Tuesday
7th May 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Solih. Photo: TMJ
Stipulating the existence of other religions, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih questioned whether Maldives was a mono-religious society, in perpetuity.
Addressing the attendees at the ceremony held to commemorate the day Maldives Embraced Islam, last night, President Solih stated that it was likely that Maldives always had Muslims and therefore Islam, since the beginning.
He said that since people of multiple religious beliefs had frequented the Maldives, since the beginning, it was likely that Maldivians had embraced Islam even during the time of the Islamic Message.
He stated that multi-religious entities migrated to Maldives and therefore, it was unlikely that Maldives had ever been a mono-religious society.
Some people have speculated that the President’s remarks attempt to normalize the idea of Maldivian society being multi-religious and secular. He had come under heavy public scrutiny for stating that Muslims existed in the time of Idolism in the country.
Despite the President’s stipulations, no historical evidence exists of the Maldives being in a mono-religious state before Islam was officially acepted by any Maldivian monarch.
While Maldivian history dates back to a time before Prophet Jesus (pbuh), some people have criticized the President accusing him of attempting to rewrite Maldivian history.