Anti-Islamic pages not blocked month after court order: Police

After over a month to Criminal Court's order to block online mediums preaching other religions in the country, Maldives Police Services stated on Wednesday that it has yet to be enforced. 

The order was issued by the court in November 2021 after Police submitted the case following a collaborative investigation with relevant authorities into various online mediums used to preach other religions to Maldivians. The investigations found multiple websites, accounts on social media platforms, YouTube channels and even applications targeting Maldivians.

Over a month has passed since then, but the pages of various platforms remain active.

When questioned by 'Sun' on Tuesday regarding the issue, a media official for Police said that Police, Communications Authority and Service providers have been meeting and discussing to determine the best route to bring a stop to the pages. 

Meanwhile, during an interview with 'Sun' on December 18, a Police media official stated that this was a very technical task, Police, Communications Authority, Ministry of Islamic Affairs and other relevant authorities were working together to enforce this.  

Other religions are being propagated via social media means targeted at various age groups. They include videos being circulated on the internet, which are dubbed in the Dhivehi language, preaching Christianity – similar to the series broadcasted by TVM during the holy month of Ramadan, Prophet Muhammad.