Maldives: A 100% Muslim Population in the Island Country

Jakarta –

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, specifically in the Holy Land of Mecca. However, Saudi is not a country where the population is 100 percent Muslim.

In fact, the country that has an entire Muslim population is the Maldives or the Maldives as well. This country is located in the south-west of India, its area is not that big.

In a search with the name Divehi as Heu Nubai (Good versus Evil) made by Muhammad Jamil, it was explained that about 330,000 people live in the Maldives. Muhammad Jamil, who was from the Maldives, also said that the entire community is Muslim.

The Maldives is an island country. Geographically, it is located among thousands of scattered islands. There are approximately 1,200 islands with 19 atolls or coral islands surrounding the Maldives.

Of these thousands of islands, only about 200 are inhabited. In total, the land area of ​​the Maldives is about 115 square miles or about 298 square kilometers.

the Muslim population of the Maldives

Apart from being known as a country of islands with beautiful seas and beautiful beaches, the Maldives is also known as a country with a 100 percent Muslim population.

According to historical records, Islam entered the Maldives by the 12th century. Even though people live there, the Maldives used to be a remote area that was rarely visited.

For thousands of years, ancient shipping routes have crossed the area around the Maldives. The trade route between Arabia and Southeast Asia, this is the source of Islam’s entry into the Maldives.

The leaders and residents of the Maldives are always proud to call their country a 100 percent Muslim country. Freedom of religion is severely restricted in the Maldives.

There are no religions other than Islam that the residents of the Maldives accept. Islamic law or sharia is the basis of law in this country.

Is it true that 100 percent of the Maldivian population is Muslim?

According to the Royal Islamic Strategic Research Center (RISSC), the Maldives has a Muslim population of 99.41 percent.

RISSC is an independent research institute affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, an international Islamic non-governmental organization headquartered in the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom, Jordan.

The figure of 99.41 percent of the Maldivian Muslim community is a combination of research done by Dr. Houssain Ketani and the Pew Research Center.

Dr. Houssain Kettani is currently compiling research that identifies the Maldives as a 100 percent Muslim country. Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center is a Washington-based research organization that says it “promotes a deeper understanding of issues that intersect with religion and public affairs.”

The Pew Research Center estimates that of the 395,921 residents of the Maldives, 389,586 are Muslim, equal to 98.4 percent. Thus, the non-Muslim population in the Maldives is 6,335 people. The RISSC report averaged the two figures and came up with 99.41 percent.

In response to the results of this research, the Minister of Islamic State Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that according to the constitution of the Maldives, the country is a 100 percent Muslim country.

“The world needs to know the correct information about the Maldives before publishing documents about the Maldives. Everything in the Maldives is done according to the constitution,” said Shaheem, who is also one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in the administration. category.

Islamic religion governed by law

The Maldives government has strict rules regarding religious freedom. The Constitution and other laws and policies limit freedom of religion.

Referring to the 2008 state constitution, the Government of the Maldives declared Islam as the official religion of the state. The law prohibits citizens from adhering to any religion other than Islam.

This rule only applies to residents of the Maldives. Visitors or workers from outside the Maldives are allowed to believe and perform religious ceremonies other than Islam.

Visitors to the Maldives are prohibited from inviting and encouraging local residents to accept any religion other than Islam.

Non-Muslim foreigners are generally allowed in the Maldives, which has an estimated 675,000 annual visitors (mostly Chinese, European and Japanese tourists) and 100,000 foreign workers. (mainly citizens of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan), to practice their religious beliefs. only in private.

Watch video”The Moment Maldivian legislators really fight in the courtroom“

(dvs/kri)