Maldives: Saudi Influence and Rising Intolerance

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The Maldivian blogger Yameen Rasheed was brutally stabbed and killed on April 23, the third prominent media figure to be targeted in the Maldives in recent years. While the murder comes against the backdrop of political turmoil, it may also highlight a growing strain of Islamist extremism in the country.

Rasheed was attacked as he was walking home from work. Police found him in the stairwell of his apartment building in the Maldivian capital of Malé with multiple wounds to his chest and neck (Maldives Independent, April 23). He later died in hospital.

The 29-year-old was well known for his blog "The Daily Panic," in which he was both amusing and frequently critical of the Maldivian government and Islamist extremism. As a result of his writing, he received multiple death threats, which his family says he reported to the authorities on at least three separate occasions (Raajje TV, May 3). They believe the police failed to protect him and want some form of international inquiry into his death, a call echoed by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party.

What form such an investigation would take is unclear, but there is outside pressure on the Maldives to investigate Rasheed's murder. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, framed the killing in the context of a clampdown by Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on political opponents and government critics (al-Jazeera, April 25). Islamist extremists are also in the picture.

The Maldives has witnessed an increase in extremism in recent years, both in terms of the number of Maldivian Islamists leaving to fight for jihadist causes abroad, as well as an increasing intolerance toward liberals at home. Local commentators blame this on the spread of Wahhabism — they stress it is a new phenomenon that runs contrary to the Sufi-inspired variety of Sunni Islam, which is more traditional to the Maldives (Maldives Independent, April 24).

The growth of Wahhabism is attributed to the increasing influence of Saudi Arabia. The two countries have grown closer under President Yameen. The Gulf Kingdom is a major investor in the Maldives, spending millions on infrastructure projects, but it also funds religious scholarships and a mosque-building program. During a visit to the Maldives last year, the speaker of Saudi Arabia's shura council, Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Ibrahim al-Sheikh, donated $100,000 to the Islamic University of the Maldives (Maldives Independent, January 5, 2016). Earlier this year, a rumored government plan to sell a Maldivian island to a member of the Saudi royal family provoked political uproar (Maldives Independent, March 4).

For Saudi Arabia, the benefits of the relationship are diplomatic — the Maldives is counted among the members of the Kingdom's anti-terrorism coalition, and in May last year Malé cut ties with Iran, essentially at Riyadh's behest (Maldives Independent, May 17, 2016). The impact on the Maldives is more mixed. While economically beneficial, on a social level the relationship may still prove to be problematic.