The Maldivian constitution places a heavy responsibility on the present government to tread a careful path in developing democracy and at the same time ensure that there is no deviation of any citizen from his/her adherence to Islam, writes Dr S Chandrasekharan for the South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG).
It is claimed that it is possible to establish such a balance and it will be interesting to see how Maldives under the present President Nasheed who in many ways is a liberal himself is able to manage his country and keeps it safe from extremism.
In the days of Gayoom, it was easy to keep track of visitors and prevent elements holding extremist views from visiting or from preaching, but in a democracy as is being practised now, it is difficult for the present government to prevent such visitors from coming in or from such persons making rigid interpretation of Islam.
The result is that on the invitation of religious NGOs within the islands or from the Islamic ministry itself, visitors with dubious background are allowed to come preach without restraint.
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Interesting report. At last someone is saying something sensible! These knee-jerk reactions where as soon as someone says something controversial they are accused of being un-Islamic, purely as a means to shame them or turn people against them, have to stop. Islam should not be used as a political weapon.
Unfortunately it does not seem as if the use of religion as a political tool will stop. Many Maldivians are still quite gullible and their confidence has been eroded by decades of over protection and over regulation. While DRP senior leadership does not seem to use religion any more, PA seems to be bringing it on full blast - even on an interview about airport privatisation, the PA rep brought up the issue of religion. With irresponsible politicians who would not stop at anything to achieve their pursuit of power, it is highly doubtful that Islam will ever be protected in this nation. 'Religious' credentials of some parliamentarians are also used by unscrupulous politicians to manipulate an unsuspecting public. It would be nice if genuine scholars in Adhaalath and elsewhere would put aside their political ambitions and really tackle the issue of the decline of Islam in the nation. Then there could still be hope. But, it looks very very bleak at this point. Still, they do say that God works in mysterious ways, so time will tell.