Internet and GodTV are not imported through Customs
Posted By HilathThere is a reason why one of my acquaintances in Dhiraagu has a pet name for Maldives – Seykustan – literally meaning Land of the Insane.
I also suspect that Seykustan also stands for the Land of Sheikhs who are talking nonsense and eroding the sanity of Maldivians.
For instance, take a look at this Dhivehi language article in Haveeru which concerns the controversy over Airtel.
The question was why satellite TV should be banned while allowing the Internet because the Internet is a far more open source of multi-religious and pornographic information.
Apparently some sheikhs at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs think since Internet is not an equipment that can be imported through Customs, there is no way to ban it!
One wonders whether someone somewhere along the way got confused what “Airtel” meant. Airtel and Internet are no different as far as they are concerned as mediums. Both of them are not some sort of equipment that are imported through Customs. But the sheikhs failed to distinguish between Airtel as a medium and its receivers, the satellite dishes and decoders, as equipment. They just went on to claim that Airtel can be banned because its equipment is imported through Customs.
My argument is, just like Airtel, can’t the equipment to access the Internet – computers and modems – as they are still imported through Customs be banned?
In fact, a commentator calling him/herself “Kattafulhi” commented to the Haveeru article questioning the “logic” behind this insane reasoning by the Islamic Ministry!
So when someone begins to mumble such nonsense, it can only mean one thing: the justification and rationalization of double standards and hypocrisy.
In this day and age where information access cannot be prevented, unless one chooses to lock himself in a cave shut out from the rest of the world, the government should realize that when it is obliged to protect freedom of access to information, it cannot discriminate between what it wants the people to access and what it doesn’t want the people to access. Parents should decide what their children should get access to, and as adults, people should have the right to decide what they want to watch and what beliefs they want to have. One can never change another one’s heart and mind for that is his private domain over which he rules supreme.
Every nation has a sovereign right to control the contents that its citizens are exposed. Also it is an obligation of the government to prevent its citizens from harmful content.
Having said that, what Islamic Ministry has done is not right either. They should address the broader issue of moral corruption and banning the Airtel dish is clearly not the whole story. Its like calling for the ban of cameras for fear that nude photos could be taken.
About your friend from Dhiraagu, who seems to to imply the technological superiority over national interests is also one of the people I would brand as a citizen of Seyku kingdom.
Technology should be used as a positive force, and same is true for religion. In a way they are similar. Both technology and religion are tools capable of great evil and potential for immeasurable good.
Thus being a nerd (tech fundamentalist) is no better than a usual one.
MOIA’s stand on this is stupid…
which maldivian will go on to GODtv to learn about christianity???
i mean nobody wants to watch a channel all about religion!!
It is through Hindi dramas and English movie and through these entertainment stuff people gets attracted to religion!! Not through a stupid GODtv…i bet it has Qtv which is all about Quran but nobody watches that either…
I think MOIA should ban all movie channels, then ban ban ban ban a=ban ban ban and ban!!! what the hell!! STOP this stupidity NOW!!!
I think you said it best. I’m not sure what the whole debate is over, but Government should not place sanctions on knowledge.
Why are they trying to ban TV? In the US, our TV is much much safer for children than the internet. No child molesters can talk to children through television.
I hope DJ Majeed never hears of phone sex hotlines.
WOn’t that set us back to pre-Graham Bell days? :p
this would probably be a hush-hush agenda by medianet. our almighty dr.majeed was once tempted to abandon his stand on music for gasim’s pockets, and now i wonder how many few thousand $s medianet is willing to pay him
and that stupid press secretary,
doesn’t he know that there is a telecommunication authority in Maldives, when it comes to blocking internet, which might be listed under majeed’s spiritual products directory, if not ‘maadhdhee gothun ethere nukurevey thakethi’, like on haveeru article. extreme level of foolish reasoning
Most of the drug dealing negotiations take place in coffee shops.So should they be banned?
All drug dealings are also negotiated thru telephone.So ban the use of phone?
Young girls in Arabiyya use paper to write their love notes to the boyfriends. Should paper be banned?.