Mob temporarily disrupts yoga day event in Maldives

Maldives Police Service has launched a high-priority investigation into the violent disruption of the event held at the National Stadium

An event held by the High Commission of India in Malé in association with the Government of Maldives on the occasion of the International Yoga Day on Tuesday was disrupted by a gang of radical Islamists.

The Maldives Police launched an investigation into the incident with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih tweeting that it was being treated as “a matter of serious concern” and the people responsible for disrupting the event would be swiftly brought before the law.

The protesters stormed into the national football stadium at Galolhu in the capital of Maldives, waving white flags with Islamic ‘Shahada’ (oath) written on them in black. Similar flags were also waved when protest demonstrations were held in the capital of the Indian Ocean island to condemn the comments made by the two leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of India about Prophet Muhammad.

The radicals were earlier protesting near the stadium, holding placards that read “Yoga is Shirk (idolatry)” and “Yoga involves imitating Idol-Worshipers”. They alleged that Yoga was against the tenets of Islam – the state religion of Maldives.

The senior officials of the High Commission of India in Malé as well as the Government of Maldives were present when the protesters stormed into the stadium. The investigation by Maldives Police later revealed that the flags used by the protesters were supplied from an office of the opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), led by former President Abdulla Yameen.

Yameen and his PPM were running an ‘India Out’ campaign opposing the role of India in infrastructure development in the Maldives.