Malé, Maldives – The Criminal Court of Maldives on Tuesday gave 72 hours to the Maldives Police Service to shutdown all internet mediums used to promote religions other than Islamic in the national Dhivehi.
The statement by Maldives Police service read that internet content promoting religions other than Islam to Maldivians including social media pages, YouTube channels and other applications have been ordered to be blocked in the Maldives by the Criminal Court.
With this, the Maldives Police Service has sent notice to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block all such media within 72 hours and send confirmation to the police.
The order was made under the Religious Unity Act (Act No. 6/94) which prohibits the practice by citizens of any
religion other than Islam.
The constitution ratified in 2008 designates Islam as the official state religion, and the government and many citizens at all levels interpreted this provision to impose a requirement that all citizens be Muslims.
In May 2010 the Ministry of Islamic Affairs unveiled new
regulations under the Religious Unity Act of 1994 aimed at providing the legal framework governing religion and religious practice in the country
