A second emergency motion was filed at Wednesday's parliament sitting over the report issued by the Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) on radicalization in Maldives.
While the parliament accepted the initial emergency motion submitted by Nolhivaram MP Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla last Monday, all members who wished to debate on the motion were given the opportunity to talk on the matter.
During Wednesday's sitting, Vice President of opposing Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Naifaru MP Ahmed Shiyam also submitted a second emergency motion over the report.
In his motion, MP Shiyam noted that several individuals who were senior members of MDN when the report was issued in 2015 are currently appointed in government positions, and called for their dismissal.
In response to the motion, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)'s parliamentary group leader, Medhu Henveiru MP Ali Azim said that the motion was raised against parliamentary regulations, as it clearly states that a previously raised and discussed issue cannot be raised again.
However, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed made the decision to take a vote on whether to go into debate on the matter, and said members who felt that the motion was against regulations could vote so.
35 out of 46 members voted to dismiss the motion, whereas 11 members voted to proceed.
The report titled "Preliminary Assessment of Radicalization in Maldives" assessed how 'radical' Islam was practiced in the Maldives, describing Islam and Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) in derogatory terms, and in contradiction with the principles of Islam.
The contents of the report prompted harsh criticism from the public and religious scholars. The matter is currently under investigation after the Islamic Ministry filed a police case against them.
After the issue escalated, the Chairperson of the Network, Aishath Nooshin Waheed, who is a consultant at the President's Office resigned from the organization's leadership amid the controversy. However, she still remains in her position at the President's Office.
MDN has since apologized for the contents of the report, and retracted it from their website. While the organisation has stated that they are working with Islamic scholars to revise the report, some members of the organization have defended the report on social media platforms.
On Tuesday evening, several Islamic scholars met with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to discuss the report. President Solih has assured that he will take the necessary action in its regard.
