General Elections in Mauritius: Prospects for Change

Like you all know here in Mauritius, as well as in Rodrigues and Agalega, we entered the phase of general elections which will be held on Wednesday 10 December 2014. Some 74 political parties have registered for the general elections 2014.

For a small country like Mauritius with a population of about 1,200,000, there are the two major political blocs who are engaging in polemics everyday with their congresses in the several circumscriptions, meetings, house-to-house visits etc. There is firstly the PTR/MMM Alliance, with the two leaders Navin Ramgoolam and Paul Berenger and there is also the other political bloc, MSM-PMSD-ML which call themselves “People’s Alliance” (Alliance Lepep). The motto of the PTR/MMM Alliance is a united people, a modern country and their aim is to make Mauritius a second republic, while the legislative elections stand along the presidential one (a proposal forwarded in the wake of a possible victory at the elections with at least three-quarters of seats). Therefore, Paul Berenger shall be then the Prime Minister for 5 years and Navin Ramgoolam shall be the president for 7 years. 

On the other hand, the People’s Alliance is completely against making Mauritius a second republic. According to their analysis, these two heads of the PTR-MMM Alliance (Navin and Paul) are power-thirst and are primarily seeking their personal interest instead of that of the people of Mauritius. They claim that this new plan (the second republic) shall pave the way for more dictatorship and they claim their own People’s Alliance is not at all like the adversary alliance, saying that they have formed an alliance for the people and (are) with the people. They further claim that they are not seeking power and that they are here to care for the people.

Therefore the Mauritians – an intelligent people – should bear in mind that Mauritius neither belongs to any political bloc nor to the majority, in terms of religious communities. On Wednesday 10 December 2014, each Mauritian shall have the opportunity to do a good clean up and remove all those who are power-thirst, fraudsters, incompetent and those who are sucking the blood of this nation in cups and thus reducing the Mauritians to a life of misery. Verily, everything is becoming quite expensive. The cost of living is high; price of all commodities have risen and there is no law and order as it should have, and consequently, there are lots of crimes, thefts, rapes, unemployment etc. There are a lot of graduates and professionals – doctors, lawyers, are other professionals – who are jobless. Their families sacrificed a lot to send them for further studies while others are amusing themselves with state money.

Islamic Law as 'Divine Law'

Islamic Law is divine in origin and is based on divine revelation. Being divine in origin, Islamic Law is distinct from human law which is the outcome of customary rules and which can never, with perfect success, produce uniformity of conduct within the field of action to which they apply as do the divine laws with their specified norms of good and bad, virtue and vice.

Divine Laws are the standards of right conduct and provide guidance, not only in establishing a well-ordered society, but also in distinguishing between “good” and “evil”. As a well knit system of obligation they safeguard the rights of all, and as the product of divine wisdom which alone knows what is absolute good, they ensure the welfare of the entire humanity. The peculiarity of Divine Law is that it is eternal and immutable and yet contains principles broad enough to meet the growing needs of society. 

In contradistinction to this, human laws are based on human reason which is liable to err. Further, they are made according to the needs of society and to sub-serve its interest, hence they change with the change in society. They depend for their existence on the vagaries of public opinion or upon the whims and fancies of a ruling monarch and, as such, cannot represent that unity of divine law which results in the uniformity of society.

Divine Law is a declaration on all matters and provides for every possible eventuality and this is the claim advanced by the Quran itself: “And We have revealed to you a Book as an exposition of all things.” (16: 90)

Remedies for the Diseases of the Heart

I don’t know how to thank My Creator, for He keeps increasing my knowledge on this subject and today, Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah I continue my Friday Sermon, on the remedies for the diseases of the heart, and I start first of all with how to guard one’s heart against the attack of the Satan (Shaytan). Shaytan creates doubts in the heart, therefore believing men should distant these doubts with the Zikr (remembrance) of Allah Ta’ala. They should not pay any attention to these doubts and distractions. Doubts and distractions are the talks of the Satan which he instills in the hearts of the believers.

It is reported in a Hadith that Shaytan will come to one of you and say to you: “Who created you?” 

The person will reply “Allah has created me”. Shaytan will then ask:“Who has created Allah?” 

Thus if this question arises in anyone’s heart, he should say:“I have brought faith in Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). This thought will then go away”. (Musnad Ahmad)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is reported to have said: “Two causes take effect on the heart. One, the effect by the angels in the form of truth and virtue, this is from Allah Ta’ala. One should thank Allah Ta’ala for such effect. The other is from our enemy in the form of rejecting the truth and avoiding virtuous acts. One who experiences these effects should seek Allah’s protection from the accursed Satan.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) then recited the following verse in a way of supporting this Hadith: “Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (2: 269).” (Musnad Ahmad)