actively joined pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past, whilst some of the most wonderful people I have met abroad are Jewish. Having grown up in the Maldives, the experience of meeting people from various cultures, discussing this very conflict together with Palestinians and Jews and the exposure to a range of literature abroad have made me reassess my own preconceptions. I am sure the new generation of educated Maldivians have had similar experiences to my own and see the world through a different lens to the older generations. We should wholeheartedly support Palestine in every way, but we should do it the right way. If the chosen way of showing solidarity with Palestine is refusal to establish any diplomatic ties with Israel similar to the majority of Muslim countries, so be it. But neither religion nor a deep sense of loyalty to Palestine should be reason for us to preach and teach hatred towards any person of any faith, race and political affiliation. We are better than that.
Once again great piece and well articulated…enjoyed reading this one!
Your blog entry this time is very contradictory.
“we seem to believe that there is a ‘special relationship’ between the Maldives and Palestine based on brotherhood, respect and just cause.” followed in the next paragraphs by: “our love for Palestine is inadvertently crossing into racism at times.”
“extremely shameful. This association is mainly due to the folly of our politicians and the actions of religious fundamentalists in the Maldives, in their drive to gain moral authority over each other.” followed by: “are Maldivians really anti-Semitic? After much thinking, my answer to this question is no. ”
“When I say this I am not speaking on behalf of the minority of brainwashed religious mullahs in the Maldives, but on behalf of ordinary Maldivians. ” What factual basis do you have for this statement?
You say “If I ask my mother what her views of Israel are, she would say that she hates Israel”…not “disagrees with the policies”; not “opposes the views”; not “very critical of”; but HATES the nation state of the Jewish People. How is “hatred” not “anti-Semitism”?
“If Maldivians have any anti-Jewish tendencies, it is because our religious upbringing required us to look at Jews differently using religious justifications, and because our education system limits us to knowledge of Islamic and Maldivian history.” Is that not the very basis of anti-Semitism – to “look at Jews differently” (and certainly not in a good way)?
“We have tolerated the indoctrination of our children with subjective and wrongful interpretations of Islam by bigoted so-called religious scholars for too long!” Which explains “Whatever our government chooses to do, it should represent the views of the people “. Governments do not act in a vacuum. Your government IS representing the views of the “indoctrinated children” that have grown up and are indoctrinating the next generation. Ditto for “the new generation of educated Maldivians “.
“But neither religion nor a deep sense of loyalty to Palestine should be reason for us to preach and teach hatred towards any person of any faith, race and political affiliation.” And yet your mother, your people, and the government that represents them are doing exactly that.
Now I have some questions for you.
“Maldivians see Palestinians as their ‘Muslim brothers and sisters’ ” Why do you not include the Christian Palestinians?
“love for Palestine” Where, exactly, is this Palestine that you love?
“she hates Israel for the suffering of Palestinians.” Which “suffering” is Israel responsible for?
“today most people recognise that the state of Israel has a right to exist (even Yasser Arafat accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242 in 1988!)”
Would that that were true, but it is not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ERHWA1Hlo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoMKZaTxU&feature=related
“Israel ‘aggressive and oppressive’ in the Arab-Israel conflict. ”
Can you use your own words to illustrate Israel’s aggressivity and oppression?
“I am a firm supporter of Palestine’s right to self-determination”. Can you then explain why they did not take on or accept their “self-determination” in 1948; between 1948 and 1967; in 2000; in 2005; in 2006; in 2008; in 2009; today?
The history of the Maldives is complex – through a series of religious changes, political changes, now climactic changes. I have been to the Maldives several times – the first time in the early 1970′s, when the Islamic pressures and forces were little-noticed. Indeed, it was interesting that the Maldivian boat from which we went diving stored its equipment in a box which originated with, and had the markings of the Israel Defense Forces. In my latest visit, we found the people much less friendly and outgoing, taken up with their own existential problems, including the unfortunate but undeniable degradation of your beautiful oceans and dive sites by garbage and pollution. Do your people really need to make an enemy of the solitary nation state of the Jewish People, the country whose people have contributed so much to science, medicine, agriculture, hydrology, technology, all of which could benefit the people of the Maldives? Is it really in the interest of the Islamic Republic of the Maldives to boycott and sanction Israel?
Thank you for your comment. Your first two paragraphs about the post being contradictory does not make sense to me as you have collected sentences from different paragraphs, ignoring the flow of the argument.. I cannot make a factual claim when I say I am speaking on behalf of the majority of ordinary Maldivians, but I can draw upon the many years of experience of speaking to Maldivians and living in the Maldives to draw my conclusions about this issue. I continue to draw upon the evidence I see among Maldivians on a day to day basis on news outlets, social media, at cafe’s, at homes and forums etc. Based on this I stand by my view that Maldivians are not anti-Semitic. Frankly, ordinary Maldivians don’t go about in their everyday lives talking about the Arab-Israeli conflict or despising Jews. Our social upbringing does not revolve around hating Jews and the only time the question of ‘Israel-Maldives relations’ alights mainstream discussion is when there is political upheaval or change. You are right, governments do not act on their own and represent the people; and no one can claim that the Maldivian government is anti-Semitic just because they have rejected diplomatic ties with Israel.
The problem that I am trying to address in this post is that in the process of expressing support for Palestine ‘some’ people end up inadvertently using racist language. I admit that there are religious extremists that use racist language particularly in reference to Jews but these people do not represent the majority and are also not unique to the Maldives. By highlighting this problem, I hope to create more awareness. You seem to want to twist my words to prove that Maldivians are anti-Semitic – do you want us to be anti-Semitic?
You are right, hate is a strong word and I don’t think that was an appropriate word to use in reference to what could be my mother’s answer. Let’s just say she is not a fan of Israel.
Looking at Jews differently is not equal to anti-Semitism because looking at someone differently is not the same thing as hating someone as the Nazi’s did! Regardless, looking at Jews (or anyone else) differently is wrong and I am hoping for change as more and more people become educated and become aware of how wrong it is to judge and discriminate. Again the gist of the article is for people to reassess their preconceptions.
The same way Israel has common ground with Jews around the world based on religion, Maldivians see common ground with Palestinians based on Islam. Nothing wrong with that. I am really surprised you have not heard of the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza or West Bank! Examples – Blockade of Gaza which denies thousands of people basic necessities; the war crimes in Operation Cast Lead and the West Bank barrier which flouts almost every international law and denies basic freedoms to Palestinians. There are countless reports giving examples. I understand that the standard justification for all of this is ‘security’ for Israel but that doesn’t make the suffering less.
I gave the example of Yasser Arafat’s recognition of Israel in 1988 just to let my fellow Maldivians understand that even someone as revered as Arafat (Arafat is very well respected in the Maldives) did recognise Israel, so maybe it is time for the Maldives to reassess their views on Israel. Hamas, Fatah and Mahmud Abbas’s differing views are irrelevant to my argument – there is nothing Maldivians can do about that.
I support Palestine’s right to self-determination and perhaps its best to ask Palestinian authorities why they did not accept their self-determination as you claim in the years you stated. I don’t agree with your claim and there is more to it than Palestinians simply rejecting self-determination! I will ignore the question as there is too much for me to say here as a counter response to this claim. My post is not about the Arab-Israeli conflict but more about how Maldivians view their relationship with Palestine.
You are right we don’t need to make Israel our enemy and I personally support diplomacy. At the same time I cannot deny that Maldivians want to stand shoulder to shoulder with Palestine and currently there is division among our society over how we want to stand in solidarity with Palestine. I am hoping that people will begin to talk about this issue more openly and get rid of old age preconceptions about people different to them.
i agree endhimariyabu.. coz its time ppl start changing their views regarding ppl of other nations. We stand in this universe alone and its not beneficial for anyone to create hatred and be a hater.. like late mahathma gandi said “bura math sunna, buraa math bolna, buraa math karna” (translation: hear no wrong, say no wrong and do no wrong” coz violence and hatred is never the solution for any problem… i love this article