Opinion: South Asia restless over Islamic extremism in the Maldives
In the Maldives, Islam is not only the state religion; citizens are expected to practice it per the country's new Constitution from 2008.
Article 9 (d) of the Constitution declares that "a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives," whereas "Islam is the religion of the State of the Maldives and the basis for all Maldivian laws would be Islam," stated Article 10(a).
During former President Ibrahim M Solih's tenure (2018-2023), the Maldives implemented counter-terrorism and violent extremism policies, acknowledging every act of terrorism and taking aggressive steps against all manifestations; nonetheless, the success was not considerable.
Under the leadership of President Solih, the Maldivian government implemented the 'Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy' of the United Nations to combat terrorism and violent extremism. The country has also joined the Saudi-led 'Islamic Military Alliance' to fight terrorism.
Following the "Prevention of Terrorism Act," the Maldivian government published a "watch list" of 17 terrorist organizations on 19 September 2019. Organizations like the Islamic State (IS)/ISIS, al-Qa'ida, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Harkat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HuJI) are among those on the list, based on recommendations from the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and endorsed by former President Solih.
The committee study also disclosed that the Maldives' security establishments, including the police, military, immigration division, and education ministry, were being targeted by both al-Qa'ida and the Islamic State (IS), two global terrorist organizations. The Maldivians' ties to al-Qa'ida and IS began in 2008 and 2014, respectively. In 2014, several Maldivians responded to the call made by the first self-styled caliph of the IS- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and did hijra (emigration) to IS-controlled territory in Iraq.
The kidnapping case of Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla, a journalist for the Maldives Independent, in 2014 brought to light incidents of radical Islam. Ahmed used to write about corruption in the government and the activities of radical Islamists in the Maldives. Ahmed was abducted and killed on 08 August 2014.
During President Solih's tenure, on 01 September 2019, a committee report concluded that Ahmed Rilwan was murdered by radical Islamists associated with al-Qa'ida. Another case was of a Maldivian blogger- Yameen Rasheed. Rasheed was actively involved in the public search for his missing journalist friend, Ahmed Rilwan (who was killed in August 2014). Rasheed was found dead in his flat, with many stab wounds on his torso area. According to the investigation report, seven radicalised young men believed that Rasheed had 'mocked the faith' and was doing things against Islam and needed to be killed.
Unlike strong ties between India-Maldives under the leadership of former President Solih, the bilateral relationship is facing a tough time under President Muizzu's leadership. Like former President Abdulla Yameen's "India Out" campaign, Muizzu's "India-Out" campaign refreshed the memories of the 2013 elections. Having pro-China sentiments, Muizzu's campaign was supported by China to counter India's presence in Maldives' security environment.
During a press conference in January 2024, President Muizzu targeted India by saying, "We may be small, but this does not give them the license to bully us". His comment came after he visited China and met with Xi Jinping. Under the influence of China, Muizzu announced the relocation/withdrawal of Indian Army personnel from one of the three aviation platforms in the Maldives by 15 March 2024. Anti-Bharat statements and actions by President Muizzu will further deteriorate bilateral relations between Bharat-Maldives and jeopardise the security milieu of the Island nation.
A report by the European Election Observation Mission on "Presidential Election Maldives 2023" revealed that in an attempt to influence public opinion and manipulate election results, the present Maldivian government, which is a coalition of the People's National Congress (PNC) and the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), carried out misinformation campaign on social media platforms with an emphasis on anti-Bharat sentiments.
The presence of al-Qa'ida in the Maldives was revealed via the Meta/Facebook page of Bilad al- Sham Media (BaSM), an extremist group linked with Jabhat al-Nursa (JN). The BaSM claimed to be the media representative for Maldivian foreign (terrorist) combatants in Syria.9 In 2009, hundreds of Maldivians were recruited by terror groups such as the Taliban and al-Qa'ida affiliates in Pakistan and Afghanistan.10 In November 2009, al-Qa'ida's media wing published a film featuring Ali Jaleel, aka Musab Sayyid-a Maldivian native who had joined a pro-Taliban organisation in Pakistan, killed after a suicide attack on the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) HQ in Lahore on 27 May 2009.
