Newly named ruling party running mate Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed on Tuesday met with leading Islamic scholars in the country in a bid to secure their support for the upcoming presidential elections.
A renowned Islamic scholar himself, Shaheem had met with over 50 fellow scholars in the capital Male and had asked them to support incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom for the September elections.
Shaheem who was named as president Yameen's running mate had said he would not be stepping down as the Chancellor of the Islamic University of Maldives (IUM).
He had explained that the Islamic University remained an important initiative of president Yameen who needs him to stay on and develop the university even after the elections.
President Yameen has been accusing the opposition of attempting to grant religious freedom in the 100 percent Muslim nation and Shaheem remains pivotal to his plans to convince leading Islamic scholars to back his re-election campaign.
Shaheem had been president Yameen's first Islamic minister but had stepped down after the jailing of his long-time friend and religiously conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla.
Shaheem was appointed as the IUM chancellor in 2016 and had later quit from Adhaalath Party citing differences with current party ideologies.
