Tuesday, 17 July 2012

M. Ramlallah Mauritius Times’ Crusade against Muslims and Islam


RUSADE

AGAINST MUSLIMS AND ISLAM
M. Ramlallah Mauritius Times’ Crusade against Muslims and Islam

Via a parliamentary question, Nita Deerpalsing, the Mauritian Labour Party’s Communication Director and MP, challenged her leader and Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam to introduce the Christian term « secular » in the Mauritian Constitution. In this context, Madhukar Ramlallah, editor of Mauritius Times, described by Gilbert Ahnee, former editor in chief of le Mauricien, as the mouthpiece of the Labour Party (reaching out to mainly Hindus), has been publishing propaganda pieces against Islam (and Muslims) without allowing any right of reply, a feature quite common amongst journalists on the other side of the fence supporting the political enemies of the Labour Party.

Surendra Bissoondoyal (L) and Dev Virahsawmy (R) in “Mauritius Times” campaign against Islam

By email dated 3rd July 2012, I sent Mr Ramlallah my contribution on secularism entitled « Nita Deerpalsing - sécularisme ou fascisme ? » to explain and clarify the European Christian concept of secularism as well as the French concept of laïcité, both terms borrowed from the Church, to explain how laïcité is used in France against Islam and Muslims, even against their items of clothing and insignia, which has nothing to do with the said concept. The reason why the French wanted to separate the Church from the State was because the state was vested in the person of the Monarch whose religion, Catholicism, was regarded as the religion of the people and of the State, hence the term « Separation of the Church from the State » since the Church was the State and vice versa. Although this is a Christian problem, it has been unfairly and irresponsibly enlarged to include other religions too, and mainly against Islam.  This has triggered a “laïque” and secular non-stop Crusade against Arabs, Islam, and Muslims.  In any case, in Mauritius, Hinduism, the religion of the majority, is not the State religion and the state is not vested in the Prime Minister, hence the concept does not apply. The Mauritian State recognises and respects all religions since it identifies itself with all the people - « L’État c’est nous ».  Moreover, the Christian Church is an institution with a hierarchy while the same cannot be said for the Mandir or Masjid, which are just places of prayers, religious education and so on, for Hindus and Muslims respectively. Therefore, the term ‘Separation of the Mandir (or Masjid) from the State’ makes no sense.

Ramlallah’s denial of right of reply
For reasons best known to himself, Mr Ramlallah decided to boycott my contribution but published a propaganda piece by Surendra Bissoondoyal, former Chairman of the University of Mauritius and former Director of the Mauritius Examination Syndicate, called « The Secular State », Mauritius Times 6th July 2012, after the same article was published in l’Express dated 4th July 2012 under the title « Religion and politics ». By email dated 8th July 2012, I sent to Mr Ramlallah my reply to Mr Bissondoyal, entitled « « Secularism – « An ‘ism’ deserves to be destroyed », said M K Gandhi », in which I stated the following:

(1)Without defining any term and without producing any reference whatsoever, Mr Bissoondoyal refers to the partition in 1947 by the British occupiers of the Hindustan unified by the Moguls for many centuries through the preservation of all native languages, cultures and religions - a barbaric partition between (surplus) India and two Pakistans, East and West and stolen Kashmir, in order to push down our throats the term ‘secular’ hailed by Jawaharlal Nehru and enshrined in the Indian Constitution because, Mr Bissoondoyal said, « it did not want to project an image of ‘Hindu India’ to counter [..] Pakistan as an Islamic nation ». In truth, the « Hindus » had no say in the matter and Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) was an avowed Atheist, a Socialist and son of a Freemason.  It is therefore not an accident that he became Anglo-India’s first Prime Minister.

(2)An Islamic State is a Civil State
Mr Bissoondoyal is clearly confusing « Islamic State » (a government and laws for Muslims and non Muslims alike) with « Islamic Ummah », the Universal Muslim Nation of Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), which is a universal concept englobing all believing Muslims of the world. « Islamic Nation » is a barbaric term used by Bissoondoyal who also does not tell us what he means by « Hindu India », Hindu being a Persian term (also an Arabic term al-Hind) denoting an inhabitant of Hindustan, while the term Hinduism (religion) was first coined by the British writers in 1830 (ref. Encyclopedia Britannica); consequently, the term Hindu is being used in the religious context. Mr Bissoondoyal attempts to hail Nehru’s ‘secular’ India by maligning the Islamic State (a persistent policy among Islam and Muslim haters) which concept he does not even understand. The concept of an Islamic State, which is a Civil State (rather than a theocracy like the Vatican), is one which recognises all religions and their specificities, communities, cultures and languages of the people, and protects its minorities, including the old, the orphans, the handicapped. In his book « The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History », Michael H. Hart (an American Jew) said : « My choice of Muhammad [the Holy Prophet of Islam] to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level ».

(3)Gandhi and the Bhagavad Gita
Mr Bissoondoyal makes no mention of any European philosopher on secularism. Yet, he mentions what he believed the Hindu poet Rabindranath Tagore would have said about religion before he moves on to how Gandhi’s religious faith in the Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu Sacred Scripture) led to his belief in non-violence (ahimsa – essentially a spiritual concept), which has nothing to do with secularism. But he mentions no Muslim figures. The bias is blatant!  Perhaps, he wanted to say that Muslims believe in violence. For the benefit of readers, Gandhi’s doctrine of nonviolent civil resistance or satyagrha for Hind Swaraj (Hindustan Home Rule) « appeared replete with contradictions » (Ref. Professor Norman Filkenstein), since Gandhi himself said that violence would be used as a last resort if non-violence failed. Winston Churchill described that great man as a « Hindu fundamentalist » and a « half-naked fakir ». Moreover, the Bhagavad Gita reproduces 18 (25 to 42) chapters from the Mahabharata Great Epic which is about violence between the cousins as ordered by the mythological figures Shri Krishna to Arjuna to fight Evil. Like Islam, Hinduism amply justifies violent resistance for self-defence, which explains the affiliations of Gandhi with the Hindustani Khilafah movement which inspired him and became part of the wider Indian independence movement (Hind Swaraj).

Dev Virahsawmy’s secular and LGBT agenda
Unfortunately, Mr Ramlallah decided to boycott my reply « « Secularism – « An ‘ism’ deserves to be destroyed », said M K Gandhi » too. Instead, he published in the Mauritius Times issue of 13th July 2012 yet another propaganda piece entitled « Secularism? Yes, but softly », by former MMM politician Dev Virahsawmy, who, in a militant campaign to destroy the cultures and languages of Indo-Mauritians, propagated the European slave-oriented concept of créolité in the late 1960’s based on the Haitian model and invented in the 1990’s a script for the creole language of slaves (more of a street and market language) when he never demonstrated how slaves spoke or wrote, if only they could. Although Dev states that in Mauritius « There is no state religion », he does not explain the concept and its application and misleads in other areas deemed irrelevant to secularism. For example, he says that in the Mauritian Constitution « two religious/ethnic groups, namely Hindus and Muslims, are mentioned in connection with the best loser system », which is inaccurate. The Mauritian Constitution recognises 3 communities by their « way of life » - Hindus, Muslims and Sino-Mauritians. Those who do not wish to be classified as such would fall into the residual category of « General Population » which « shall be regarded as a fourth community ». The Best Loser System (BLS) does not concern Hindus, the majority community, but designed to nominate a few unelected candidates with the most votes amongst minorities to make up the deficiency in the First Past the Post (FPTP) system.

But, Dev Virahsawmy further reinforced Surendra Bissondoyal’s campaign to demonise Islam by saying that « within Islam feminist studies are challenging patriarchy and a very progressive picture is emerging » which, apart from being a downright lie, also has nothing to do with secularism. His contention is both false and offensive to Muslims, as Islam liberated women from the very beginning, a so-called liberation only acquired by Europeans less than one hundred years ago. Having informed the Mauritians that he had converted to Christianity himself, Dev Virahsawmy speaks of « reforming Hinduism » as having « greatly contributed to the improvement of general welfare » without providing any proof when, in today’s India, female foetuses are aborted by the thousands every day. Between 1980 and 2010, around 10 million girls were aborted in India because of their sex (Daily Telegraph of 24th May 2011) and « female foetuses are being fed to dogs to hide rampant gender genocide » (Krishna Kumar, Daily Mail 22 May 2012). Moreover, « India was named as the worst place in the world for women to live out of the top 19 economies in the world in a poll by Thomas Reuters Foundation last month » (Daily Mail 14th July 2012).  Further, Dev is well known to promoting his wife Loga (a shameless mother and grandmother) Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) agenda, as well as prostitution under the term « sex workers », and liberal abortion, with the help of the media! For Dev’s information, the US is referred to as a « matriarchy »!

Conclusion
Bissoondoyal, Virahsawmy and Mauritius Times are at liberty to speak on secularism, on an Islamic State, on women in Islam, while ignoring the plight of women in Hinduism or Christianity, but it is totally unacceptable that the issue of secularism should be dealt with by maligning and viciously attacking Islam and Muslims through lies and propaganda, with the clear complicity of Madhukar Ramlallah, editor of Mauritius Times, given his consistent denial of rights of reply. Such propaganda, provocation and incitement have the potential to undermine the fabric of Mauritian Society in which people of all faiths still live in harmony. Regarded as a Hindu paper, it is clear that Mr Ramlallah is continuously offering the columns of Mauritius Times to anti-Islam journalists, politicians and intellectuals, as well as former journalists and politicians, such as Yvan Martial, Jean-Claude de l’Estrac, Dev Virahsawmy and Surendra Bissoondoyal to poison the minds of its Hindu readers against Muslims and Islam while trying to divide Hindus at the same time (Ref. Yvan Martial’s interview published in Mauritius Times of 30th march 2012. My response « Yvan Martial’s malicious attempt to divide the Hindu electorate in rural areas » was also boycotted by Mr Ramlallah).  This incitement against Muslims and Islam is totally unacceptable.

M Rafic Soormally
London
17 July 2012


----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rafic Soormally <rsoormally@yahoo.com>
To: Mauritius Times <mtimes@intnet.mu>
Cc: Dr Navin Ramgoolam <primeminister@mail.gov.mu>; "mpu@mail.gov.mu" <mpu@mail.gov.mu>; "mof@mail.gov.mu" <mof@mail.gov.mu>; "president@mail.gov.mu" <president@mail.gov.mu>
Sent: Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 21:35
Subject: Ramlallah Mauritius Times’ Crusade against Muslims and Islam

Dear Mr Madhukar Ramlallah

I am very disappointed that you have again boycotted my legitimate response « « Secularism – « An ‘ism’ deserves to be destroyed », said M K Gandhi », emailed to you on 8th July 2012, to Surendra Bissoondoyal’s maligning of Islam (and Muslims) in his piece « The Secular State », which you published in Mauritius Times of 6th July 2012 (after it was already published in l’Express of 4th July 2012), only to find that you have published, instead, in your edition of 13th July 2012, another anti-Islam piece « Secularism? Yes, but softly » by Dev Virahsawmy, former MMM politician and deformer of the English and French languages in the name of Haitian créolité imposed mainly on Indo-Mauritians, who is also propagating the agenda of his wife Loga in favour of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transexual (LGBT), as well as in favour of prostitution (and liberal abortion!) under the term « sex workers ».

By consistently denying my rights of reply to such anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda, you are clearly giving credence to the lies propagated by Bissoodoyal and Virahsawmy and, as such, an accomplice. If you have similar inclinations as Bissoondoyal and Virahsawmy, it is entirely up to you. But when you are publishing pieces to influence Mauritians through lies, provocation and incitement, you must expect reaction from readers. You have been a journalist for too long not to know this. There were times when you would have got away with it, but not in our day and age.

Reading Dev Virahsawmy’s article « Secularism? Yes, but softly » which you published on 13th July 2012, it seems clear to me that you have sent him (Dev) my 8th July 2012 boycotted response « « Secularism – « An ‘ism’ deserves to be destroyed », said M K Gandhi » to Surendra Bissoondoyal because Dev (poorly) addressed points I raised therein, although he had to accept some of the things I mentioned.  In my conclusion I said that « Mauritius has no State religion », that « the state is not vested in the PM », that the PM’s religion (Hinduism - the religion of the great majority) « is not the religion of the people ». For his part, Dev Virahsawmy says that « There is no state religion » in Mauritius and that « it cannot be said that Hinduism and Islam are state religions ».  This is too much of a coincidence, although, through sheer prejudice, Dev could not resist adding Islam even though Muslims are only a minority. If you did send Dev my response to Mr Bissoondoyal (which you boycotted), which looks like it, it is both pathetic and dishonest on your part.

As editor of Mauritius Times, a weekly paper sold to the public under government licence, you have both a responsibility and duty to publish my legitimate replies, particularly given that you have published such offensive and inciting articles in your columns. Through your consistent boycott, you are clearly following an evil agenda of your own and provoking and inciting social unrest in the country. I will not allow this to happen since Mauritians of whatever religious denominations do have common grounds to live in harmony.

I therefore insist that you publish my replies.

Yours faithfully


M Rafic Soormally
United Kingdom



cc.        1. PM Dr. The Hon Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM, GCSK, FRCP
            2. Dr. The Hon Ahmed Rashid BEEBEEJAUN, GCSK, FRCP, Deputy PM
            3. The Hon Charles Gaëtan Xavier Luc DUVAL, GCSK, Vice PM
            4. Mrs Monique Agnes Ohsan Bellepeau, GOSK, Vice and Acting President of
the Republic of Mauritius.

ONE OF THEIR FRESH VICTIMS
22 year old Krishnee Bunwaree
  •  
    Rashira Kheedeer
    Rashira Kheedeer commented on Le Matinal.
    I'm so happy so see what's going on right now..it is not at all allowed to make stupid comments at other religions particularly in mauritius..we all live here, multi cultural country where since birth we're used to people from different cultures and religions where most of us come from same country! I am so happy this girl is being punished.such type of sick person should go to hell..im sorry but she totally deserves it! I'm a proud muslim, but if there's any racist muslim around, they deserve to be punished as well..common man seriouslt get a life what is this racism thing! disgusting!

    Ghyslaine Roc
    EN FAIT, SELON FADYA NAZIRKHAN-MAHMOUD, IL NE S’AGISSAIT QUE D’UN BANAL DRAME D’AMOUR DE MADAME FAREENA EMAMDEE, UNE JEUNE ‘CHRÉTIENNE’ (KRISHNEE BUNWAREE) MARIÉE À UN ‘MUSULMAN’ DIVORCÉ, AMANOULLAH EMAMDEE, ET AYANT EMBRASSÉ L’ISLAM, ET DONT LE MARI S’EST TROUVÉ EN PRISON POUR ON NE SAIT QUEL CRIME, ET NON D’UNE ATTAQUE RACISTE CONTRE LES MUSULMANS OU L’ISLAM!

    MAIS, N’EMPÊCHE QU’ELLE AVAIT UN TERRAIN RACISTE BIEN FERTILE GRÂCE À UNE CERTAINE PRESSE ET AUTRES AGENTS POUR QU’ELLE AIT PU OSER POUSSER SON AUDACE JUSQU’À FAIRE CES ATTAQUES CONTRE LES MUSULMANS OU L’ISLAM!

    AMEN!
     
Krishnee Bunwaree not to blame – Blame the real inciters!
 Surendra Bissoondoyal,  Krishnee Bunwaree and Dev Virahsawmy

Why blame Krishnee Bunwaree, however wrong she may have been about the awful things she said on facebook against Muslims, their religion and their fasting during the sacred month of Ramadan? In Islam, if Ms Bunwaree acknowledges her mistake and repents, she is exonerated. When journalists like Madhukar Ramlallah are publishing potentially incendiary anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda pieces in Mauritius Times and systematically boycotting the rights of reply, it does not take long before the fire they have ignited spreads. Krishnee Bunwaree is just a victim being treated unfairly and used as a scapegoat.


Without further ado, I would like to reproduce below excerpts of the following emails I sent to Madhukar Ramlallah of the weekly newspaper Mauritius Times on 8th and 17th July 2012 respectively, cc. Hon. PM Dr Navin Ramgoolam. They are self-explanatory.

From: Rafic Soormally rsoormally@yahoo.com
To: Mauritius Times mtimes@intnet.mu  
Cc: Dr Navin Ramgoolam primeminister@mail.gov.mu
Sent: Sunday, 8 July 2012, 20:30
Subject: Secularism - An 'ism' deserves to be destroyed, Gandhi - Reply to Bissoondoyal

Dear Mr Ramlallah

Please find attached my response to Surendra Bissoondoyal’s article « The Secular State » which you published in the Mauritius Times of 6thJuly 2012. Mr Bissoondoyal has not treated the subject properly and has misled Mauritians. He is a pro-creole and pro-secular writer and using the good names Tagore and Gandhi to pursue his ends because he knows that the majority of Mauritians are Hindus. Chunks of his article was already published in l’Express of 4th July 2012 under the title « Religion and politics » [..]

Clearly, Mr Bissoondoyal wanted his piece also published in Mauritius Times which he sees as a Hindu paper so that he may influence the Hindus, just like Yvan Martial [former journalist] of l’Express did when you published his interview on 30th March 2012 (when he has free access to the columns of l’Express [..]) in which interview he was trying to persuade the Hindu electorate in rural areas to vote for the MSM party which split from the government and joined the opposition. To date, you have not published my reply « Yvan Martial’s malicious attempt to divide the Hindu electorate in rural areas » emailed to you on 6th April 2012; even my reminder of 23rd April 2012 was ignored.

[..]

In his article « The Secular State » [..], I strongly object to his use of world famous Hindu figures such as Rabindranuth Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi to influence the Mauritian Hindu majority community along the lines of secularism imported from Europe when he is unable to offer a proper explanation as to the origin and meaning of the term. Moreover, I equally strongly object to his misuse of the term « Islamic nation » which he is portraying as a religious (rather than a civil) concept maligned by the same Europeans whose secularism he is trying to propagate. The correct term is « Islamic state », which is a Civil State. An Islamic nation is the Islamic Ummah, which is a universal concept. Clearly, Mr Bissoondoyal has no real understanding of the European politics of French laïcité and secularism. He previously and similarly supported the politics of créolité imported from France, politics which is ravaging Mauritius and goes hand in glove with the imported secularism. It would be very sad to see that, like l’Express, you are also offering the columns of Mauritius Times to lead a campaign against Muslims and Islam and the Islamic concept of an Islamic State, which is a Civil State (rather than a theocracy like the Vatican) which recognises all communities, cultures and languages of the people, and protects its minorities. When Mr Bissoondoyal speaks of an ‘Islamic nation’, he is distorting Islam like his European masters he is trying to copy, and in the same breath, he is offending Muslims. [..]  His association of non-violence with the Bhagavad Gita, which is a book of war and violence between the cousins, is totally misleading; moreover, his association of the holy book with secularism is a very ignorant and dishonest ploy to trap Hindus into supporting the evil of European secularism.

Please find attached my response « Secularism – « An ‘ism’ deserves to be destroyed », said M K Gandhi » to Surendra Bissoondoyal which I hope will be published in full as the subject of secularism cannot be dealt with in a few words, especially in the light of the various inaccuracies and misleading statements made by Mr Bissoondoyal and which you published.

Yours sincerely

M Rafic Soormally
London

cc. PM Dr Navin Ramgoolam 


From: Rafic Soormally rsoormally@yahoo.com
To: Mauritius Times mtimes@intnet.mu  
Cc: Dr Navin Ramgoolam <primeminister@mail.gov.mu>; "mpu@mail.gov.mu" <mpu@mail.gov.mu>; "mof@mail.gov.mu" <mof@mail.gov.mu>; "president@mail.gov.mu" <president@mail.gov.mu> 
Sent: Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 21:35
Subject: Ramlallah Mauritius Times’ Crusade against Muslims and Islam

Dear Mr Madhukar Ramlallah

I am very disappointed that you have again boycotted my legitimate response « « Secularism – « An ‘ism’ deserves to be destroyed », said M K Gandhi »,emailed to you on 8th July 2012, to Surendra Bissoondoyal’s maligning of Islam (and Muslims) in his piece « The Secular State », which you published in Mauritius Times of 6th July 2012 (after it was already published in l’Express of 4th July 2012), only to find that you have published, instead, in your edition of 13th July 2012, another anti-Islam piece « Secularism? Yes, but softly » by Dev Virahsawmy, former MMM politician and deformer of the English and French languages in the name of Haitian créolité imposed mainly on Indo-Mauritians [..]

[Added for clarity : In my response sent to Mr Ramlallah of Mauritius Times, I pointed out that Dev Virahsawmy used secularism as an excuse to attack Islam and Muslims by effectively accusing the religion of oppressing women when he argued that « within Islam feminist studies are challenging patriarchy and a very progressive picture is emerging » while, on the other hand, he praised Hinduism when he spoke of « reforming Hinduism » as having « greatly contributed to the improvement of general welfare ».]

By consistently denying my rights of reply to such anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda, you are clearly giving credence to the lies propagated by Bissoodoyal and Virahsawmy and, as such, an accomplice. If you have similar inclinations as Bissoondoyal and Virahsawmy, it is entirely up to you. But when you are publishing pieces to influence Mauritians through lies, provocation and incitement, you must expect reaction from readers. You have been a journalist for too long not to know this. There were times when you would have got away with it, but not in our day and age.

As editor of Mauritius Times, a weekly paper sold to the public under government licence, you have both a responsibility and duty to publish my legitimate replies, particularly given that you have published such offensive and inciting articles in your columns. Through your consistent boycott, you are clearly following an evil agenda of your own and provoking and inciting social unrest in the country. I will not allow this to happen since Mauritians of whatever religious denominations do have common grounds to live in harmony.

I therefore insist that you publish my replies.

Yours faithfully

 M Rafic Soormally
London


cc.       1. PM Dr. The Hon Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM, GCSK, FRCP
            2. Dr. The Hon Ahmed Rashid BEEBEEJAUN, GCSK, FRCP, Deputy PM
            3. The Hon Charles Gaëtan Xavier Luc DUVAL, GCSK, Vice PM
            4. Mrs Monique Agnes Ohsan Bellepeau, GOSK, Vice and Acting President of
the Republic of Mauritius.


Conclusion
However, one cannot bypass, justify or rationalise this serious problem by arguing that inciters exist in every community or because such form of racism is « legion » (l’Express, 2 Aug 12). What Krishnee Bunwaree said has neither to do with freedom of expression nor with stating the truth and facts about Muslims and Islam. She clearly maligned Islam and attacked Muslims by calling them « pigs » and accusing them of « eating and drinking like pigs » during the holy fasting month of Ramadhan, with an accomplice (Kavish Bhoonah) adding his dose, in a vulgar language phonetically written à la Dev Virahsawmy (ref. Matinal 02 Aug 2012 regarding Facebook comments made on 22-3 July 2012). Like Dev Virahsawmy, Krishnee Bunwaree praised Hindus and Hinduism and strikes down Muslims and Islam. She was arrested on 1st August 2012 by the Cybercrime Unit, charged with « stirring up racial hatred » and kept in custody. She could not afford the luxury of alleging that what she confessed to on facebook was done through ‘police brutality’. Given what she did, the Police rightly charged her, although her presumption of innocence in law survives and it is up to the courts to pronounce whether she is guilty as charged, or not.

However, I see Krishnee Bunwaree more as a victim. This goes on to show how ordinary people, especially youngsters, can be easily influenced by what they hear and read, in one form or another and give it their own interpretations, especially when they are not allowed to hear the other side of the story. Her hatred for (or ignorance about) Muslims and Islam does not appear to have germinated in her mind but in a section of the media. Let us just hope that it does not also come from religious pulpits!  This is very dangerous in a multi cultural society like Mauritius. Why have the real inciters not been arrested and charged accordingly?

Personally, I absolve Krishnee Bunwaree of blame. It is quite clear that as a brainwashed youth, she merely got carried away by the poison and lies which have been fed to her. No wonder, she said « Je ne m’attendais pas à un tel dérapage !» (Défi, 2 Aug 12). I am even prepared to come forward as her witness. Hinduism and Islam are both great religions and they have so much in common. She clearly has no knowledge about Islam, perhaps even inadequate knowledge of her own religion (Hinduism or Vendatism). It is high time the government introduces Religious Studies (RE) in the school curriculum as in the UK so that our children can learn about each other’s beliefs with mutual respect.

M Rafic Soormally
London
3 August 2012

cc.        1. PM Dr. The Hon Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM, GCSK, FRCP
            2. Dr. The Hon Ahmed Rashid BEEBEEJAUN, GCSK, FRCP, Deputy PM
            3. The Hon Charles Gaëtan Xavier Luc DUVAL, GCSK, Vice PM
            4. Hon. Kailash Purryag, President of the Republic of Mauritius.



  • Pushkar Beema Please take note:

    PROPOS BLASPHÉMATOIRES— FACEBOOK: Intransigeance policière face aux suspects

    Un cas d’abus du réseau social avec des contre-attaques susceptibles de troubler la paix publique porté à l’attention des autorités

    En cette fin de semaine, la police a cru nécessaire de faire preuve d’intransigeance une fois de plus face à des cas d’abus et de propos blasphématoires sur Facebook dans le sillage des commentaires sectaires attribués à Krishnee Bunwaree. La jeune femme, inculpée provisoirement du délit de « Computer Misuse » a été placée en détention policière jusqu’au 6 août. Elle a été transférée à la cellule spéciale de l’hôpital Nehru suite à des problèmes de santé. D’autres utilisateurs de Facebook ayant commenté et soutenu les propos initiaux sont également interrogés par le Central CID en collaboration avec les spécialistes de la CyberCrime Unit de la police.

    À hier après-midi, la police était en présence d’un autre cas de propos séditieux susceptible de troubler la paix publique. Mais à la fin de la journée, la police avance qu’aucune déposition formelle n’avait encore été consignée dans ce qui est considéré comme une riposte aux propos de Krishnee Bunwaree. « Nous ne sommes en présence d’aucune déposition en ce sens », fait-on comprendre du côté des Police Headquarters.

    N’empêche que le Police Press and Public Relations sur directive du commissaire de police a émis un communiqué pour réitérer la position intransigeante de la police dans le contexte et émettre une sévère mise en garde contre ceux qui seront tentés de poursuivre la campagne blasphématoire sur internet. « The Police would wish to inform members of the public that firm action will be taken against any person found acting in breach of the (relevant) laws », note sans aucune ambiguïté le communiqué. D’abord, la police confirme que des premières arrestations ont déjà été effectuées et que des dispositions ont été prises de concert avec l’Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) « to cause the blasphemous matters to be removed from the concerned site ».
    La police souligne que « it has also been brought to our attention that certain members of the public are either commenting on the matter on Facebook or misusing the social network for similar purposes in retaliation thereof ». Le commissaire de police prend le soin de rappeler que les autorités ne comptent nullement tolérer des abus des moyens de télécommunications « for the transmission or reception of a message which is grossly offensive, or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character ; or for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, needlessly anxiety to any person ; for the transmission of a message which is of a nature likely to endanger or compromise State defence, public safety or public order ».

    Ceux qui se rendent coupables des délits susmentionnés sont passibles d’une amende ne dépassant pas Rs 1 million ou d’une peine d’emprisonnement maximal de cinq ans. La police souligne également les dispositions du Code pénal au sujet du délit de « Stirring up racial hatred ».

    La clause 282 (1) (a) et (2) du Code Pénal prévoit une amende de Rs 100 000 et une peine de prison de 20 ans contre « any person who, with intent to stir up contempt or hatred against any section or part of any section of the public distinguished by race, caste, place of origin, political opinions, colour or creed (a) publishes or distributes any writing which is threatening, abusive or insulting ».
    La police lance un appel à la retenue dans la conjoncture en demandant aux « members of the public and in particular, those making misuse of the above facilities and engaged in spreading such matters, to refrain from such illegal activities as these not only constitute a serious offence but also, cause a serious prejudice to harmony and social cohesion of our society ».

    http://www.lemauricien.com/article/propos-blasphematoires%E2%80%94-facebook-intransigeance-policiere-face-aux-suspects
    10 hours ago ·

    Krishnee Bunwaree – Successive Mauritian governments allowed a section of the Mauritian press to run amok!

    Following the arrest on 1st August 2012 of 22 year old Krishnee Bunwaree as a result of her anti-Islam and anti-Muslim comments on facebook during the holy fasting month of Ramadan and her being charged with the offence of unlawfully and knowingly using a computer system with intent to stir up « racial (and religious) hatred », successive governments of Mauritius should share the blame for having allowed a bias and prejudiced section of the press to run amok for over a decade in leading a damaging and incendiary campaign against Muslims and Islam without allowing any right of reply so they can brainwash the young. Krishnee Bunwaree is absolved of all blame.


    22 year old Krishnee Bunwaree, victim of bias and prejudiced press

    Personally, I feel that Krishnee Bunwaree is a victim. I would blame a section of the media rather than politicians, although the government does bear responsibility for having allowed the situation to rot. Even though politicians may be sectarian (which is not an offence), I do not see them inciting racial and religious hatred. However, can the same be said for Catholic Priest Jocelyn Grégoire, President of the Fédération des Créoles Mauriciens? Did he not launch a scathing attack against Hindus in his confessed « anger » and castigated PM Ramgoolam for having appointed Hindu Ministers instead of an extra Catholic African-Mauritian, which he calls a ‘Creole’. Yet, the PM is always meeting Grégoire in spite of his overt racism fostering the racist ideology of créolité which excludes Hindus and Muislims, with their handshakes splashed all over the newspapers even though he is not even a leader of any political party. What message is the Mauritian PM conveying to the people?

    Similarly, for a very long time, a section of the Mauritian press has been leading a relentless campaign against Muslims and Islam in several forms. In analysing this serious problem, certain facts over the years have to be established to put Krishnee Bunwaree’s comments in context. There are clear indications that 22 year old Krishnee Bunwaree is a victim of what she (and others like her) has been fed with by a section of the Mauritian press over a long period of time.

    (1) In the case of May 1999 arson at Casino Amicale, in which several people were killed, including a pregnant mother, le Mauricien daily paper, regarded as a Christian/Creole paper, immediately attacked Muslims and Islam through reverse association. In his editorial of 24 May 1999, Gilbert Ahnee, then editor in chief of le Mauricien said : « Et il n’existe personne au sein de cette classe politique inculte pour monter sur un camion au Square Khadafi et dire : “Non! Non, l’Islam n’est pas une religion de violence,… ”  ». The journalist went on to say :   « Il y a lieu d’espérer que des milliers de Musulmans mauriciens qui respectent les valeurs de leur religion prennent la parole et disent : “ Assez ! Assez de violence, de terreur, d’escadrons meurtriers au nom d’un Dieu Clément et miséricordieux dont vous vous prétendez les fidèles. Assez, également, de complaisance des pouvoirs publics. Assez de petites filles asphyxiées et carbonisées” ». He also referred to those alleged Muslim killers as « foudjahiddins », a term which he made up between the French word “fou” and the Arabic and Islamic word “mujahiddin” (which means freedom fighter). He already identified Muslims as violent and as killers. It turned out that the Sumodhee brothers, who are Muslims, were swiftly arrested and tried before a jury which found them guilty based on the uncorroborated evidence of one eye- witness (who allegedly ‘clearly’ identified them on motorcycles?). The Sumodhee brothers claim their innocence to this day.

    (2) Muhammad Cehl Fakeemeeah, present Leader of the Front Solidarité Mauricienne (FSM) and MP, was attacked because he was the leader of an Islamic Party (Hezbollah). What has not been published against him as a Muslim and against his religion? The daily newspaper L’Express, also regarded as a Christian/Creole paper, described him as (Muslim) fundamentalist, « mégalomane », Hitler and more, simply because he is a Muslim who formed an Islamic Party. In Europe, there are countless Christian parties; I do not see what the problem is. Based on the uncorroborated allegation of a self-confessed criminal, Cehl Meeah was arrested in December 2000, incarcerated for 3 years, kept in solitary confinement, tortured, and tried in the press for something he did not do. However, Meeah never confessed to any crime. Journalist Finlay Salesse then of 5-Plus weekly paper even published material accusing Meeah was training ‘Muslims’ in a terrorist camp in Mont Blanc, which was entirely false. The DPP finally dropped all charges against Meeah. The Police never took any action for incitement to religious hatred against any of those journalists or newspapers.

    (3) In 2010, some Hindus violently attacked a Pentecostal gathering in Triolet, which Bollywood comedian Johnny Lever was also attending. In February 2012, some Muslims in 15 Cantons Vacoas removed banners set up by Hindus on the holy occasion of the Maha Shivaratree pilgrimage to Grand Bassin, and even damaged a green marquee. Those would be more condemnable acts of assault, vandalism and criminal damage rather than incitation to racial and religious hatred. But when reporting the details of the US report on religious freedom in events concerning Mauritius, l’Express of 01 August 2012 chose the following headline just to pinpoint Muslims « Liberté de culte : le Département d’Etat US relève les dérapages à Quinze-Cantons » even though it said in the body that « Il note cependant que la bagarre n’avait aucune motivation religieuse ».

    (4) Joining the fray, Mauritius Times, a weekly paper regarded as a Hindu paper, added its dose when its Chief Editor and owner Madhukar Ramlallah published materials of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim nature. In the article « Secular State », M Times of 6 July 2012, Surendra Bissoondoyal, who thinks that a secular state is a good thing while a so-called religious state is bad, argued that because India « did not want to project the image of ‘Hindu India’ to counter the setting up of Pakistan as an Islamic nation », « It enshrined the term ‘secular’ in its Constitution », when an Islamic State is a Civil State and not a religious state (like the Vatican). He clearly portrays an Islamic state as bad but, at the same time refers to how Mahatma Gandhi used « his faith in the Bhagavad Gita to show to India and the world at large the strength of non-violence without cowardice » when the Bhagavad Gita is a Book about violence between the cousins and has nothing to do with secularism. Given his comparison with an « Islamic nation », he leaves it to the readers’ imagination as to whether faith in Islam (as opposed the Bhagavad Gita) leads to violence.

    (5) In the follow-up article « Secularism? Yes, but softly »  by Dev Virahsawmy published the in the following week’s issue of Mauritius Times on 13 July 2012, Dev Virahsawmy also used secularism as an excuse to attack Islam and Muslims by effectively accusing the religion of oppressing women when he argued that « within Islam feminist studies are challenging patriarchy and a very progressive picture is emerging » while, on the other hand, he praised Hinduism when he spoke of « reforming Hinduism » as having « greatly contributed to the improvement of general welfare ».

    (6) Like all the other papers boycotted my responses exposing their campaign against Muslims and Islam over the years, Mr Ramlallah also boycotted both my responses to Bissoondoyal and Virahsawmy, and in my email of 17 July 2012 I told Mr Ramlallah in no uncertain terms that « Through your consistent boycott, you are clearly following an evil agenda of your own and provoking and inciting social unrest in the country. I will not allow this to happen since Mauritians of whatever religious denominations do have common grounds to live in harmony. » I subsequently requested him to drop « Mauritius » from Mauritius Times as he is giving Mauritius a bad name.


    Two weeks later the Krishnee Bunwaree’s case came to light after an inhabitant of Port Louis lodged a complaint to the Police against her for the anti-Muslim and anti-Islam deeply offensive comments, especially during the holy fasting period of Ramadan, which she posted on Facebook on 22nd July 2012. She was also joined on facebook by another youngster in the name of Kavish Bhoonah. 22 year old Krishnee Bunwaree, was arrested on 1 Aug 2012 by the Cybercrime Unit and charged with unlawfully and knowingly using a computer system with intent to stir up « racial (and religious) hatred ». The ‘accomplice’ Kavish Bhoonah was later also arrested. In fact, Kavish is the one who made matters much worse. This incident has spread around the country like wild fire which has been ignited during more than a decade. Muslim religious leaders have even appealed for calm.

    The authorities are treating the matter very seriously indeed in a multi-cultural country like Mauritius as it can easily spark social unrest with unforeseeable consequences. The problem is that facebook has been used in the UK (and elsewhere) to incite racial and religious hatred, violence and riots. I have lived through it.

    Conclusion
    But is Krishnee Bunwaree really to blame, or has she merely followed the pattern which has been drawn by a section of the press over the years and which has poisoned children’s minds at a very young age? Ms Bunwaree is only 22 years old, and for more than a decade she has been exposed to anti-Muslim and anti-Islam propaganda, portraying Islam as a religion of violence (and Hinduism as a religion of non-violence) and Muslims as fundamentalists, women oppressors, terrorists, and more, without having given the chance to hear the other side. Ms Bunwaree clearly felt that she was allowed to say what she did against Muslims and Islam, but her intention clearly was not to incite racial and religious hatred. I absolve her of all blame. Krishnee Bunwaree is also sorry for what she had said on facebook and, in Islam, she is pardoned. Those are matters which, surely, any court of law would take into account before arriving at any conclusion in the interest of justice.

    It is up to the government to set up a press watchdog and to introduce Religious Education in Mauritian schools so that children can learn and respect the different cultures and religions of Mauritians.

    M Rafic Soormally
    London
    5 July 2012

    cc. PM Dr Navin Ramgoolam
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