Posing a question during a panel discussion held as part of the “Viyavathi Raajje” conference, at Crossroads Maldives, on the 16th December 2019, President Nasheed criticized the curriculum of the universities in countries such as Saudi Arabia and others who “breed extremist ideologies”, and asked whether any actions have been taken to look into these curriculums before sending Maldivian students to study in such universities.
The topic of the panel discussion was “The increasing ideologies of religious extremism in the Maldives”.
His accusation towards Saudi Arabia has become a major concern for the majority of Islamic scholars from the island nation, who have graduated from Medina University. They argue that no Saudi universities teaches extremist ideologies to its students.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud during their recent trip to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). President Solih and Nasheed travelled to Abu Dhabi at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Prince Mohammad bin Salman was also visiting Abu Dhabi on Prince Zayed’s invitation. A picture taken during the meeting with Prince Mohammad has been receiving a lot of attention, as President Nasheed has been the most audible politician against investment proposals in the Maldives by Saudi Arabia during the presidency of his rival, former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom from 2013 to 2018.
Speaker Nasheed is known for accusing China and Saudi Arabia, continuously for “land grabbing attempts” or “posing debt traps” towards Maldives. He also recently admitted to have sought “clever assistance from Indian officials” in order to “win the 2018 presidential election” for his party, though “the majority believed that winning this election was far from possible”, for Maldivian Democratic Party of which he is the leader.
Muaz Haleem council member of Progressive Party of Maldives
The Express News
