Parliament Committee summons Sheikh Ilyas yet again

Parliamentary committee reviewing the Penal Code Bill has summoned Adhaalath Party’s Scholar's Wing President Sheikh Ilyas Hussain for a second time with regard to allegations that he spoke misleading statements during a sermon, saying that the purpose of the Penal Code Bill was to ‘crush and destroy the religion of Islam.’

Chairman for the Parliamentary committee reviewing the Penal Code Bill Bileidhoo MP Ahmed Hamza told Sun that they have notified Sheikh Ilyas to be present at the committee’s meeting on the 15th of this month.

Hamza said that the committee had notified Adhaalath to summon Sheikh Ilyas once before but said that the Sheikh had informed the committee that he will be unable to answer as he was travelling the abroad. Adhaalath Party had then issued a statement stating that the party does not see any reason for the Sheikh to be summoned to the Parliament committee. Hamza said that the committee has been working with the Maldives Fiqh Academy to bring Sheikh Ilyas to the committee.

Adhaalath Party’s Media Committee President Abdulla Humaid told Sun earlier that the party sees no reason for the Sheikh to be summoned to the committee since the committee had already added a clause to the Penal Code Bill in an attempt to cover up their previous stand on the matter, after Sheikh Ilyas had made his statements during the sermon.

“…we do not believe that the Shiekh should be summoned to the committee upon claims that he made any statements that contradicted it (Penal Code Bill). After the Sheikh made his statements, we are aware that they added a clause and tried to cover things up,” Humaid had said.

During a sermon on the 1st of this month at Artificial Beach, Sheikh Ilyas had said that he will attend the parliamentary committee’s summons and warned the members of the committee that he will “strip them naked."

“I am ready to attend (the committee). If I don’t strip them naked, I will not be called Sheikh Ilyas. What will they prove? Who gave them the right to divide the penalties in the Quran and say that this is article number 1 and this is article number 2?” the Sheikh said addressing the crowd in Artificial Beach.

The parliamentary committee is trying to summon Sheikh Ilyas for questioning regarding a sermon he gave after Isha prayer on the 22nd of March 2013.