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Islam is the state religion of the Maldives. [2] The 2008 Constitution or "Fehi Qānoon" declares the significance of Islamic law in the country. The constitution requires that citizenship status be based on adherence to the state religion, which legally makes the country's citizens hundred percent Muslim. [3]
The 2008 Constitution of Maldives designates Sunni Islam as the state religion. Only Sunni Muslims are allowed to hold citizenship in the country and citizens may practice Sunni Islam only. Non-Muslim citizens of other nations can practice their faith only in private and are barred from evangelizing or propagating their faith.
Islamic influence in the Maldives may date as far back as the 10th century, with mentions of the region by Arabic accounts dating to around the 9th and 10th centuries. [1] The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the 12th century may partly explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives Dhovemi converted to Islam in the ...
The Maldives, [d] officially the Republic of Maldives, [e] and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India , about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland.
The Constitution of the Maldives designates Islam as the official state religion, [1] [2] and the government and many citizens at all levels interpret this provision to impose a requirement that all citizens must be Muslims. The Constitution states the president must be a Sunni Muslim. There is no freedom of religion or belief. [3]
In November 2011, the blog of journalist Ismail Khilath Rasheed was shut down by Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, on the grounds that the site contained "anti-Islamic material". [3] Rasheed, a self-professed Sufi Muslim, had argued for greater religious tolerance. [4]
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Dhivehi: އިސްލާމީ ކަންތައްތަކާ ބެހޭ ވުޒާރާ) is a government agency of the Republic of Maldives, handling the country's religious affairs. It was previously known as Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and was constituted by the president of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 1996. [4]
Human rights in the Maldives, an archipelagic nation of 417,000 people off the coast of the Indian Subcontinent, [1] is a contentious issue. In its 2011 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House declared the Maldives "Partly Free", claiming a reform process which had made headway in 2009 and 2010 had stalled. [ 2 ]