Profile Of A Radical

By Susannah Peter in Male'
October 22, 2007 MNS

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Controversial cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed was arrested earlier this month for allegedly breaching Religious Unity laws.

But is this prominent cleric really an “extremist threat to society?” Or an inspirational preacher who simply “speaks the truth,” as his supporters testify?

Susannah Peter spoke to friends, family and former colleagues to find out more.

Youngster

Ibrahim Fareed, born in Dhula Kudahadhoo, came to Male’ to study when he was a young boy.

Described by one neighbour as a “quiet little soul,” he quickly developed a reputation in the capital for his piety.

“All he ever wanted to do was be a preacher,” his sister Anshoo recalls. “He recited the Koran perfectly.”

Yet the boy who would grow to be a prominent cleric was also full of fun and life, passionate about music and dance.

“And he was always so strong. He would always get what he wanted,” says Anshoo.

“He’s still the same today,” laughs his wife Yumna.

Fareed won a scholarship to study Sharia law in Quatar when he was 17. And this is the point where descriptions of him diverge.

Did his time abroad mould him into a dangerous threat? Or did his studies deepen his understanding of Islam, giving him the tools to spread God’s message?

“Extremist”?

Fast-forward nine years, and Fareed returns to Male’. His former neighbour, who asked not to be named, didn’t recognise him.

“I heard talk of a man who was giving religious lessons, speaking at Mosques and houses,” she recalls.

“I didn’t realise at first it was the same little Fareed who had left all those years before, with his long beard and short trousers.

“He was like an early Malcolm X. Island people saw him as their Mullah.”

Fareed, who joined the Islamic Consultation Council (ICC) of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party in 2005, used his position to “brainwash people,” she says. “He was a bacteria who would enter any organisation to get what he wanted.”

MDP Secretary General Hamid Abdul Gafoor takes up the story. “He never directly preached violence in his speeches, and he was never anti -West,” he says. “But he did mix politics and religion with a very fundamentalist angle.”

Fareed was very popular in MDP, he adds, but also “disturbed” more “moderate thinkers” with his “troubled attitude” at general meetings.

Hamid draws on the veil as an example. “Women have a guilt complex – you are either labelled loose or holy,” he says.

“And he played on that distinction. Some women see it as a way of getting acceptance from men. There is still a gender gap in Maldives. Fareed deepened it.”

Truth-teller?

But talk to family and friends, and a very different picture emerges. Fareed the figure of truth and decency.

“He’s not extremist,” insists Yumna, who wears a burga. “The Government arrested him because they do not want him to be so popular. They don’t want us to know the truth.”

Ahmed “Sandhaanu” Didi, who shared a cell with Fareed back in August 2004, nods emphatically, saying he doesn’t “even understand” the word “extremist.”

“Here we don’t have extremists, only people with different opinions,” he says. “Islam is not man-made, but ruled by Allah. Are you extremist because you wear you trousers a certain length? That’s bullshit.”

Sandhaanu, who has known Fareed five years, adds he never pressured him with his religious beliefs, that he would only preach if invited.

“He is patient,” he says. “And he never asked me to grow my beard long, or change anything.”

Fareed’s brother-in-law Mohamed Solid points out the alleged extremist condemned the Malé bomb blast, saying Islam “hates killing.”

“He likes everyone, including the West,” he says earnestly. “He wants to help the whole world, not just Maldivians.”

Safety of the veil

Shuhaidha, the best friend of Fareed’s wife, met the cleric at the Faculty of Sharia Law in Male.’

Fareed visted her home “many times,” and “told me the truth about Islam,”she says. He explained why women should wear the full veil, a practice President Gayoom wants to ban. .

Shuhaidha proudly wears the full veil. “Its not extremist,” she says./“As women, we must not show our faces or eyes in public.”

Fareed’s sister, Anshoo, adds she feels “safe” when she wears the veil. “I don’t want other men looking at my face, and it covers my body shape as well.”

Fareed’s one-year old daughter, Mariyambonthi, will wear the veil when she is nine.

“We won’t need to ask her if she wants to wear it, because she already loves wearing it now,” Yumna, mother-of four tells me proudly, as she cradles the child.

“We miss Fareed terribly," she sighs. “It’s so lonely without him.”

Truth Teller?

Both Hamid and Fareed’s former neighbour refer to his “hypnotic charisma” and “impressive” use of language and tone.

But is this an adequate explanation of Fareed’s huge popularity among many conservative Muslims? Why is his message so appealing?

“He is so popular because he is the only one who speaks the truth,” Anshoo tells me.

But Hamid says he thrives off disaffection in the Maldives.

Fareed has become “the voice and embodiment” of a “sub-culture” that was already there, according to the MDP official.

“Many Maldivians have no voice, can’t get anywhere, can’t break through the red tape,” he says. “He offers a solution; God.”

“And there is some truth that young people have no choice other than drugs, or fundamentalism. They feel they have no future.”

Anti-Gayoom

Fareed has consistently slammed President Gayoom’s religious policies.

“Maldivians are timid people, afraid to speak out,” Sandhaanu says.“But Fareed is fearless. People know that, and listen to him.

“Everyone who loves Islam opposes President Gayoom’s preachings. That’s not Islam, it’s his own version.”

“The Government, who say they have the final say on Islamic beliefs, see him as a threat,” agrees Hamid. “Fareed came out with a lot of fire.”