After concluding his official visit to India – the first by a Maldivian Islamic minister – Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said that building a close relationship with the Indian Muslim community will be beneficial to the Maldives.
“I saw that the Indian Muslim community is a community of service. As per information I have received officially India has, after Indonesia, the second biggest Muslim population in the world. There are 140 million Muslims living there. So I think having a close relationship between the Indian Muslim community and Maldives will be a very good move.” He said.
Shaheem said that his trip had brought solutions were found for many concerns, particularly to “comments made by some people in the international community stating that there are Maldivians who support religious extremism”.
He said building relationships with countries with Muslim minorities will improve the image of the Maldives, and that neighboring countries will be relieved when the Islamic minister visits them and explains the policies of the ministry.
During the visit Shaheem met the Vice President of India Shri Mohamed Hamid Ansari, discussing ministry policies. Shaheem assured the vice president that the Maldives is a peace-loving nation and that there is no space for extremist ideologies within the Maldivian community.
During the trip, the Indian government assured that higher education scholarships would be made available for Maldivian scholars at Indian universities.
Islamic universities through which these scholarships will be provided include Delhi based Jamia Millia Islamia (National Islamic University), Osmania University in Hyderabad, and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Imams who have by-hearted the whole Quran, will be visiting the Maldives to recite Quran at Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan, Saheem said.
Minister Shaheem also met the Union Minister of Minority Affairs Dr K. Rahman Khan – head of Central Waqf Council – along with leaders of the Indian Muslim community, discussing the management and development of Waqf properties, Zakat funds, and Hajj corporations.
Muslim leaders assured the minister that businessmen and members of India’s Muslim community will be interested building mosques as a service to the Maldives.
Islamic university
Shaheem said that both parties agreed on academic exchanges between the two countries, particularly in providing the assistance of Indian scholars’ with experience required to establish the Maldives’ Kulliyyathul Dhiraasathil Islamiyya (College of Islamic Studies) as an Islamic University.
“It is a government pledge included in the manifesto, so the government is working towards that goal now,” said Shaheem – who is also the chair of the special committee on establishing the Islamic University formed by the cabinet’s Social Council.
He said the project would be implemented jointly by the Education Ministry, Islamic Ministry, President’s Office, and the Kulliyyaa.
“We have been talking about it [the establishment of the an] at all our trips. There are two ways in which we require assistance. One is technical assitance to change the Kulliyaa in to an Islamic University – things such maintaining the quality, number of faculties, development of the curriculum and strategic plan,” said Shaheem.
“The second form is financial assistance in improving the status the place.”
The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) will take lead in the development of the curriculum and other technical support for the establishment of the University.
According to Shaheem, official communications have already started with IIUM, with all the necessary assistance to be provided.
“One of the main targets is to make this university in Maldives an institution which provides Islamic education for the entire region as well,” Shaheem said.
In the acquisition of financial assistance, Qatar and Kuwait have given a positive response after the Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed’s requests during his recent visits, and the issue will be raised again during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Shaheem revealed.
While a specific date has not been announced for the establishment of the university Jameel has said it will be established soon.
Speaking Kulliyyathul Dhiraasaathil Islamiyy’s graduation ceremony on Friday, Jameel said that the government believes that development and progress in the Maldives should come within Islamic principles and the Islamic code of conduct.
He said that in this regard the government has begun work to bring major reforms to the education system, under which arabic language and Islamic values will be introduced through the new curriculum next year.
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Oh man.
Just tell me, what has our neighbours done to deserve this calamity?
They deserve some peace, man. By making this trip, you are sowing the seeds of discord that would rock them like never known before.
Dear god, please save the country India, from the impending disaster, that this idiot, Shaheem, has unleashed on to our neighbours. I know it's a lot to ask, but do they deserve it? We don't want another Middle East, replicated here in SE Asia.
Who invited the minister to India and why was he given a visa?
Muslims in India are used to living in a multi faith society and happily coexist with the many faiths of India.....unlike Muslims elsewhere who are brainwashed into believing they follow the only true religion in the world and are the epicentre of the universe.
The last thing we need is the influence of clerics from backward countries practising a toxic and intolerant religion. You don't allow me to practise my religion in your country so what right do you have to propagate your intolerant faith in mine?
As for your 'scholars', I suggest they go to universities in Egypt and Pakistan.
The Indian Embassy in Male should put the Islamic Minister and all members of his ministry on the banned list.
Interesting, a Islamic minister visiting Indian..,! Is he inviting Indians to convert to Islam? The morons now even don’t know what they are doing. What can this Mullah talk with Indian Government? Probably he is agreeing to allow temples in Maldives for Indian expatriate or conveying the message from Yameen that Maldives is going to be a secular democratic country and India should not worry about Islam as Maldives will be re interpreting Islam so that the Maldivian will no longer be a threat to security of India.
To All of you who doesn't like Maldives and India having a good relation with its scholars.!
I am an Indian muslim who works in the Maldives since 2010, and as far as i know about the Maldivian 'Muslims', they are very much in need of having high chance to learn Islam in deep. There are bunch of Scholars and muftis in India who would be able to teach in the Maldives and that even for the sake of Allah. There are more than 20 Indian scholars listed among 500 most influential Islamic scholars in the world.
Being an Indian moreover a Muslim, I am glad that Maldivian Islamic ministry shows the interest in bringing the scholars from India to implement the University education to the needy Maldivians.
For Indian scholars this wouldn't be a big deal as i know of many scholars who has been appointed to many African and European countries to do the Da'wa.
@MissIndia NewDelhi.
Muslims in India are used to living in a multi faith society and happily coexist with the many faiths of India. Its true that we coexist with the multi faith people in India but that doesnt mean that we believe in all of it. We only believe in Islam and we dont bother other religion. For You its Your religion, for us its our religion.
And if Maldives Islamic ministry is going to proceed with the same interest, I would insha allah as well be able to talk to the renowned scholars in my contact and ask them to have a communication with Maldives ministry to show the Interest of Indian Muslim Scholars to teach in the Maldives.!
اللهم أعز الإسلام والمسلمين . آمين
@Indian on Tue, 22nd Apr 2014 2:40 PM
Bravo! Your goals are admirable. For you.
But not for me. I see a bleak, testy, poisonous relationship building. From your own words, you literally don't care about others. I despise that. Every human being matters!
And you don't know Mordis as we do. Mordisians treat Indians with the same contempt as the Arabians-grand-masters treat the all SE Asians. Like filthy stray dogs.
While you think it's all rosy and pink, the average religious zealot Mordisians would not hesitate to fart in your face, and defecate in your non-Muslim country men's mouth!
@Indian keep your stinking fascism to yourself and don't expose it to Virginia populations
@indian
a friendship is always good brother
@David
Insha Allah that will be come true in the sooner days 🙂
'Islamic Scholars' are the bane of all Islamic countries trying to modernise. Any attempt to change archaic religious based laws.....blasphemy one, flogging women two.....these madrasa educated morons throw hissy fits and start frothing at the mouth.....witness the regular rampages through Male to 'protect Islam' and the attacks on pre Islamic and 'idolatrous' artifacts in your museums.
I think all islamic scholars should be rounded up and locked up in a basement dungeon in Peshawar.....with just a few pretty boys for company.....and the key thrown away. The world will be a much better place.
The only reason India is free, democratic and secular is because 86% of its people are Hindus......what would it be like if 86% were sunni Muslims?.....shudder, shudder, OMG, OMG!!.....probably another cesspit like Terroristan where Muslims are killing Muslims every day.
If Maldivians cannot give freedom of worship to All Indians, don't even THINK of visiting my country.....as for your 'scholars', they'd be better off in that dungeon in Peshawar!!
India is secular because most people in India including minorities want it to be that way,there are loony fringes among the majority Hindu population who also have a backward and retarded outlook on life eg mangalore girls harassment by Hindu ultranationalists, the panchayat khalps