A complaint has been filed against Speaker Mohamed Nasheed at the Home Ministry and the Islamic Ministry.
The complaint was filed by religious organizations Jamiyyatul Salaf.
A letter sent to the Islamic Ministry signed by President of Salaf, Abdulla Bin Mohamed Ibrahim was submitted on Thursday. The complaint said that Nasheed continues to defend the contentious report on radicalization in Maldives prepared by non-partisan NGO Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN).
"Macchangolhi central MP of the Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed continues to normalise slandering Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) on different platforms, with malicious intent. He speaks in ways that may cause disunity among the Islamic community. We ask you to pursue legal action against Nasheed for attempting to cause religious disunity in the country", said the letter.
Salaf further said it is an injustice to favor one citizen over the other.
While the issue of the report, which described Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) in derogatory terms and challenged principles of Islam, has prompted national debate, Nasheed previously stated that he does not believe the contents of the report were intended to incite hatred against Islam.
Speaking as the chief guest at a ceremony held to launch Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed's translation of Sahih Muslim Hadith book earlier this month, Nasheed said he read the full report written by MDN and said he does not believe the authors of the report used vocabulary and phrasing that could incite hatred towards Islam. He noted that some references to Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) were disrespectful, and acknowledged it was not acceptable.
However, he does not believe the usage of the disrespectful terms to describe the prophet to be intentional, said Nasheed.
"After reading the report, I do not believe the authors of the report used their choice of phrasing with the intention of disrespect. They were attempting to express themselves in English, which resulted in its usage. It could happen when you have studied at some universities for long periods", defended Nasheed.
Nasheed said such incidents may occur when writing about complex religious issues without being properly familiarized on the subject.
The former president further stated that the report throws light on issues that exist in the Maldives.
Titled '‘Preliminary Assessment on Radicalisation in the Maldives", the report issued in 2016 challenged principles and teachings of Islam in the Holy Quran, and disrespected Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). The report outlined several verses from the Quran and 'hadith' of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) as examples of ideas that contribute to promulgation of radical worldviews.
Speaker Mohamed Nasheed - Photo: AVAS
