Thread by @MostlyApatheist

The Islamic "Scholars" in #Maldives and their cronies are trying to twist religious fervor and nationalism together so they can weave a narrative where they are under some sort of attack from enemies in their midst.
They are whipping up the masses into a frenzy.

When really all that is happening, and this is quite apparent for anyone who bothers to look,
Is that a marginalized and threatened population are asking for their right to live in the sun without fear of persecution and bodily harm.

The reactionary characters, falling out of the woodwork are trying to bury activists in a mountain of thinly veiled, sometimes open threats and propaganda in an effort to stem the tide of opposition.

The "Scholars" stand on the outside egging on the conflict, throwing gasoline into the fire,
Making strawmen of us.
Labeling any who may have objections as ones ailed with weak faith.
They revel in the suffering of the oppressed and celebrate the spilling of blood and tears.

So few, shamefully few of the international community are willing to spare even a thought to the conflicts brewing in their favourite holiday destination. So to those who do care and have spoken out,
My thanks and praise.

We aren't asking you to build us a pedestal so me may sit and lord over you.
You are our neighbors, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers.
Imagine the stinging pain in our hearts and the weight on our chests as we realize how some of you think of us.
What you would do to us.

So some of us use comedy and parody, in an effort to drive home the absurdity of this conflict. To fight back against the onslaught of fanaticism that has grown into the beast it is now.

We don't wish for harm to befall you,
Though it is evident you don't feel the same.

We have no choice but to remain steadfast.
There is no easy solution.
No quick fix.
No bezoar.
The establishment may try to chase us back into the shadows,
But the floodgates have already been opened.

#BanSalaf #NormalizingDissent #secularmaldives