by A. J. PHILIP
“The Maldives is made up of a chain of nearly 1,200 islands, most of them uninhabited, which lie off the Indian sub-continent.” PHOTO/BBC
Maldives is the most Muslim nation in the world, after Saudi Arabia. Yet, former President Abdul Gayoom enacted the Protection of Religious Unity Act of 1994 to restrict practice and expression of any religion other than Islam
Coups and military rules have become old-fashioned. In the sixties and the seventies, not a single month passed without a violent change of leadership taking place in some country. The standard practice was for the army to stage a flag march, kill or capture the ruler, occupy the national radio station and announce to the world that a coup d’etat had taken place. That is how Idi Amin came to power in Uganda and a series of army generals like Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf ruled Pakistan.
The whole world believed that democracy had come to stay in the Maldives when following a direct presidential election in 2008, the young Mohamed Nasheed was chosen for the highest post. He was able to capture the imagination of the people, who live in the archipelago comprising over a thousand islands, because he was a stout opponent of the former long-time dictatorial President Abdul Maumoon Gayoom.
The clean-shaven, suit wearing Gayoom is an epitome of diplomatic etiquette and civility when he appears on stages like that of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which he co-founded. But at home, he was a tyrant, who brooked no opposition, smothered public opinion, destroyed free Press and tortured his opponents. Petty charges like theft were used to keep Nasheed in jail, forcing him to seek political refuge in Britain. But he never relented in his fight against Gayoom, who knew how to cultivate powers like India.
When an attempt to overthrow Gayoom was made by his enemies who arrived at capital Male in a few boats, Indian forces went to his rescue and averted a coup. Far from making amends for his dictatorial rule, he used his hold on power to persecute his critics and used religion as a smokescreen for his wrong-doings. The Maldives has a population of 330,000 comprising mostly Sunni Muslims. In terms of the religious identity of the people, the Maldives is the most Muslim nation in the world, after Saudi Arabia.
Yet, Gayoom thought it necessary to enact the Protection of Religious Unity Act of 1994 to unify the practice and preaching of Islam and to restrict practice and expression of any religion other than Islam. During his 30-year rule, Gayoom cracked down on Christian expats on suspicion of missionary work and deported them. He also imprisoned a few converts.
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