Islam as a state religion
Islam reached the shores of the Maldives in 1153, probably imported by Arab traders from North Africa. This conversion marked an important turning point in the history of the country, which was then subject to the authority of a sultanate. Islam, which had been professed since the 12th century, became the state religion through the 1968 Constitution promulgated "in the name of Allah the Beneficent and Merciful". The President of the Islamic Republic of Maldives is thus the political and religious leader of the country. The country is Sunni and has a 100% Muslim population. A foreigner wishing to marry a Maldivian must convert to Islam. Religion is omnipresent in the life of the citizens who have the duty to be Muslim. The practice of any other religion is prohibited and the importation of idols is forbidden. It is not advisable to display religious beliefs other than those advocated by the State. In 1998, 19 Christians from Europe were expelled for trying to spread the Christian religion in the archipelago. At the same time, even more seriously, more than 50 Maldivians suspected of practising Christianity were arrested and imprisoned. Members of the small Christian community in the Maldives, often South Indians, are severely punished when they are caught practising their faith. Islam is taught to children from an early age, and learning the Arabic alphabet begins before learning Divehi. At the age of 3, Maldivian children begin to decipher the Koran in the maktabs, the elementary Koranic schools. But the learning stops there. Although Maldivians can read the holy text, they do not understand the meaning of what they read. It is only recently that the Maldivian government has offered its inhabitants a translation of the Koran into Divehi. The practice of religion punctuates the Maldivian day. The call to prayer is made by the muezzin five times a day from the minaret of the mosque. Each inhabited Maldivian island and each island-hotel has its own mosque. On Friday noon, at the time of the great weekly prayer, the country freezes. All the men go to the mosque, including those on the island hotels, so lunch is often served later.
The Koranic law
The Maldivian State based its judicial system on the sharia, which governed both civil and criminal law. However, the State had a more lenient interpretation of Koranic law than other States that had chosen the same legal framework. Women were not confined to the home and were not obliged to wear a veil. A Maldivian law even prohibits the wearing of the chador. Officially, it is to protect against terrorist attacks. Unofficially, it is to avoid putting off Western tourists. Penalties for minor offences and slight breaches of the rules professed by the Koran are rather light. Belonging to a people with a quiet soul, the Maldivian has never appreciated the "blessing" of violent Sharia punishments. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta, who was appointed cadi (officer of justice) in the Maldives in the 14th century, met with a revolt when he ordered that the hands of thieves be cut off. This punishment was applied only once in the Maldives, during the presidency of Mohamed Amin Didi. Traditionally, the most common punishments are exile, caning, flogging or imprisonment. The death penalty was reinstated in 2014, applicable to people as young as 7 years old, in accordance with Koranic law. Nevertheless, the ultimate punishment has yet to be imposed since the end of the moratorium, dating back to 1954 and the British occupation.
Buddhism and local beliefs
Several Buddhist archaeological remains have been found in Ari Atoll and on Gan Island. It would appear that the cult was similar to that practiced in India. It can be assumed that the first settlers who arrived around 500 BC imported the religion to the archipelago. A coral Buddha head from the 11th century is on display at the National Museum in Malé. Other archaeological discoveries made in the 1980s suggest that a belief based on sun worship also existed. Many pre-Islamic beliefs still exist, especially in the remote atolls. They are used to explain what cannot be explained by the Koran or scientific research. Many of them are linked to the world of the sea. For example, the Maldivians believe in the existence of evil spirits from the sea. These jinns can only be fought by incantations(fanditas) recited by the hakeem (traditional doctor). The further away from Malé, the more deeply rooted these beliefs become. The historian Hassan Ahmed Maniku defines the jinn as "an invisible, but sometimes visible being, capable of moving across oceans, lands and through walls. He can be beneficent or maleficent. He can ask for supplications or sacrifices". These jinn are made of fire and possess supernatural powers. As such, they are summoned at the time of the Last Judgment to pronounce on the conduct of men. There are many 'varieties' of jinn, all of which have their own legend. The chief of the jinn is Buddevi. He lives in the jungle, on the beach, in the undergrowth and near abandoned houses. Sometimes he appears at the exact spot where drops of water fall from the coconut leaves after the rain. He also sometimes appears in the form of a cat or an attractive man. It is said that whoever sees him gets sick. The most famous of the djinns is Rannamaari who, in the temple of Budkhana, formerly situated on the eastern cape of Malé, awaited each month the sacrifice of a virgin from the terrorized population. Since no fandita could drive him out of his lair, he raped and killed young Maldivian women. In 1153, the Somali Muslim scholar Abu Al Barakat is said to have made the Rannamaari djinn return to the bottom of the ocean by reciting the Koran to him for one night. This episode is said to have converted the Maldivians to Islam. Or when pagan legend and religion validate each other.
