Maldivians are in the thick of action in the Syrian theatre of war. They swell the ranks of both the Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda branch in Syria.&nbsp;

Yes, there are citizens leaving one of the most beautiful places on earth to fight and often die in the harsh deserts of West&nbsp;Asia, thousands of kilometres from home. &nbsp;

There are no official figures, but according to former Maldivian President Nasheed, now living in exile in London, there could be as many as 200 Maldivians fighting in Syria. The figure is also cited in a report that appeared on the Jamestown Foundation&#39;s Terrorism Monitor.&nbsp;If this number is true, the Maldives turns out to be the largest per capita contributor of foreign fighters to the Syrian jihad. &nbsp;

The current government, after avoiding the issue for quite some time, was forced to admit during a parliament session in 2014 that there were surely more than seven Maldivians who are fighting in Syria of which strong proofs exist.&nbsp;Six of them have already died. &nbsp;

In April 2015, the Maldives&#39; Counter-Terrorism Centre said the figure was most likely in double digits.&nbsp;

The contention over numbers could be attributed to political rivalries.&nbsp;But what is absolutely certain is that some Maldivians are fighting in foreign terrorist organisations and that these groups think that the archipelago is a land for recruitment and possible action in future. This is a&nbsp;threat the paradise islands have&nbsp;never experienced before.&nbsp;

A recent propaganda video, published by the Jabat al-Nusra&#39;s BiladAlSham media arm, shows flames burning prominent Maldivian statesmen and a man shooting at pictures of the last three presidents of the country. &nbsp;

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Former Maldives&#39; president is shown burning in a Jabat al-Nusra propaganda video. (Others)
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Another BiladAlSham video shows a man in Syria&#39;s Idlib province who recalls the stories of fighters and thanks&nbsp;them for their contribution&nbsp;to jihad - the holy war.

&quot;And from them particularly we will remember our brother Abdul Hassan al Maldifi (Rahimahullah),&quot; shows the subtitle in English. The Maldivian terrorist is portrayed as a hero for blowing himself up in an explosive-laden vehicle. His action helped the terrorists enter Idlib.&nbsp;

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Maldives national Abdul Hassan al Maldifi appearing in an al-Nusra propaganda video. (Others)
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Abdul Hassan al Maldifi appears also in a second propaganda video in the company of other Maldivian nationals.&nbsp;

Both videos are translated into English and Dhivehi, the official Maldivian language.&nbsp;

On The Ground media, an organisation managed by controversial Syria-based American journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem, also shows&nbsp;the presence of Maldivians within the al-Nusra ranks. He was able to spend time with some Maldivians fighting in Syria, exploring their motivations and daily lives. One of the series of videos show&nbsp;Abu Younes&nbsp;with his one-year-old daughter.&nbsp;

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Maldivian foreign fighter Abu Younes in Syria with his one-year-old daughter. (Others)
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While the majority of Maldivian terrorists seems to be fighting for the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra), there are evidences of at least one of them fighting with the Islamic State. He appears on an obituary published by Haqqu&nbsp;media centre which describes him as &quot;the first among the few Maldivian muhajideen (one who fights the holy war) to Dawlat Al-Islam (IS).&quot;&nbsp;

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Screenshot of Haqqu Media Center showing a young Maldivians fighting for the Islamic State. (Others)
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The presence of young Maldivians within terrorist ranks is probably linked to a wave of radicalisation that the country is undergoing.&nbsp;

There is an increasing presence of small religious organisations and radical preachers, mostly educated in Saudi Arabia, who are spreading a Wahhabi version of Islam in the archipelago. &nbsp;

Wahhabism, a school of Sunni Islam, whether one shares its views or not, may not necessarily be a problem per se. It is one of the different interpretations of Islam and any Muslim is free to decide to embrace it. But&nbsp;while one can not say that Wahhabism is the source of terrorism, it is difficult to deny that all main terrorist Islamist organisations draw extensively from its doctrine, especially when it comes to justifying and legitimising violence in the name of jihad.&nbsp;

But what did pave&nbsp;the way for Wahabbism, a foreign import, in the traditionally tolerant and moderate Maldives?&nbsp;

&quot;One of the main reasons behind radicalisation is that there is no religious alternative,&quot; says Azra Naseem, radicalisation expert and postdoctoral research fellow at Dublin City University. &nbsp;

The country does not have different Islamic schools debating and challenging each other&#39;s interpretations, there is no religious confrontation. This adds to the fact that the population follows Sunni Islam entirely, a common ground which helps the many Saudi or Saudi-educated Wahhabi preachers to gain ground.&nbsp;

Saudi Arabia is also the present Maldivian government&#39;s major ally in preserving the archipelago&#39;s Sunni identity: the Kingdom is funding mosques, distributing massive quantities of dates during Ramzan, sending scholars for conferences and providing scholarships to students from Maldives. It has also become the biggest economic partner and is pouring millions of dollars into Male&#39;s coffers. &nbsp;

All factors come together to help&nbsp;the Saudi Wahhabi doctrine to penetrate and become an authoritative voice in the Maldivian society. &nbsp;

This does not mean that the archipelago has suddenly become an intolerant, extremist and unsafe country.&nbsp;But it is surely going through a churn. A significant part of the population remains open and keeps practising a tolerant version of Islam.&nbsp;

The shift is clearly visible though.&nbsp;Walking on the street of Mal&eacute;, one can nowadays see shops selling so called &#39;halal&#39; perfumes, &#39;halal&#39; literature, all sort of &#39;halal&#39; goods which have never been there before. Speaking to WION, a Maldivian in his thirties,&nbsp;who prefers to remain anonimous for safety concerns, recalled how, during his school days, the word &#39;Wahhabi&#39;&nbsp;was often used as an insult.&nbsp;Now it is used as a norm, as a common word which describes a category of believers.

The Maldivian government takes little action to tackle radicalisation. Neither does it encourage a culture of debate. For instance, inviting prominent Muslim scholars promoting other versions of Islam could be one of the many ways to counter the problem. &nbsp;

Instead, the government often dismisses radicalisation as a mere political accusation levelled at Male by foreign powers to discourage tourists from visiting. The real aim, apparently, is to topple current President&nbsp;Abdulla Yameen. &nbsp;

Living in denial means letting the problem grow.&nbsp;More young Maldivians risk the prospect of being lured by Islamist terrorist groups. This is not just a threat for Maldives but also the lands where these misguided young men may travel to.&nbsp;

(WION)

Certain reports place their number at 200, making the Maldives the largest per capita contributor of foreign fighters to the Syrian jihad

Maldivians are in the thick of action in the Syrian theatre of war. They swell the ranks of both the Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda branch in Syria. Yes, there are citizens leaving one of the most beautiful places on earth to fight and often die in the harsh deserts of West Asia, thousands of kilometres from home. There are no official figures, but according to former Maldivian President Nasheed, now living in exile in London, there could be as many as 200 Maldivians fighting in Syria. The figure is also cited in a report that appeared on the Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Monitor. If this number is true, the Maldives turns out to be the largest per capita contributor of foreign fighters to the Syrian jihad. The current government, after avoiding the issue for quite some time, was forced to admit during a parliament session in 2014 that there were surely more than seven Maldivians who are fighting in Syria of which strong proofs exist. Six of them have already died. In April 2015, the Maldives' Counter-Terrorism Centre said the figure was most likely in double digits. The contention over numbers could be attributed to political rivalries. But what is absolutely certain is that some Maldivians are fighting in foreign terrorist organisations and that these groups think that the archipelago is a land for recruitment and possible action in future. This is a threat the paradise islands have never experienced before. A recent propaganda video, published by the Jabat al-Nusra's BiladAlSham media arm, shows flames burning prominent Maldivian statesmen and a man shooting at pictures of the last three presidents of the country. Former Maldives' president is shown burning in a Jabat al-Nusra propaganda video. (Others) × Another BiladAlSham video shows a man in Syria's Idlib province who recalls the stories of fighters and thanks them for their contribution to jihad - the holy war. "And from them particularly we will remember our brother Abdul Hassan al Maldifi (Rahimahullah)," shows the subtitle in English. The Maldivian terrorist is portrayed as a hero for blowing himself up in an explosive-laden vehicle. His action helped the terrorists enter Idlib. Maldives national Abdul Hassan al Maldifi appearing in an al-Nusra propaganda video. (Others) × Abdul Hassan al Maldifi appears also in a second propaganda video in the company of other Maldivian nationals. Both videos are translated into English and Dhivehi, the official Maldivian language. On The Ground media, an organisation managed by controversial Syria-based American journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem, also shows the presence of Maldivians within the al-Nusra ranks. He was able to spend time with some Maldivians fighting in Syria, exploring their motivations and daily lives. One of the series of videos show Abu Younes with his one-year-old daughter. Maldivian foreign fighter Abu Younes in Syria with his one-year-old daughter. (Others) × While the majority of Maldivian terrorists seems to be fighting for the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra), there are evidences of at least one of them fighting with the Islamic State. He appears on an obituary published by Haqqu media centre which describes him as "the first among the few Maldivian muhajideen (one who fights the holy war) to Dawlat Al-Islam (IS)." Screenshot of Haqqu Media Center showing a young Maldivians fighting for the Islamic State. (Others) × The presence of young Maldivians within terrorist ranks is probably linked to a wave of radicalisation that the country is undergoing. There is an increasing presence of small religious organisations and radical preachers, mostly educated in Saudi Arabia, who are spreading a Wahhabi version of Islam in the archipelago. Wahhabism, a school of Sunni Islam, whether one shares its views or not, may not necessarily be a problem per se. It is one of the different interpretations of Islam and any Muslim is free to decide to embrace it. But while one can not say that Wahhabism is the source of terrorism, it is difficult to deny that all main terrorist Islamist organisations draw extensively from its doctrine, especially when it comes to justifying and legitimising violence in the name of jihad. But what did pave the way for Wahabbism, a foreign import, in the traditionally tolerant and moderate Maldives? "One of the main reasons behind radicalisation is that there is no religious alternative," says Azra Naseem, radicalisation expert and postdoctoral research fellow at Dublin City University. The country does not have different Islamic schools debating and challenging each other's interpretations, there is no religious confrontation. This adds to the fact that the population follows Sunni Islam entirely, a common ground which helps the many Saudi or Saudi-educated Wahhabi preachers to gain ground. Saudi Arabia is also the present Maldivian government's major ally in preserving the archipelago's Sunni identity: the Kingdom is funding mosques, distributing massive quantities of dates during Ramzan, sending scholars for conferences and providing scholarships to students from Maldives. It has also become the biggest economic partner and is pouring millions of dollars into Male's coffers. All factors come together to help the Saudi Wahhabi doctrine to penetrate and become an authoritative voice in the Maldivian society. This does not mean that the archipelago has suddenly become an intolerant, extremist and unsafe country. But it is surely going through a churn. A significant part of the population remains open and keeps practising a tolerant version of Islam. The shift is clearly visible though. Walking on the street of Malé, one can nowadays see shops selling so called 'halal' perfumes, 'halal' literature, all sort of 'halal' goods which have never been there before. Speaking to WION, a Maldivian in his thirties, who prefers to remain anonimous for safety concerns, recalled how, during his school days, the word 'Wahhabi' was often used as an insult. Now it is used as a norm, as a common word which describes a category of believers. The Maldivian government takes little action to tackle radicalisation. Neither does it encourage a culture of debate. For instance, inviting prominent Muslim scholars promoting other versions of Islam could be one of the many ways to counter the problem. Instead, the government often dismisses radicalisation as a mere political accusation levelled at Male by foreign powers to discourage tourists from visiting. The real aim, apparently, is to topple current President Abdulla Yameen. Living in denial means letting the problem grow. More young Maldivians risk the prospect of being lured by Islamist terrorist groups. This is not just a threat for Maldives but also the lands where these misguided young men may travel to. (WION)

Exclusive: From the white sand beaches to the arid Syrian desert, young Maldivians swell the ranks of Islamist terrorists

Ever since Abdullah Yameen was elected as the President of the Maldives in November 2013, there has been quite a bit of traffic between the heavenly archipelago and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. &nbsp;

Officials from each country&nbsp;are seen making frequent visits to the other. And, these are not vacation tours, at least not entirely. They are all about business and politics, big business and big politics.&nbsp;

Businessmen from the Kingdom and members of the royal family (House of Saud)&nbsp;itself are increasingly investing in the Maldives, a country which depends extensively on international investments to keep its economy going. And more investment also means more influence for Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;

After securing a massive project for the construction of a new passenger terminal for the Maldives international airport, the construction conglomerate Saudi Binladin Group - founded by Osama Bin Laden&#39;s father - leads the Saudi investment front.&nbsp;

The airport&#39;s new wing is part of an ambitious plan the Maldives government launched in 2014, a&nbsp;$800-million&nbsp;investment meant to boost the archipelago&#39;s tourism sector. Part of the funding will come from the Saudi Fund for Development, a government managed fund formally meant to support developing countries and often used as an instrument of influence and soft power. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Awarding the contract to the Binladin Group&nbsp;was controversial right from the word go. The same contract had previously been allotted to MGR, a major Indian infrastructure company which is seeking $1&nbsp;billion as compensation from the Maldives government for not respecting a valid contract.&nbsp;

In 2014, no less than Saudi Arabia&#39;s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, crown prince back then, donated $1 million to the Maldives ministry of Islamic affairs and $1.5 million for health initiatives. He also promised to build ten &quot;world-class&quot; mosques in the country, the biggest of which will be in the capital city of Mal&eacute;:&nbsp;a six-storey structure which can hold 6,000 people.&nbsp;

It was again the Saudi Investment Fund which gave the Maldives $1 million to conduct a feasibility study for building a transhipment port and an attached Special Economic Zone in 2015. &nbsp;

In March 2016, Adam Shareef Umar, the Maldivian&nbsp;defence minister, travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet his counterpart,&nbsp;deputy crown prince Mohamed Bin Salman al-Saud, who pledged $50 million for a military housing project in&nbsp;Maldives. As the world has learnt from China, infrastructure development is the most surefire away of exerting influence on countries.

The role of Islam&nbsp;

It is not only profit which brings the two countries together. The Maldives are a Muslim nation by constitution, the population mostly Sunni. After the election of President Abulla Yameen, religion has increasingly stepped out from its traditional&nbsp;private sphere to make its effect felt in public life.&nbsp;

This change matches&nbsp;Saudi Arabia&#39;s aspiration to become the most influential actor among all Sunni - if not Muslim - countries in the world, an ambition that Iran&#39;s growing influence in West Asia has negatively impacted. &nbsp;

In November 2015, the Maldivian&nbsp;President invited the Saudi Islamic affairs minister Saleh bin Abdulaziz with the aim of building a &quot;religious bridge&quot;&nbsp;between the two countries. Saudi Arabia agreed to help the Maldives in collection of Zakat&nbsp;(an Islamic tax),&nbsp;in translating books on Islam into English, to send preachers across and to host and provide religious education to Maldivian scholars.&nbsp;

In the same year, for the first time ever, Saudi Arabia opened its first diplomatic mission in the archipelago. &nbsp;

In January 2016, Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, the first speaker of the King-nominated Saudi&#39;s Shura Council to visit the Maldives, announced the formation of a joint committee to address issues of mutual interest. He also donated $100,000 to the recently established Islamic University of Maldives.&nbsp;

The Saudi religious influence in the Maldives translates ultimately into the spread of Wahhabism. The hardline doctrine is, in fact, the Kingdom&#39;s official belief and is changing the common perception of Islam in the Maldives, where&nbsp;people had practised a traditionally and majorly&nbsp;tolerant version.&nbsp;

Beside being a perfect holiday destination, the Maldives&#39; location in the middle of the Indian Ocean makes the archipelago a strategic foothold for Saudi Arabia, which&nbsp;is using all its means to cement its position.

The Kingdom&#39;s influence in the Maldives&nbsp;has become so strong that for the first time in its history, the country has been pulled into the boiling cauldron of Sunni-Shia rivalry. In May 2016, the Maldives became the first Asian nation to sever&nbsp;its diplomatic relations with Iran after 41 years, without any solid reason. Saudi Arabia did the same in January.&nbsp;

On a similar note, it is worth remembering that the Maldives are a member of a 34-country military coalition led by the Saudis which is aimed&nbsp;to fight&nbsp;terrorism, at least on paper. In this alliance, there is no place for Iraq, Iran and Syria, all Shia-led countries. &nbsp;

It seems the struggle for hegemony of the Muslim world,&nbsp;till now mainly restricted to West&nbsp;Asia, is spreading to faraway lands. &nbsp;

(WION) 
&nbsp;

The Kingdom has increased its investments and is trying to turn the islands into a Wahhabi archipelago

Ever since Abdullah Yameen was elected as the President of the Maldives in November 2013, there has been quite a bit of traffic between the heavenly archipelago and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Officials from each country are seen making frequent visits to the other. And, these are not vacation tours, at least not entirely. They are all about business and politics, big business and big politics. Businessmen from the Kingdom and members of the royal family (House of Saud) itself are increasingly investing in the Maldives, a country which depends extensively on international investments to keep its economy going. And more investment also means more influence for Saudi Arabia. After securing a massive project for the construction of a new passenger terminal for the Maldives international airport, the construction conglomerate Saudi Binladin Group - founded by Osama Bin Laden's father - leads the Saudi investment front. The airport's new wing is part of an ambitious plan the Maldives government launched in 2014, a $800-million investment meant to boost the archipelago's tourism sector. Part of the funding will come from the Saudi Fund for Development, a government managed fund formally meant to support developing countries and often used as an instrument of influence and soft power. Awarding the contract to the Binladin Group was controversial right from the word go. The same contract had previously been allotted to MGR, a major Indian infrastructure company which is seeking $1 billion as compensation from the Maldives government for not respecting a valid contract. In 2014, no less than Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, crown prince back then, donated $1 million to the Maldives ministry of Islamic affairs and $1.5 million for health initiatives. He also promised to build ten "world-class" mosques in the country, the biggest of which will be in the capital city of Malé: a six-storey structure which can hold 6,000 people. It was again the Saudi Investment Fund which gave the Maldives $1 million to conduct a feasibility study for building a transhipment port and an attached Special Economic Zone in 2015. In March 2016, Adam Shareef Umar, the Maldivian defence minister, travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet his counterpart, deputy crown prince Mohamed Bin Salman al-Saud, who pledged $50 million for a military housing project in Maldives. As the world has learnt from China, infrastructure development is the most surefire away of exerting influence on countries. The role of Islam It is not only profit which brings the two countries together. The Maldives are a Muslim nation by constitution, the population mostly Sunni. After the election of President Abulla Yameen, religion has increasingly stepped out from its traditional private sphere to make its effect felt in public life. This change matches Saudi Arabia's aspiration to become the most influential actor among all Sunni - if not Muslim - countries in the world, an ambition that Iran's growing influence in West Asia has negatively impacted. In November 2015, the Maldivian President invited the Saudi Islamic affairs minister Saleh bin Abdulaziz with the aim of building a "religious bridge" between the two countries. Saudi Arabia agreed to help the Maldives in collection of Zakat (an Islamic tax), in translating books on Islam into English, to send preachers across and to host and provide religious education to Maldivian scholars. In the same year, for the first time ever, Saudi Arabia opened its first diplomatic mission in the archipelago. In January 2016, Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, the first speaker of the King-nominated Saudi's Shura Council to visit the Maldives, announced the formation of a joint committee to address issues of mutual interest. He also donated $100,000 to the recently established Islamic University of Maldives. The Saudi religious influence in the Maldives translates ultimately into the spread of Wahhabism. The hardline doctrine is, in fact, the Kingdom's official belief and is changing the common perception of Islam in the Maldives, where people had practised a traditionally and majorly tolerant version. Beside being a perfect holiday destination, the Maldives' location in the middle of the Indian Ocean makes the archipelago a strategic foothold for Saudi Arabia, which is using all its means to cement its position. The Kingdom's influence in the Maldives has become so strong that for the first time in its history, the country has been pulled into the boiling cauldron of Sunni-Shia rivalry. In May 2016, the Maldives became the first Asian nation to sever its diplomatic relations with Iran after 41 years, without any solid reason. Saudi Arabia did the same in January. On a similar note, it is worth remembering that the Maldives are a member of a 34-country military coalition led by the Saudis which is aimed to fight terrorism, at least on paper. In this alliance, there is no place for Iraq, Iran and Syria, all Shia-led countries. It seems the struggle for hegemony of the Muslim world, till now mainly restricted to West Asia, is spreading to faraway lands. (WION)

Analysis: Religion and money fuel Saudi Arabia's influence in Maldives

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