Saudi Purchase of Maldivian Atoll to Relocate 4,000, Spread Wahhabism

Rasa - Saudi Arabia has plans to by a Maldivian atoll, Faafualso known as Northern Nilandhe, Members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said, warning of the serious consequences of the deal.

News ID: 427836

Date: 03 March 2017 - 21:37

RNA - Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is set to make a rare visit this month to six Asian countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China, and the Maldives.

MDP members warned on Friday that the decision by President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s government to “sell” Faafu, one of the 26 atolls, to Saudi Arabia would aggravate Wahhabism, official ideology of Saudi Arabia, in the Maldives.

Maldives is reportedly one of the highest per capita contributors of foreign militants to the ISIS terrorist group, which has been wreaking havoc mainly in Syria and Iraq.

Wahhabism is the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia, freely preached by government-backed clerics there, and inspiring terrorists worldwide. ISIS and other Takfiri terror groups use the ideology to declare people of other faiths as “infidels” and then kill them.

MDP member and former foreign minister, Ahmed Naseem, said the Maldivian government had not bothered to take people's consent.

“In the old days, selling land, which is scarce in Maldives, to foreigners would have been seen as high treason punishable by death,” he said.

The Maldivian government passed a constitutional amendment in 2015, allowing foreigners to possess lands in the country.

According to The Diplomat the sale is speculated to involve a forced relocation of the 4,000-some people currently living there. The Saudis would then develop the atoll, presumably exploring revenue-generating projects in tourism and even maritime commerce

Meanwhile, in a report, The Times of India described Maldives' potential sale of the atoll to Saudi Arabia as "another security challenge" to India in its neighborhood.

According to Press TV, India has been unwilling to be seen as obtruding upon the internal affairs of Maldives. However, it may soon be required to take a position with Maldives’ presidential election likely next year, the report said.

Maldives remains the only country in India's neighborhood that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refrained from visiting.

847/940