The Royal Islamic Strategic Research Centre (RISSC)’s report into the global state of Islam has described the Maldives as a 99.41 percent Muslim country.
RISSC is an independent research entity affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, an international Islamic non-governmental institute headquartered in the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The calculation is a collation of research by Dr Houssain Kettani – who identifies the Maldives as a 100 per-cent Muslim nation – and the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan research body claiming to “promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs.”
The PEW Research Centre’s Forum on Religion estimates that of the Maldives population of 395,921, 389,586 are Muslims, equating to 98.4 percent or a non-Muslim population of 6335. The RISSC report averages the two figures and arrives at 99.41 percent, or a non Muslim population of 2335.
State Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, described in the RISSC report as one of the world’s top 500 influential Muslims ‘administrative’ category, said according to the constitution of the Maldives the country was a 100 percent Muslim nation.
”The world should know the appropriate information about Maldives before publishing documents about Maldives. Everything in the Maldives is conducted in accordance with the constitution,” Shaheem said.
According to the Maldivian constitution all citizens are required to be Muslim, and the country is always described as a “100 percent” Muslim country.
In late May, famous religious scholar Dr Zakir Naik visited the Maldives and delivered a sermon in the capital Male’. During a question-and-answer session 37 year-old Mohamed Nazim stood up and declared himself “Maldivian and not a Muslim”, to which Dr Naik replied: “So 100 per-cent minus one.”
Nazim’s declaration angered the 11,000 strong crowd, and he was escorted from the venue by police and officials from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs amid calls for his execution.
After two days of religious counselling in police custody, Nazim appeared before television cameras at an Islamic Ministry press conference and gave Shahada – the Muslim testimony of belief – and apologised for causing “agony for the Maldivian people” and requested that the community accept him back into society.
Police submitted his case to the Prosecutor General’s office earlier this week, which is currently deciding whether to take the former apostate to the Criminal Court.
In July, 25 year-old air traffic controller Ismail Mohamed Didi was found hanged from the control tower of Male’ International Airport in an apparent suicide, after seeking asylum in the UK for fear of persecution over his stated lack of religious belief.
“Maldivians are proud of their religious homogeneity and I am learning the hard way that there is no place for non-Muslim Maldivians in this society,” Didi wrote in a letter to an international humanitarian organisation, dated June 23.
Maldives in RISSC’s top 500
Alongside Sheikh Shaheem, President Mohamed Nasheed features in RISSC’s list of most influential Muslims “for being one of the most environmentally conscious state leaders in the world.”
“In the earliest stages of his political career, Nasheed was imprisoned for his criticism of his country’s government and became an Amnesty Prisoner of Conscience,’’ said RISSC. ‘’Today, Nasheed has [pledged] to make the Maldives carbon-neutral within a decade by moving the country’s energy reliance to wind and solar power only.’’
Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, who visited the Maldives in May to deliver a sermon at the invitation of local NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf, was listed under ‘Media’.
RISSC described Philips as “a notable convert and Islamic scholar, Philips is founder of the virtual educational institution Islamic Online University and Discover Islam, an Islamic center based in Dubai.”
The report added that “In May 2010, Philips was the subject of a letter-writing campaign in the Maldives which condemned his preaching as a promotion of religious extremism. He was subsequently banned from entering the United Kingdom.”
Dr Naik was also listed in the top 500 under ‘Preachers’. RISSC describes him as “an Indian public intellectual teaching about Islam. He hosts huge public events where he speaks on Islam, highlighting misconceptions and promoting understanding about the faith.”
RISSC also noted that in June 2010, “Dr Naik was banned from entering the United Kingdom due to ‘unacceptable behaviour’. His public statements on terrorism and Osama bin Laden have contributed to his reputation as a controversial televangelist.”
His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, tops the list of most influential Muslims.
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Maldives has been, is and will forever be a 100% Muslim Nation.
We do not need to see what foreighn corporations, organizations feel like?? we know our country well enough to understand that we are a 100% Muslim Nation as there will not be room for any other religion in this beautiful Nation of Mine......
In a democracy we have to accept what the majority wants. We cannot have both ways. To be a citizen of maldives, one should be a muslim - this is what the majority wants.
is this an ettempt to garnish more hatred towards Nazim and others who might not subscribe to maintream religious ideas? OR is it an attempt to show otherwise?
Obviously Maldivians are not ready to embrace religion or freedom. It'd be a lie to say Maldives is 100% muslim maldivian country, but we are willing to buy in to this lie for the peace it supposedly has brought to this nation over the years..
Hilmy, How do you know for sure that Maldives is 100% Muslim nation?
If you know with that accuracy you must be GOD?
I thought you all used to be Buddhists Hilmy?
Typical mullah mentality. Whenever someone shouts out something realistic about this particular issue, they'll start preaching the constitution, as if it's set in stone like the ten commandments.
Perhaps, this is the most closest to reality! We might wish otherwise! ..,
Allah Knows Best
In Allah Almighty We Trust
Hilmy said - "In a democracy we have to accept what the majority wants."
No. What you describe is called the 'tyranny of the majority'.
This skewed perception of democracy is unfortunately too prevalent among too many Maldivians.
'Majority' is NOT all that matters in a democracy. Or we'd not have the concept of an opposition.
The correct word is 'representation'. Unfortunately, the Maldives has no legal representation for its minorities - and cannot, for this reason, pretend to be a proper democracy.
Also, keeping in mind the Islamic Prophet's treatment of peaceful non-Muslims, the Maldives seems to even be against its own constitution that says no law can be made against the tenets of Islam as defined by the Quran and Sunnah.
Why do the constitution defines Quran and Sunnah as the highest law? In Islam there is no law above Quran and that is the book given and identified in Islam. While Sunnah is different interpretations and stories told by others (human's word) after centuries. So how could we put Sunnah (e.g. Sahih Bukhari) as same level as Quran and quran (GOD's word) itself includes what Prophets were ordered and their actions and what Muslims must and must not do. So what is this concept of ‘100% Muslim country’ while we bring something else along with it? I am not against Sunnah books and studying of it maybe useful but how can, being 100% muslim as we say, make sunnah as same level (law) as Quran?
You guys should consider renaming your paper "Watch-Islam and Imams making sex to small boys"
Many definitions of what a democracy is. Simply speaking, comes from two Greek words and literally means people power.
What exists in the West is defined as a liberal democracy, these two terms liberty and democracy are understood to mean something related to each other, but different.
A pure democracy does result in a tyranny of the majorit as decribed above by Yaamyn.
In Ancient Greece, pure democracy lead to dictatorial control by a war mongering demagogue, as the masses would meet in a single gathering and the loudest, most aggressive would take control by appealing to the basest instinct in man for war, reap, etc... Radical Islam is the modern Maldivian equivalent. Yes, the Maldives is going the way of a pure democracy, nothing to boast about.
The concept of liberty implied the protection of the rights of minorities from the tyranny of the majority. It was such at the time that liberty was the opposite of democracy. This concept of liberty in the West is being extended to imply not only the rich or educated minorities (as was originally implied by liberty in early Western liberal philosophy) but also now being used to mean the liberty of powerless minority groups such as - American Indians in the USA for example.
Whilst early users of the term liberty would have turned in their graves to apply the term liberty to the rights of American Indians, I believe that the term liberty does imply this more modern usage or else it is not liberty but selfishness.
In this sense, I would suggest that Maldives is a democracy but NOT a liberal democracy...
2000+ non-muslims? That is a surprising number. Those of you living in your own worlds should wake yourselves up and take a nice look at the reality you are in.
The reality is that all Maldivians are no longer Muslims. If you want to talk by constitution, that's fine. You will probably want to say that the 2000+ people are no longer Maldivians - they are former Maldivians who now no longer belong to any country. But even that is hard for you to grab on isn't it? Oh well at least that justifies the 100% argument - but only in your heads!
So, Where else on this planet does a person gets deprived of his or citizenship when that person changes faith? I am asking because I simply do not know. Also, what are the international laws that govern such issues and what are the rights such persons have in this world?
It is time the nation accepted the truth, and even if the country accepted it or not, even if the country kept dragging it's feet on this issue by simply ignoring it and what not, there is absolutely nothing the people can do to change that truth. I am sorry!
Maldives is no longer a 100% Muslim country.
Ramazan Mubarik to all Muslims. May God bless you.
there is no room for any other religion in this county. thank god we are not buddhists anymore.to all foreighn leave our us alone u dont have the right to talk about maldivian.
We have never been and will never be a 100% Muslim country, never mind what the Constitution says. The Constitution is not a copy of what is in peoples heads.
Islam, just like other religions have positives and negatives. When one comes to accept this, then only can we have a reasonable debate about the so called "peace" it brings to the country.
Lets root our these hypocrites and stone them to death. Gradually, we will get to 100%, by harassment, intimidation or raw fear, if nothing else.
And then, Maldives will be the first country en route to heaven.
wudnt it b better to accept and aknowledge the truth.. i think it is an injustice to the muslims as well to call maldives a 100% muslim country while there r obviously non believers. do u muslims want non muslims to be amongst urselfs disguised as muslims by choice or otherwise? i dont think so. i dont see the point to make it constitutional and force everyone to be called 'muslims' other than jus for an ego boost for the muslims in claiming the nation to be '100%' muslim. accept the truth, live and let live. we al can live more peacefully once we al come to term with the truth. MALDIVES IS NOT A 100% MUSLIM COUNTRY.
@Ahmed on Wed, 1st Sep 2010 7:23 PM
Dont say that to the best of the breed straight from top. There can never be negatives on this one. Zero!
There could not be. There should not be. If even an inkling exists, the whole scene collapses.
Maldives was (very likely) never a %100 Muslim country. There is enough evidence in the real history of Maldives.
but its a pleasing idea for so called Muslims to satisfy their ego to believe that we are %100. you could live in a fantasy world (of a %100 muslim country) or you could try to understand the reality. the reality may not always be satisfying.
I personally would have loved Muslims if they were not harmful.
-peace-
Why this is important news for Minivan news, for me its more important the deals MDP lead government is making with GMR to get up front 78 million dollor by October. Who cares whether there is 100% or 1% muslims in Maldives.
Now i find this out from an external source?
The Islamic Ministry is useless!
This government's efforts is becoming a reality. I bet by the end of 2010 they will declare 3% is Christians. Now that is something to be proud of for this government.
the article has failed to explain or clarify to the readers how the percentages and the numbers have been derived. It would be useful to know how RICCs report justifies the numbers or maybe a link to the report. Then comes the rest of the issues related to constitution and their rights etc as citizens or non citizen's of Maldives.
At last, the myth engineered by the previous regime to clamp down on freedom of speech is broken.
A glorious day!.
Please adjust your percentage:
Four Maldivians just left Islam and took refuge in the wisdom of Gautama Buddha.
wah wah wah..old news......
What is for certain is that Maldives is a country where 100% of the people will at least PRETEND to be Muslim in order to avoid persecution.
MUSLIM OR NON MUSLIM... Death penalty all the non-muslim-maldivans bwaaahaahaaa 😛 got news for you... why dont you athiests or biblist or what ever u wanna go on a strike(as in democracy) to see all you people beheaded would be one hell of a sweet day for me
Remember Umar zahir asking "party? What party? The only party I know serves tea and gulha". This 100% Muslim thing is sounding more and more like that. "Kaafarun in Maldives? What kaafarun? The constitution says there are no kaafarun. The constitution is never wrong".
Good luck gentlemen. A myth can only go so far as a means of self-deception. Ask an ostrich if you don't believe me.
@Haseen
"This government’s efforts is becoming a reality. I bet by the end of 2010 they will declare 3% is Christians. Now that is something to be proud of for this government."
And that would prove the former governments allegations TRUE about NASORA agenda?
Minivan News Team. What do yu think is to be moderated in this comment?
ALLEGATIONS?
heck on Your comment is awaiting moderation. Wed, 1st Sep 2010 10:50 PM
Maldives was never a 100% Muslim nation. What’s the big deal?
It was a publicity gimmick used by former President to hold on to power!
Remember Amin Didi’s time? There were black-magicians shot dead for conspiring to kill the President.
Black-magicians are SAME as apostates. They have to RECANT Islam to SURVIVE on their PROFESSION!
So what’s new in RISSC report or ANY report?
Is it going to make ANY difference?
The difference is that Voodoo Dhon Didi never met a Westerner who wanted to use her as a proxy to get a foot hold in Maldives to implement a Joshua project in Maldives before the year 2000 or do a favour “same-sex marriage project” for our very own local perverts.
There is proof that Nazim and all, met, lived with Westerners
Even the night Nazim made the famous announcement the people would have seen that there was a very evident FOREIGN influence on him!
All the people making up the claimed 0.51% of the population may be all the recruits or PROXIES who wanted to implement a FOREIGN agenda in Maldives.
It does not in anyway change the status of Islam in Maldives.
These HOPEFULS just hold “Dhon Didi” status.
Another difference this time around is the black-magic is replaced by psychological warfare and the target is not only the government BUT the whole social demography of Maldives.
This 0.50% might as well resort to white collar terrorist activities to achieve their ends – and we as Maldivians have to be VIGILANT on these “MAGICIANS” who hold “Dhon Didi” status!
They are desperate for RESULTS!
They deserve a ZERO for hating Maldives and Islam.
This whole article is out of context, well it depends on which source you refer,and what message you want send, my reference still says Maldives is 100% muslims
http://www.eislamicarabic.com/muslim-countries.html
Now what?
Build a church and install holy INFALLIBLE priests and send our young boys to the choir to be ABUSED?
Pluralism is an essential prerequisite of a liberal society and freedom of religion is an essential prerequisite. Even the holy prophet allowed minorities to practice their religion. If you do not allow religious freedom, soon there will be dissensions within the Muslims based on beliefs, already those imbued with Wahabi thoughts are accusing others of not being true Muslims
@heck
Its not only the priests that abuses lil boys..what about the recent case of quran teacher who abused lil kids?pakaaas...and what abt the mudhimu who sodomised men?? and wat abt a certain someone who #$%^%% a gal when she was 9years??
if this nation is a 100% muslim country then we are in heaven already.. hallelujah
The Dunning-Kruger effect! Stupid is the new smart.
@mother mary
Yes. Quran teacher or mudhimu - they are NOT infallible like your priests who claim to be FILLED with the holy spirit!
What spirit will urge people to commit such horrendous activities? Obviously it's the SPIRIT of the DEVIL!
Yamyn said "Also, keeping in mind the Islamic Prophet’s treatment of peaceful non-Muslims, the Maldives seems to even be against its own constitution that says no law can be made against the tenets of Islam as defined by the Quran and Sunnah".
You've missed out on the prophet's treatment and what is said on Islamic Sharia on apostates coming out of a Muslim community. We are a 100% Muslim community. And apostates should be treated in the way that is said in the Sharia. So, our constitution does not contradict the tenets of Islam in this manner.
al,
I don't remember the last time a census was made asking people to declare their faith in this country.
If I'm not misinformed, I think the '100%' Muslim title was stuck by the then government on the people by a simple edict.
The validity of such a declaration (even Islamically) can easily be called into question.
The easiest thing would be for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to declare all 6 billion of us as Sunni Muslims and get instant salvation.
But it does not work like that. I know several Maldivians who aren't sunni and subscribe to the School of thought. There are Maldivians who profess to be Christian, and there are those who do not believe.
Which part of the religion allows a government to unilaterally declare random people as 'Muslims' - without their free will?
These are the times you need to look into the very definition of the term Islam - which I think means 'submission', not 'subjugation'.
Edit: subscribe to the Sunni* school of thought
firaa on Thu, 2nd Sep 2010 5:14 AM
"MUSLIM OR NON MUSLIM… Death penalty all the non-muslim-maldivans bwaaahaahaaa 😛 got news for you… why dont you athiests or biblist or what ever u wanna go on a strike(as in democracy) to see all you people beheaded would be one hell of a sweet day for me."
Let's see how hard the muslims will BAWWW about being persecuted/oppressed when some enterprising country pulls up a new rule called "Death penalty all the muslim- bwaaahaahaaa!" and carries out some law enforcement... Serbia style.
That's the main problem with these so-called 100% muslims. Double standards. In fact, they seem to have forgotten that the muslims were once persecuted across the ages.
I believe, that a quick reminder can put them on the right path again.
@Ahmed Aliased
Your actions are described as "Aiy Nulaa Adhho Kiyuvvun"
You should NOW admit, that what WE have been talking all this while was not "radom accusations" as you,yaamyn and that saint would blurt out every time?
Can YOUR gang even identify a "random accusation" even as you trip and fall on one?
@Ahmed Aliased
"I believe, that a quick reminder can put them on the right path again."
Trasnsaltion of this (un)holy verse from Ahmed Aliased's "Mein Kampf" holy book.
"i believe":
I WANT
"a quick reminder":
TERRORIST ACTIVITIES (VENGEANCE)
you are famous for it!
"would put them":
THEM MEANS MUSLIMS
"on the right path again":
CREATE TERROR IN MALDIVES BY ILLEGAL ACTS
You call this "random accusations"?
There is the Smoking Gun that you ARE every INCH what you are accused of!
Pardon my interruption, but isn't anyone seeing the real objective of this report?
This can't be some Zionist and Western evil agenda to wash Maldivian's of their faith, as some of you paranoid Muslims think. This report is never about faith. No it's not. The objective of this report is, and rightly so, the LOLification of the so-called Constitution of the Republic of Maldives and it's Lawmakers.
What's priceless is when one of the 'influentials', among the 500, hastens to take refuge in the just-now-LOLified Constitution by this report.
Members of the Majilis and majority of our politicians are Primates, waiting to be evolved to get the privileges of a fully functional brain.
@Ahmed Aliased &
@yaamyn
Just look at you two!
Hoplessly desperate for RESULTS?
Read my lips:
IT'S - NOT - GOING - TO - HAPPEN!!
Same-sex marriage is NOT going to happen in Maldives !
Now don't cry - pink gurus!
Yaa, our society is for Maldivian. what these media as well Sappey and minivan news is promoting anti islamic news particularly undermine the overwhelming majority of population of this nation will not be tolerable. All those who commented against the will of people, minority/ atheism or what ever mind you this country is not ready to listen you foreigner in this regards. The Christianity and the church child sex is the total out come in your society. now you will say Christianity is western religion even you people has no clue of this religion too. heheh
Quite a few people are saying that the Prophet was accommodating to non-Muslims during his time.
Well, fact is, there were non-Muslims present in Medina, Mecca etc BEFORE Islam arrived and so he accommodated them with certain restrictions placed on them.
The situation in the Maldives is rather different. We're supposed to have gone from a Buddhist country to a 100% Islamic country at a certain point in history.
Like the Prophet we also accommodate non-Muslims in this country. It is a rather different story when it comes to a Muslim Maldivian leaving Islam and becoming a non-Muslim. How do we accommodate him?
The Prophet did not accommodate such persons in the same way he accommodate people of other faiths.
Please do not mislead and misinterpret history.
Western society provides the freedom to chose any religion you want at any time of your choosing. This freedom has been brought about over hundreds of years. It's not something that happened overnight. Thousands of people were massacred along the way to this freedom. What they enjoy today is the fruit of the sacrifices made by a lot of people.
We cannot just transform Maldivian society in one stroke to a place where multiple faiths are supposed to co-exist peacefully. There will be the inevitable bloodshed. How many thousands will be sacrificed to arrive at a Western model of tolerance? How many long years will it take?
Just look at the pain we are going through in our democratic transition. It took Western society thousands of years to get to a modern democracy.
No one seems to bring this point; or they are deliberately keeping very quiet about the sordid history of Western society regarding religious freedom. The Spanish Inquisition didn't take that long ago in history, for example.