November 10, 2007

'We Can't Afford To Look Back 1,400 Years'

Six weeks ago, terror struck the archipelago nation of the Maldives, a popular tourist resort nation comprising hundreds of islands in the Indian Ocean. A bombing attack and a riot involving radical Islamists in the same week have put this sleepy, hospitable, moderate Muslim nation on the front lines of the war on terror, and they are not at all happy about it. They face the loss of their standard of living if the radical Islamists succeed in pushing the Maldives back to the 7th century:

On Sept. 29, the two faces of the Maldives collided when a homemade bomb exploded in a park in the capital, Male, wounding 12 tourists, threatening the critical resort industry and sending the clear message that even this remote corner of paradise is not immune to terrorism.

The attack, and a bloody confrontation days later between police and masked Islamic extremists armed with harpoons, stunned this Indian Ocean nation and threatened its careful effort to balance its traditionally moderate Islamic heritage with liberal Western values.

The government reacted swiftly to crush the fundamentalist movement that had risen amid the palm trees and crystal blue waters of its 1,190 coral islands. Authorities banned the veil, arrested scores of suspected extremists, sealed underground mosques and promised a crackdown on radical preachers.

"We are not taking chances," Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed said.

So far, the violence has not frightened off the tourists, who account for one-third of the economy, he said. But "if there is another attack, then we just close tourism here. And we can't afford that," he said.

Using the tourist industry, the Maldives has become the most economically successful nation in South Asia. Its location lends itself to resort hotels, tour companies, and relaxation, and the citizens of the Maldives reap the benefits of global trade. It allows citizens to have their children educated abroad, giving them the hope of an even more productive future.

That, unfortunately, is part of the problem. While some of the students go to Europe and Australia for their intellectual pursuits, others go to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to study at the madrassas that preach hatred and separation. Combined with new access to the Internet, the reach of the radical Islamists has grown strong in the Maldives and threatens to become a new base of operations for al-Qaeda affiliates in the Indian Ocean area.

Study abroad isn't the entire problem, either. The 2004 tsunami hit the Maldives hard, and it prompted a turn towards fundamentalist religious practice. Also, unemployment has been a big problem for young adults in the Maldives despite the economy, and the lack of jobs allows for radicalism to breed among the bored and frustrated young men.

Government officials have started taking this more seriously since the September 29th bombing and the subsequent riot. The Maldives had long banned headscarves for women but rarely enforced it. Now they have begun to get tough on signs of radical Islamism, including headscarves, at the same time that the Islamists have targeted men without beards. The Maldives also announced efforts to fund moderate Muslim mosques and imams to counter the messages of hate coming from the Islamists, hoping to push them out of the marketplace of ideas. Government ministries have ordered the press to stop celebrating jihadists and suicide bombers. The last attack did not kill anyone, but the government recognizes that the next one might kill many -- and they want to stop radicalism before it gets further out of hand.

Will this help or hurt? The Maldives has long promised democratic reforms, yet Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has remained president for almost 30 years. With over 40% of its population below the age of 14, the opportunity for radicalism looks very high, and if the government cannot move away from authoritarian rule, it makes it even higher. The Maldives needs to put some thought into transforming itself into a nation where radicalism finds no purchase because its people have no need of it.

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