Sons of the Sea

From the air, it’s dreamlike; almost 1200 coral islands scattered like gems on a bed of blue velvet off the south west tip of India. Never more than 8 or 9 feet above the water, they fade away into the distance as sea merges with sky. Shallow turquoise lagoons and immaculate, glistening beaches offer a scene unique to the Maldive Islands. It’s idyllic. There are few more striking places on earth.

Idyllic that is, except that this 500 mile stretch of archipelago is among today’s most seriously persecuted countries on earth. There are no Scriptures available except for the Gospel of Luke; there is no public practice of the Christian faith; no local churches meeting for regular worship and no open sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The stunningly, beautiful Maldive Islands are 100% Muslim - and it is illegal to change one’s religion.

With just 80,000 people and 800 cars, Malé is one of the world’s smaller capital cities. It is squeezed into less than 4 miles by 2 with all main roads ending at the ocean. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has reigned since 1978 and managed to survive two coup attempts. He is the Head of State, the Government and all religious institutions.

Society is governed by Islamic clerics who propagate a relatively moderate Muslim lifestyle. Women have more freedom than in many other Muslim states, history showing females have sometimes held even the highest office of the Sultan. Today while women occupy important positions in the government, nevertheless, the Islands have one of the highest divorce rates in the world. An average Maldivian woman will get married four times in her life. Some islanders have married up to 40 times!

But it’s the young people that most catch the eye. An astonishing 44.4% of the population is below 15 years of age. With the extremely high divorce rate, many children grow up without the love and care of both parents and the consequences are not surprising. The incidence of sexual mistreatment in the islands is staggering, most young children having been abused by their stepfathers, uncles or maybe brothers. An estimated 70% of the youth in the Maldives are regularly taking drugs, many acutely addicted to both the drugs and pornography with the ensuing slide into violent behaviour.

Social degradation is only exacerbated by a forbidding occult practice. Many Maldivians are bound from childhood in magic and witchcraft. The fear is suffocatingly. People are afraid of evil spirits coming from the sea or living in trees. It’s a strange brew, a concoction of traditional medicine, spells, and black magic founded in pre-Islamic rituals and used today for manipulating political power, love and marriage relationships, inauguration of new ships, successful fishing, finding the guilty, curing sickness and efforts to weaken or kill the enemy. This is a terrifyingly real and prevalent darkness that enshrouds these islands, its people and its rich and ancient culture.

Most islands are uninhabited; many others have a population of less than 1000 people. All activities on the islands are closely watched by the island chief who has to report daily to the central government. Maldivians take a huge risk in turning to Christ. In so doing they bring dishonour and shame to their family. The government considers conversion to be a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment. Believers may be tortured without compassion from either friends or family. It’s a merciless castigation regarded as a just punishment from Allah for leaving the religion of Islam.

To date, there are no known groups of believers meeting regularly for fellowship. Even foreigners are prohibited from meeting together to worship. It’s one of many places in Asia where only the Lord knows the number of Maldivian believers.

These are a seafaring people –: with 99% of The Maldives comprising water and just 1% land, one would expect nothing else. It dominates life. Over the coming months, AsiaLink will be bringing further news from the Maldives. Our partners are extremely active in ministry to the Islands and you’ll be excited at the work that’s going on. There are new opportunities for bringing the Good News directly to the people of The Maldives. We’ll bring you reports of our visits and details of how you can help these ‘sons of the sea’.