Pres establishes committee to tackle blasphemy

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has established a special committee to address anti-religious criticisms targeted towards Islam in the Maldives.

The President's Office revealed on Tuesday that the committee was assembled by the President upon the advisement of the cabinet to find a solution to the recent uprise in anti-Islamic hate speech.

The special seven member committee comprises of the Vice President Faisal Naseem and several important ministers of the cabinet inluding the Defence Minister, Home Minister, Islamic Minister, Youth Minister and Higher Educaion Minister. The Chief of Staff at the President's Office is also part of the special committee.

The committee will be working under Social Council as resolved by the cabinet and its main responsibilities would be discussing on the matter with relevant authorities and taking immediate action against the current issues faced. Devising new stategies to seek long term solutions to prevent undesirable actions from those who criticize and speak against Islam, and from those that may commit the same kinds of action in the name of protecting religion is also part of the responsibilities of the committee.

Hate speech against Islam has recently increased in the Maldives. Several anti-Islamic sentiments were expressed by a former lawmaker on social media just this week, sparking public outrage which has resulted in a series of protests and threats and acts of vandalism.

A journalist from an independent media also recently referred to Islam in a negative light on a social media platform. Both individuals were summoned to the police headquarters for questioning.

Earlier on Sunday, Ministry of Islamic Affairs stated that they would take strict action against the abuse of Islam through hate speech. However, it has not been reported that any action was taken against either individual.

The Maldivian archipelago boasts a 100% Muslim population according to statistics. It is likely that this figure is no longer accurate.