Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair condemned the opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) today for disseminating a "pamphlet of hate" containing vicious slurs against the government, as well as women, moderate Muslims, Christians and Jews.
The thirty page pamphlet was distributed by the DQP last week. It contains a litany of extremist, bigoted and hate-filled rhetoric aimed primarily at President Nasheed and his administration.
"There isn't a sentence in this pamphlet that isn't a slanderous lie against the government," said Press Secretary Zuhair.
"This is an official DQP pamphlet, colour printed and branded with their logo and contact details. It has clearly been sanctioned, and probably written, by senior party officials including leader Dr Hassan Saeed," said Zuhair.
"Dr Saeed and any member of his party associated with this disgraceful pamphlet should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves," added Zuhair.
Zuhair accused the DQP of whipping up hatred against other people and undermining the religious harmony of the country. Zuhair also criticized the DQP for using the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression as an excuse to engage in hate speech.
“With rights come responsibilities. Freedom of speech does not entitle you to maliciously shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre,” said Zuhair.
“Similarly, you cannot spread malevolent lies about the government, whip up hatred against people and undermine the religious harmony of the country and claim it is your right to do so under freedom of expression,” the Press Secretary added.
The DQP pamphlet states: "Nasheed's big plan is to undermine Maldivians’ religion, introduce other religions into the country and encourage vice."
"When the Nasheed administration established diplomatic relations with the biggest enemy of Islam [Israel], the government agreed to change the school curriculum and teach our small children about the goodness of Jews," the pamphlet states on page 7.
"The government accepted the responsibility of monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in Iran. This task was assigned to Nasheed's former Foreign Minister Dr Shaheed. There is no doubt that this was a reward for the Nasheed administration's efforts to strengthen ties with the Jews and please the Jews," the pamphlet says on page 20.
"The Jew's plan and way of thinking is to divide Islamic countries," it adds.
The DQP also accuse government officials of being secret "Christian priests."
The DQP goes on to attack other South Asian countries for gifting cultural monuments, which were displayed as part of official celebrations at the recent SAARC Summit in Addu City in the south of the Maldives. According to the pamphlet, these cultural monuments are really "religious statues, depicting other Gods for praying [towards]."
The pamphlet states that the statues are proof of President Nasheed's involvement in an international conspiracy to introduce other religions into the Maldives. The DQP also accuse Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa of being part of that conspiracy.
On page 12, President Rajapaksa is photographed unveiling Sri Lanka's SAARC monument - a Sri Lankan lion - which the DQP claims is a heathen "statue for praying."
The SAARC monuments, including the one gifted by Sri Lanka, were vandalised shortly after the SAARC Summit. A number of opposition parties publicly praised the vandals, calling them 'national heroes'.
The DQP pamphlet also rails against people who dance and women who wear skirts - people the DQP says are "disrespectful towards Islam."
In a separate development, the Maldives Police Service are investigating two DQP council members, Dr Mohamed Jameel and 'Sandaanu' Ahmed Didi, after they appeared on opposition-affiliated DhiTV last week and accused President Nasheed of being part of a Christian and Jewish conspiracy to undermine Islam in the Maldives.