Maldive’s environment minister jailed for being a witch

Maldives Minister Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, was suspended and arrested along with her two siblings on charges of performing witchcraft on the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu. Where are the feminists and Greta Thunberg when we need them?

The Maldives, in the news recently for its refusal to accept Israeli Jews as tourists to its series of sinking islands southwest of India, has suspended its environment minister on accusations of black magic.

According to local news sources, the Maldives Minister Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem was suspended and arrested along with her two siblings on charges of performing witchcraft and black magic on the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu.

Shamnaz, who was a state minister at the Ministry of Environment, was arrested on June 23.

Maldives, a Muslim majority nation, does not allow non-Muslims to become citizens. It is a great destination for halal-observant Muslims, but may be intolerant to “others” ways of life. Wearing bikinis on a public beach is forbidden and tourists are only allowed to wear swimwear in tourist-only beaches, making one wonder what is an Apartheid state these days, when the term is thrown around so loosely against democratic nations that it’s now cringe.

We could not confirm what kinds of witch-craftery Minister Fathimath has performed. But the nation is 100% intolerant to the rich history of the island which included Buddhism and Hindu traditions of the past. Believing in any other tradition may have you imprisoned for years. 

Islam, also has a place for its own version of sorcery in the name of jinns, or genies, as it is known in children’s books of today. We have a rich archive on jinns on Green Prophet. The original home of the jinns is believed to be in Afghanistan. Learn here why jinns are not even close to being the Disney characters portrayed. Here is an article on the connection between magic and witchcraft in Islam.

Some of the practices we are seeing today in some Muslim nations reminds us of the Inquisitions, forced conversions and “burn the witch” problems of Europe hundreds of years ago.

In environment news from the past, the sinking nation of islands doesn’t have a great track record for its environmental stewardship. This floating hotel for instance sends the wrong message about climate change.

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