President Neglects to Mention Rise in Anti-Religious Sentiment

Although President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih highlighted the issue of religious extremism in the Maldives, he had neglected to make mention of the rapid spread of anti-religious and atheist ideologies through the country in today's address to the parliament.

In his address to the Majlis today, he mentioned that the government had done much work to preserve Islamic principles and to strengthen the roots of Islamic belief in the hearts of the citizens. He highlighted the government’s efforts against religious extremism.

He said that the biggest efforts the government had made to preserve Islamic principles was to strive against extremism. President Solih said that the social principles taught by Islam was to treating children well, and to harmoniously co-exist with each other.

He said that “there would be no place” for people who harmed women and children and who wished to “cause divisions” in society.

However, President Solih had neglected to mention the rising tide of anti-religious sentiment in the Maldives. He did not mention the radical secularist voices on social media who called for the removal of Islam from the public sphere and to convert the government into an entirely secular entity. Nor did he mention the social media platforms operated by locals who called for the normalization and acceptance of homosexuality.

There has been a rise in such anti-Islamic trends lately, and the government has not taken measures to curb its rise.