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Hani Amir 14/6/16 Hani Amir 14/6/16

Translations of comments from Maldivians regarding the Orlando nightclub shootings

Below are some of the comments that Maldivians posted in regards to the Orlando nightclub shooting of 2016. Translating them was an exhausting process, but I feel like it is necessary, since a lot of these sentiments are expressed in Dhivehi - a language that very few people speak and is thus very globally inaccessible. If these are the thoughts of Maldivians in regard to these horrific incidents abroad, just imagine for a moment what ill feelings they must harbour towards LGBT people from their own community. This is of course not a scientific survey or research of Maldivian attitudes and shouldn't be used or regarded as such. It is simply an insight into one of the uglier sides of Maldivian society that many non-Dhivehi speakers rarely get to see.

Article 01 - Vaguthu - Gay Night Club akah Hamaalaadhee 50 Meehun Maraalaifi

Translation of the title: "A gay nightclub has been attacked, 50 people have been killed"

Link to Facebook comments thread

"It's not a crime to write that it is a club where people have same sex relations [e jinsun gulun hingaa] or are gay [firihen kuli: literally male-play]"

"If I were to lay hands on such a person in the Maldives the person who would be at fault is me. I'll be the one who has to go to jail. These are people who should most definitely have their throats cut."

"So 50 less gays"

"What happened is good. Why just 50 people, we should kill everyone that's there. Still try to be play naseebu kulhi[gay? naseebu kuhli: literally luck-play]"

"This is the most joyous news that I have received so far this year.."

Ahmed Mauroof: "Alhamdhulilah [Praise Allah]"

Aiman: "You can't say praise Allah"

Aiman: "You should live like the prophet, you shouldn't say praise Allah when something like this happens."

Ahmed Mauroof: "Did Muslims express sorrow while Sodom was being tipped over Aiman?"

Abu Zainab: "You're sure being a know it all, what am I supposed to say when I catch you in the act being gay?"

Ahmed Mauroof: "What can you say now Aiman?"

Aiman: "Did the person who attacked the club did what he did because he received some commandment?"

Aiman: "Does the Quran say that people should be killed in such a way?"

Ahmed Mauroof: "Does the Quran say that people who have sex out of wedlock (ziney) should be stoned to death?"

Ahmed Mauroof: "They were doing something that was even worse than ziney."

"Only now are they doing what should be done"

Hussaine De' Frank: "Don't have any other news of this calibre vaguthu(?)"

Rangalhu means "good" in Dhivehi

Saabas means "great" or "great job"

Vir Aasha: "That much is still not enough" [Thivaru: literally "that much", madhu: literally "not enough"]

No need for translations there!

Article 02 - Channel News Maldives - Americage night club ah dhin terrorist hamala sarukaarun kuvveri kohffi

Translation of the title: The government has condemned the terrorist attack on the American nightclub

Link to Facebook comments thread

"Not a night club. A gay night club... Wake up people! Allah's wrath takes many forms. We should view this as a form of wrath and try to save our own country!!!!!"

"Dhunya doesn't update her twitter when Muslim brothers and sisters are slaughtered every day in Syria and Palestine. All (that she could) do was cut ties with Iran!"

This is really jumbled so I will just translate the sentence section by section, with each section signified with a "/"

"When hundreds of Muslims are being slaughtered each day / where people you cannot condemn, the children of pigs [ooru] and monkeys [makunu] are doing filthy acts [najis: literally - excrement, amalu: literally - acts] / it will truly be a big deal for the infidels"

"When a Muslim attacks a place he is called a terrorist / when a Christian State [Solib: christian cross] destroys and demolishes a Muslim country without any justification it's not (seen as) terrorism. On what day will the Muslim ummah wake up from this ignorance(?)"

Jau Live: "Gay night clubs should be eradicated"

Ahyoo Bin Abdul Majyd: "(is it) only gay nightclubs that should be eradicated..."

Jau Live: "Nope, the other night clubs should be eradicated as well"

"You should tell us what kind of night club it was that the Maldivian government condemned the attack on CNM"

"May Allah wrath fall upon the tourist resorts as well. The trade of alcohol is something that is forbidden in the religion of Islam. The aura of women as well."

"They cannot condemn it when the Muslims of the world are being killed. They've condemned the attack on the gays. The person leading us is an irreligious gay."

"The higher ups in government are people that have made a habit of visiting that place.."

"Once democracy [referred to here as "DemoCraxy"] is ripe and ready in the Maldives these gay rights will even come to the Maldives"

Article 03 - Vaguthu - Gay Night Club ah Dhin Hamalaa ge Zinmaa IS in Ufuli iru, Dhivehi Sarukaarun e Hamalaa Kuhverikohfi

Translation of title: "IS has taken responsibility for the attack on the gay nightclub, the Maldivian government has condemned that attack"

Link to Facebook comments thread

Hassan Mifsil: "The Maldivian government is very concerned about attacks on gay people and night clubs.. But they do not condemn the attacks on Muslims at all... We are truly on the path of irreligiousness"

Ahmed Aiman: "We don't necessarily have to attack gay people. In Islam things must be carried out by a court. Not by a court of the streets like how ISIS does"

Hudhy: "From the courts... really? Wow"

Irushaven Vienna: "Dude they have gay rights, so what court is going to convict them. In the religion of Islam what gay people have is death. When we get the sweet taste of Democracy I'm sure [Yageen: literally - "for sure"; referring to President Yameen whose campaign slogan was "Yageen"] those rights will come here too"

Ahmed Aiman: "I'm saying even if it is ISIS they should do things according to Islamic jurisprudence. Islam doesn't have the death penalty for gay people. The punishment for anal sex is the same as that for sex out of wedlock."

Hassan Mifsil: "Do you know the verdict for gay people in Islam while you do all this talk about ISIS Aiman? 'To be dropped from a great height and be killed by stoning'. You might hear ISIS doing these things, but when they do people say where are the human rights... So when that day comes you'll know about human rights, on that day you'll know about these courts too."

Abu Saadh: "Aiman are you looking at Islamic verdicts from the grade 7 Islamic studies book? Here is the verdict for people who commit homosexual acts

[english text]

From the companions Abubakar and Ali killed these people by burning them. Other companions killed them by dropping them from great heights. Remember that there will come a day when you will have to answer for this, babbling on about ISIS and Islamic principles without knowing anything"

Irushavin Vienna: "Aiman supports Bashar and Putin, what religion with Aiman know?"

Ahmed Aiman: "Even if they are great sinners, if they are killed outside of the prescribed system, then there are punishments in Islam. What we're seeing here is people who are supporting extra-judicial killings. You'll have such thoughts if you're self obsessed. You'll think what you think yourself is the best way. You aren't the only people who inhabit this world."

Ahmed Aiman: "Look, Abu Sadhaa, those are all lies"

Mohamed Adhil: "A survey conducted by America in 2005 showed that 40% of the world population is bisexual, lesbian, or gay, so I feel like we should eradicate 40% of the world population" [I have no idea whether this guy is being sarcastic or not]

Baaji Bajiya: "It'll be good if there were an attack in the Maldives"

Hassan Mifsil: "I do not wish to attack anyone."

"All of those kinds of clubs should be blown up, much congratulations and encouragement for the people who are responsible"

"It's just 50 gay... they should be lowering their country's flag... Because of 50 gays 100 million muslims should be taken out. The middleeast will have to welcome. Ask why our country recognises Israel. Yet we are with Palestinians. What I'm trying to say is, even though they do agreements in secret, their day is coming as well. "Ooh aaaai alhee...hmmm" gay fans be like" [with the last sentence he is emulating the 'sissy' sounds made by stereotypical depictions of gay people in Maldivian media]

"The fact that the Maldivian government has condemned this means that not only is the government full of thieves, it is also full of gay men."

"Because he Maldivian government has sent out their sympathies to express sorrow about these gay men dying, everyone called Ali Hameed should lower their underwear around their knees for three days starting today" [Ali Hameed is a judge who is allegedly seen on a sex tape having sex with prostitutes in Sri Lanka. His big white underwear became a symbol of the governments corruption and hypocrisy among many different factions of the opposition]

"They didn't dare condemn the attacks on Syria but they dare to condemn this? This is so gay"

"Obama sure has seen the terrorist... So the people killing, raping and doing whatever they please to Muslim children and women aren't terrorists"

"Great (work) Maldivian government! You sure are something. You're saying yes to the gay men..."

"Write the news... but don't have pictures of two men hugging.. or any other gays"

Ahmed Sobaah: "Seems like our leader is one of those people too."

Eeshaluyoon Binth Axmy: "Jeez this is just like those PPM sissies.. PPM is full of these kinds of people.. Laugh and applaud"

Nuss Mohamed: "The Maldivian government is gay too"

Amm Dhy: "Look, President Yameen is a gay too"

"Dhunya [the current Minister of Foreign Affairs], from the way she looks, doesn't look like a woman. She looks like a gay man".

"Gross, still keep saying that this is a 100% Muslim country"

"We've come to see that this is a government that allows for everything that Allah has made sin. May Allah grant us a leader who loves the religion of Islam and who will implement Islamic Shariah, amen".

And that's just about as much as I can be bothered to translate! Just think about how a person from a Maldivian minority feels reading these comments. Think about the fear they will feel when they see how little support they really have. It is also interesting to note how much flack the government has gotten for simply releasing a statement condemning the attacks. Their lack of support or protections in the Maldives itself shows that it is just some PR, but the negative reaction to even that small gesture illustrates just how far human rights and public understanding of these issues has got to go in the Maldives.

Maldivians freak out over harmless gesture from Maldivian Idol contestant

The recent launch of the Maldivian version of the hit "Idol" format by TVM is one of the most significant events in Maldivian TV history. The show is by no means perfect, but it is one of the first times that Maldivians from all over the country have had a platform to show their talents. It is inspiring to see the joy on the faces of contestants who make the cut. Part of its purpose also seems to be to give the impression that the Maldives is a lot more progressive than it actually is. Probably a move by the Yameen administration to improve it's image abroad. Whatever the case, the show is commendable for sticking to it's progressive values. Predictably the backlash from the conservative crowd has already begun, with many calling to boycott the show for being "laadheenee" or irrelgious and "against Islam".

Conservative rag Vaguthu, which was formerly known as MV Youth before multiple scandals involving their "journalists" stalking individuals forced them to "rebrand", was quick to run an article to add fuel to the flames.

First of all this guys writing is terrible. Each paragraph, while not technically wrong, is just one long convoluted sentence without a comma in sight. Translating this is going to be annoying.

Translation:

The national TV (broadcaster?) which is is PSM, whose channel is TVM, which is currently airing "Maldivian Idol"...

Ok screw this guys writing. All you need to know is how he described the gesture as "how the idol worshipers greet one another".

It then goes into the "opinions" of people who have apparently commented on the photo while it was being circulated on "social media". The first of these upstanding citizens says that the fact that the show was not aired live begs the question of why such "images that the Dhivehi community would not approve of" were not edited out in the final product. Clearly a conspiracy is afoot!

The second person simply says "this is a very laadheenee image". How insightful!

The third directs his ire towards the government and says that this is "[something] laadheenee done by the dheenee (religious) government".

A fourth asks whether people think about what they are doing when they support such blasphemy that is "against the religion". He then says something kind of incoherent about music and singing being sinful before calling on people to be fearful of god.

Our amazing journalist ends the article by saying that even people that watch the show regularly have criticized the image.

Of course the comments section was in full agreement, with most people bemoaning the sheer blasphemy of the act. Below are the five comments with the most "likes". They show great insight into the clash between the progressive ideals of the show vs the conservatism that is still very much a part of day to day Maldivian life.

Gainee:

So it's okay when Unoosha hugs unmarried men (hiley firihenun, literally: free men)?

Vestu:

Woe (halaaku, literally: break, destruction) to Unoosha!

Gah'barey:

Maldivian idol... Dhivehi statue (budhu, literally: idol, statue, figure)
Next they'll construct a Maldivian temple.
Show like this will be held by sinful faajirun (I don't know what this last word means, probably something like malicious blasphemous bastard).

Maldivian Idiot:

What idiot are you holding(/airing/organizing - it is difficult to properly translate this first sentence)? Just a bunch of people who don't know what to do! If you have to go to Male' for a Quran competition the parents will say that they have no money and no place to stay. When it comes to participating in this, they suddenly have the money to make their kids to whatever they want. These Dhivehin want to leave their religion for the pleasures and merriment of this world. Anni said to have fun without fear. The people who said that statement was bad are now doing the same thing. Because he'll get asked about democracy when he's in the grave, right now Anni is busy in Europe ripening/developing democracy. What a kingdom this is. Idiots.

Maree:

There's nothing good about this idol of which you speak. Just loss and destruction.

Aal:

I call on the Islamic Ministry to ban such vile things.

It will be interesting to see how the producers react to this growing negativity as the show progresses. The scale of the show means that this might be one of the first times where the silent and often hypocritical moderates are forced into confronting the ideals of their conservative counterparts.

The whole show can be watched via YouTube. It's worth watching for the great mini-documentaries on contestants alone. This format might be overdone in other places around the world, but for the Maldives it is a first. Anything that will help the country and it's people rise out of the sludge of conservatism and close mindedness is worthy of praise. I highly recommend it.

Hani Amir 22/7/15 Hani Amir 22/7/15

A Maldivian MP removes her hijab, and the whole country predictably freaks out

As always the reality of “Islam” or any ideology for that matter, depends on the framework within which you are practicing that ideology. If you are practicing in a largely secular country, with freedom of consciousness and all that jazz, chances are, you will probably craft your own version of Islam that is quite progressive. A version where the hijab becomes a “choice” and a symbol. If you are from the Maldives however, the reality of this “choice” being not a choice at all is made apparent from how society reacts to someone removing the hijab. A choice can only truly be a choice if it goes both ways, and the Maldivian social contract is most certainly not a two way street. This is paralleled in the Maldivian constitution and mindset where everyone is “born Muslim” but no one is allowed to leave. It's 2015 and people still love claiming that the Maldives is "100%" Muslim.

Below are the 10 top rated comments on a post made by Channel News Maldives facebook page. I simply waited 24hrs and let facebook decide what was “top” or not according to their algorithms. I kept the focus narrow for my sanity as there are more than 240 comments on it already at the time of writing; the majority of which is hateful nonsense. I think these comments, the support they have garnered, and the fact that a woman’s “personal choice” is somehow worthy of making national headlines, largely speak for themselves in terms of whether or not the hijab is a “choice” in Muslim majority countries such as the Maldives; where the garment even seems to take priority over medical conditions.

At first I wasn't going to censor the names of these people, since they are so public in their bullying, but I've decided against it. I will instead censor their names as ugly and messily as possible. That will be the extent of my self inflicted bad taste.

1.

Translation: “If you believe you will get salvation/treatment/better from doing what is forbidden by Allah, then you have reason to reflect upon/revise your faith.”

2.

Translation:

Person One: “Can you say that on the day of questioning??? That the doctor told you to take of the hijab(burugaa)?? That you started wearing a bikini because the doctor told you??”

Person Two: “That is a great point Adam Shahydhoo.”

3.

Translation:

Person One: “Asmaa, why don’t you just stop wearing clothes, is it because of the doctor that you took it off (to do something new).”

Person Two: “Yeah that will make the doctor much happier eh?”

4.

5.

Translation: “(I) don't know why this should be news.”

6.

Translation: “She just claimed it was religion of the ideology of Zaeem (Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom) and wore it to get elected to her parliament seat. However (she) only does whatever she does in name only. Previously Zaeem had said he’s a religious person and bragged and boasted about it loudly. Now what.”

7.

Translation: “It’s lucky (she) wasn’t ordered to take off her clothes.”

8.

Translation: “Look, even if you did take of the hijab, if you aren’t outdoors 24hrs a day, why don’t you just wear it when you go outside? If you feel discomfort after you cover yourself for even such a tiny amount of time, can’t you wait when you’re outside for a small amount of time? You sound like you feel crazy for putting it on when you say stuff like that.”

9.

Translation: “A higher authority than the doctor has commanded (the hijab) because no harm can come from it to women.”

10.

Translation: “The authority that gives one illness is also the authority who will take it away… This is not related to the hijab… May Allah grant Asma sound thinking.. Amen.”

Because just ONE comment from the entire top 10 questioning the news worthiness of the article is kind of depressing, here is a bonus from further down the thread that sincerely asks people to leave her alone (using religious justification that still makes the hijab obligatory, but its still better than nothing). If for nothing else, it's useful to illustrate how they immediately get shut down.