Makthaba Salafiyya has denied any links to scholars Jaufar Faiz and Abdul Raheem Mohamed, whose licenses to give religious sermons were revoked last week.
Makthaba Salafiyya issued a statement on Sunday after it was rumored that the two scholars belonged to the organization.
Last week, Islamic Ministry revoked the licences of three scholars, including Jaufar and Abdul Raheem. The third scholar, Mohamed Hassan belongs to Makthaba Salafiyya.
In their statement, Makthaba Salafiyya said they were not linked to Jaufar and Abdul Raheem, despite many attempts to associate the two scholars to the organization.
On Saturday, the organization held a press conference at Hotel Jen during which scholar Mohamed Hassan denounced rumors linking him to extremism and jihadist ideologies. The press conference was not prompted by the revocation of Mohamed Hassan's license, and organizing such a press conference has been in the plans for a while, said Makthaba Salafiyya.
Speaking at the press conference, Mohamed Hassan said he has never encouraged extremism and has not committed any acts to spread extremist and jihadist ideologies in the Maldives, and anyone claiming he supports extremism must provide evidence to support their claims. While video recordings of sermons he delivered are available, it will attest to the fact that he has never supported extremist ideologies, and instead, that he has advocated against it, said Mohamed Hassan.
"If I am being portrayed as a person spreading extremist ideologies, I would like to see the evidence [that supports the claim]. Like it has been mentioned in the press release, I have taught books on Islamic creed at mosques after acquiring the required licences from the Islamic Ministry. I have taught around 10 books, and the books were written by scholars who are Imams of Ahlu-Sunnah-Wal-Jama'ah. What exactly is my extremist ideology?," Mohamed Hassan asked.
Sheikh Mohamed Hassan
