Islamic comedy in Maldives

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Feb 8, 2012 at 04:52

Dear Dr Pipes:

While the world watches the events in Syria and Iran, some true Islamic comedy is goiing on in Maldives. Marlives is a small tropical island nation in the Indian ocean with a population of about half a million people. By all accounts, it should be a paradise and it probably is except for one thing. During their voyages from Arabia to Indonesia, Arab traders did pitstops in Maldives and in their effort to build consensus converted all island dwellers to Islam. Now it is 100% Islamic. When law is silent or ambiguous on a matter, Sharia is the guiding force. Open practice of any other religion is banned and non-muslims cannot become citizens of this precious nation. With all this what can go wrong? Sure enough, since its independence from Britain in 1968, Maldives has experimented with various forms of dictatorships and has been a sultnate for most of the times. However, some years ago it elected its first democratic president. So far so good but then the comedy started.

Last week Islamists in Maldives decided that there was not enough unity in a nation of 400,000 people 100% of which are Sunni muslims. Islamists decided the country needed more unity. So they quickly took the help of Army. In the ensuing events the Maldivian military and Maldivian Police teargassed each other and eventually the Army, backed by the Islamists, reached the temple of the president where it held a gun until the president resigned. Luckily he was not shot dead. Promptly a new president was appointed who promised to quickly impose a government of national unity. The government was quickly imposed. And, thus, the great Jumhooriyya of Maldives, went back to its Islamic Emiretan roots after a brief experiment with democracy.

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