Several religious scholars have directed their criticism on Friday prayer sermon which has been 'politicized' according to them.
According to the Muslim custom, in Islam the Friday prayers (Jummah prayer) starts with imams reading out sermons focusing on various societal issues from religious perspectives as well as addressing and reminding on religious practices.
February 16, Friday's sermon was titled 'Haakim (leader, in this case referring to 'president') is a blessing' as the script focused on the importance of public obedience towards their elected leader or leaders.
The sermon had also highlighted on the civic duties in respecting and abiding to a people-elected leader of a country.
Friday's sermon had attracted the criticism from multiple religious scholars who all coincided that religious texts including sermons should not be politicized for personal or political agendas.
Sheikh Ali Zaid expressed his surprise in seeing Friday's sermon and added that "not everything needs to politicized." He also asserted that a leader cannot be described as a blessing every time and the citizens need to distinguish and hold oppressive leaders accountable.
Another scholar stressed that oppressive leaders cannot be defined as blessings but rather as calamities, who come as a means to trials and tribulations to test the people's faith and their perdition.
Dr. Mohamed Iyaz's spiritual take on the issue was almost echoed by several other clerics.
Interestingly one of the imams to present the sermon at one of the islands refused to do upon receiving the script. Due to the imam's refusal to read out the sermon at Laamu atoll Maamendhoo, another imam from a neighboring island was transported to the island to carry out Friday prayer.
Among the clerics who criticized the Friday's sermon included local judge Abdul Baaree Yoosuf who lambasted that state leaders should not politicize religion and use it as a means to push their political agenda, adding that the faith's doctrine should not be misused in order to conceal vices.
However Housing Minister Dr. Mohamed Muizzu had rebutted the criticism of multiple clerics taking an anti-secular narrative when he said that politics cannot be divorced from religion and its practices in Islam, recommending those who disliked the sermon's topic to reconsider their opinion.
Meanwhile opposition had severely lambasted both Islamic Ministry and government for politicizing Friday's sermon.
