What you can do:
Maldives background:
This is a nation of tiny islands,
some 1,200 in total. More than 99%
of the area is sea; less than 1% is
land. Malé is the capital city
and with 80,000 inhabitants is also
the most populous island. Many of
the outer islands have fewer than
1,000 people.
 44.4%
of the population is younger than
15 years old. Because of the extremely
high divorce rate, many children grow
up without the love and care of both
parents and often resulting in behavioural
problems. The incidence of sexual
abuse in the islands is staggering.
Most young children are abused by
their stepfathers, uncles, brothers
or others. It is estimated that 70%
of young people in the Maldives are
regularly taking drugs.
 Under
the 1997 constitution, Islam is the
state religion of this former British
protectorate in the Indian Ocean,
and the government has declared the
chain of coral islands to be 100 percent
Islamic. President Gayoom claimed
the Maldives has sustained its sovereignty
by adhering to Islamic principles.
He warned that if other religions
were practiced the country would lose
its independence.
These
threats of democracy and of evangelical
Christianity are frequent
themes spoken of by the Maldivian
President. If he can fool enough
Maldivians into accepting that democracy
means the end of Islam in the country
then his vicious regime retains a
degree of legitimacy, despite the
poor state of the Maldive economy
and the hostility of foreign bankers,
investors and aid agencies.
Non-Muslims are forbidden from proselytizing
and conducting public worship. Any
Muslim who converts to another faith
is breaking the Sharia (Islamic law)
and can lose his or her citizenship.
Unreached Groups
Among the Maldivian population of
some 300,000, there are no known Churches,
no Bibles in the national language
and probably fewer than 10 national
believers alive today.
Church and Mission
 In
the nineteenth century the British
presented a Dhivehi translation of
the Bible to the Maldives government.
The fate of this book is unknown.
It was either destroyed or hidden.
In 1972, a Christian missionary ship
MV Logos visited Male' and school
students were shown aboard with the
blessing of the then President Nasir.
The students received free Bibles
but no one converted. Until 1985 there
were no known Christians among the
Maldivian people. A number converted
to Christianity, however, after literature
was made available in the national
language, Dhivehi, and through listening
to broadcasts by a missionary radio
station based in the Seychelles. Small
numbers of new converts met to worship
and study the Bible, but they were
ostracized by their families and neighbours
and many lost their jobs.
In 1998 the Supreme Council for
Islamic Affairs banned Maldivians
from listening to missionary radio
and police arrested up to 50 local
Christians from Muslim backgrounds,
following a tip-off by teenagers,
including the son of one of those
arrested. Police carried out unannounced
searches of foreign workers’
homes, confiscating passports, Christian
books, and other possessions. Many
friends of Maldivian Christians were
also questioned and detained.
There are highly strategic joint
efforts today by a small network of
mission agencies. Activities are very
restricted and are not publicised.
Persecution Index
Every six months, Open Doors World
Watch publishes an index which
grades countries according to the
levels
of persecution religious believers,
and of Christians especially.
2006 Grading for Maldives: 5th
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