Beware the Maldives

For many people in the world, the Maldives is seen as a Paradise on Earth.  Located in the Indian Ocean south of the nation of India, the Maldives have long been a hot-spot for tourists who seek to enjoy the beautiful island chain, its lush resorts, and crystal clear water.  In has even become a highly sought after prize on popular American Game Shows such as The Price is Right, but there's an old saying: "Beauty is often Skin Deep," & the Maldives are no exception.  In recent months the Maldives gained notice from the international media when they announced their intent to ban all Israeli citizens from entering their nation due to their disapproval of Israel's actions during the Israel-Hamas War, but in reality this type of ban is in truth a reflection of the darkness that presently rules over the Maldives.  The truth is that behind the colorful photographs, the sinister ideology of Islamism has seized control of the nation.

Maldives: The Ugliness Behind the Beauty

Prior to the advent of the Islamic faith, the Maldives were previously a Buddhist nation with the origins of the faith there being traced back to the 3rd century AD.  By the year 1153, Islam had become the dominant faith and today the nation of the Maldives is almost 100% Sunni Islam.  Like many other nations that are predominantly Islamic, religious freedom is something that simply does not exist within the country.  However, what sets the Maldives apart from other Islamic nations like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is the fact that religious freedom is not only restricted, it's outright banned.  The Constitution of the Maldives decrees that non-Muslims cannot be citizens of the country.  All non-Islamic houses of worship & public displays of non-Islamic faiths are banned & propagation of any non-Islamic faith is punishable with up to five years in prison.  The situation in the Maldives did not arrive to this point overnight.  Islamic extremism began to take root within the country in the 1970's & like other nations in the Middle East it has continued to grow ever since, with the Maldivian government clandestinely & at times, openly supporting its growth.   

The lack of religious freedom has a profound affect on all non-Muslims within the nation.  Non-Islamic migrant workers within the nation often have to practice their respective religions in secret.  At times, even non-Islamic tourists are required to do this as they're often warned upon arrival to remove all displaces of their religion & not to practice it in faiths in their guesthouses.  In June of 2022, Islamists within the nation worked up a mob that stormed a Yoga session that was being held at a football stadium in the capital city Male.  The event was sponsored by India in commemoration of International Yoga Day.  Before the event started mobs of Islamists stormed in, chasing out the attendees & destroying billboards advertising the event.  The police were forced to come in & fire tear gas in order to disperse the mob.  

The nation of the Maldives not only placed severe restrictions on Freedom of Religion, but they have done so with Freedom of Speech as a whole.  In Dec. of 2019, the government banned the Maldivian Democracy Network, which was the nation's leading human rights organization for allegedly "insulting Islam."  This happened due to the fact that the national government passed the Defamation & Freedom of Speech Act in 2016 which banned all criticism of Islam, with all those convicted facing huge fines & prison for 3-6 months.  Although the nation repealed this act in July of 2022, it later passed the Evidence Act, which would enable courts to force journalists to reveal their sources.  Unsurprisingly, there have been numerous attacks committed against journalists, bloggers, & human rights activists throughout the country (Link to Video). 

Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla's Family Demanding Anwers

Some have even been outright murdered, such was the case for Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla, a Maldivian journalist for Minivan News who was abducted & murdered by Jihadists in 2014 after receiving numerous threats from al-Qaeda & ISIS for criticizing Islamic fundamentalism.  Sadly after 10 years of investigating, the killers remain at large, it still has not been revealed who was specifically responsible for the assassination, nor has Ahmed's body been found.  These types of targeted assassinations against public dissidents have been ongoing.  Yameen Rashid, a blogger who criticized the political & religious establishment of the Maldives who was found stabbed to death in 2017.  

This ongoing growth of Islamism has led over 200 Maldivians to leave the nation & join ISIS in 2014 along with thousands of other Maldivians who have also left the nation to go to Pakistan & other nations & join other terrorist groups like al-Qaeda.  All of those who left to join these terrorist groups did so for the purpose of fight abroad to establish a global Caliphate while at the same time demanding ever more restrictive Sharia Law within their nation.  These laws include things like public lashing for drinking alcohol, the legalization of Female Genital Mutilation, as well as sentencing women who had relations outside wedlock to be stoned to death.  In fact, Maldivian courts are on record for sentencing several woman to death by stoning for violation Islamic Law regarding sexual relations, and it was only after International Pressure that the Maldivian Supreme Court overturned these convictions.  

Though the Maldives have passed acts to try and punish convicted Jihadist terrorists within their borders (Ex. Prevention of Money Laundering & Terrorism Financing Act & the Prevention of Terrorism Act)., they are known to be very lenient on this Jihadist terrorists, often sending the convicts to rehabilitation instead prison.  The reason being is that the Maldives are playing a double game: passing ever more restrictive Sharia Law & banning freedom of religion & speech to appease the Islamists that dominate their nation while at the same time pretending to be taking actions against these same Islamists in order to appease the West as a huge part of their economy relies on tourism.   In truth, it's the same double-game that Islamists are playing with the West worldwide.  They profess to us that Islam is a religion of peace & equality while in truth seeking to deceive as as they work to infiltrate & bring our societies down from within.  Once they feel they have enough power, they'll show their true selves.  However, others, like the Maldivians who have openly joined ISIS, al-Qaeda, & other Jihadist groups, don't want to play the "infiltration game" and want to attack us here and now.  

Sources:

Ahmed, Naish.  "Maldives Bans Israeli Tourists, Then Rethinks Position."  The Diplomat.  June 17, 2024.  Accessed from https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/maldives-bans-israeli-tourists-then-rethinks-decision/.  

Anurag, Sharma.  "Radical Islam in the Maldives: Hotbed for al-Qa'ida and Islamic State."  Vivekananda International Foundation.  Oct. 16, 2019.  Accessed from https://www.vifindia.org/article/2019/october/16/radical-islam-in-the-maldives-hotbed-for-al-qaida-and-islamic-state.  

Balachandran, P.K.  "Islamic Radicalism Has Deep Roots in Maldives."  Daily Mirror.  Aug. 11, 2024.  Accessed from https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/islamic-radicalism-has-deep-roots-in-the-maldives/172-211711.

Dissanayake, Dinushika.  "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Freedom of Expression Still Under Attack in Maldives."  The Diplomat.  July 04, 2023.  Accessed from https://thediplomat.com/2023/07/one-step-forward-two-steps-back-freedom-of-expression-still-under-attack-in-maldives/.

Gossman, Patricia.  "Maldives Advances Media Freedom, But Long Way to Go."  Human Rights Watch.  April 21, 2021.  Accessed from https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/21/maldives-advances-media-freedom-long-way-go.

"Islamists Storm India-Backed Yoga Event in Maldives."  Kuwait Times.  June 21, 2022.  Accessed from https://kuwaittimes.com/islamists-storm-india-backed-yoga-event-in-maldives/.

"Maldives."  BarnabasAid.  2024.  Accessed from https://www.barnabasaid.org/us/countries/Maldives/.

"Maldives: No Justice for Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla After 10 Years."  International Federation of Journalists.  Aug. 08, 2024.  Accessed from https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/article/maldives-no-justice-for-ahmed-rilwan-abdulla-after-ten-years.

"Maldives Top Court Quashes Death by Stoning Verdict for Adultery."  Maldives Independent.  Jan. 07, 2019.  Accessed from https://maldivesindependent.com/crime-2/maldives-top-court-quashes-death-by-stoning-verdict-for-adultery-143374.

Waha, La Toya.  "Finding the Right Islam for the Maldives: Political Transformation and State-Responses to Growing Religious Dissent."  International Journal of Religion.  Nov. 2020.  Accessed from http://saruna.mnu.edu.mv/jspui/bitstream/123456789/14751/1/Finding%20the%20Right%20Islam%20for%20the%20Maldives-%20Political%20Transformation%20and%20State-Responses%20to%20Growing%20Religious%20Dissent.pdf.