Dr. Mohammed Muizzu, President of the Maldives is heading a coalition government of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People’s National Congress (PNC).
Even before winning the election, Dr. Muizzu had made his intentions about India very clear in his statements.
Having been closely linked with the ‘India Out’ campaign launched by former President Mohamed Yameen, the anti-India sentiment was obvious and persistent.
His foreign policy goal of ensuring that India was not a part of the strategic landscape of the Maldives is undoubtedly ill-advised.
However, if one were to dig deeper into his past the roots of his anti-India sentiments are found to be quite deep.
This analysis intends to do precisely that and concludes that like Yameen, Muizzu is ideologically opposed to India.
This does not augur well for bilateral relations in the short and medium term, perhaps necessitating a re-think about how India should strategize its policy towards the Maldives.
The public perception, based on the JS group’s support, was that a vote for Dr. Muizzu could result in a more strict application of Islamic rules and education in the future.
Muizzu is also known as “Holhi Muizzu” or ‘Pipe Muizzu’.
This is because of the plastic pipes he had laid in the streets of Male City during his tenure as Housing Minister.
This 45 year old politician has been with several political parties in the Maldives. In 2017, he left the Maldives Development Party (MDA) and joined the PPM.
Prior to his stint in the MDA, he was with the Adhaalath Party (AP). Clearly, an opportunist who has used political participation to climb up the greasy ladder, Muizzu is an Engineer who has studied both at the University of London and Leeds, with some experience of having worked in the private sector.
His political career began in February 2012, when he was appointed as Minister of Housing and Environment in the government of President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan.
A year later, he was appointed as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure in the President Mohamed Yameen government.
This was on an MDA slot, while his initial stint had been on an AP slot. Muizzu worked closely with President Yameen and was rewarded in 2019 by being appointed as the Vice President of the PPM as in-charge of the Elections Department.
Two years later in April, Muizzu became the Mayor of Male City. In June, however, Fuvahmulah City Mayor Ismail Rafeeq was elected to the board of Local Government Authority, beating Mohamed Muizzu.
The latter,however, remained Mayor of Male till November 2023.
One of the lesser known facts about Dr. Muizzu is that he is a firm believer that it is necessary to uphold Islamic principles in the Maldives.
He believes that non-Islamic principles have gained ground since the MDP came to power in 2018. While Muizzu may well hold this view, the influence on him in this regard could have come from his wife’s father, who is a radical scholar.
Her brother Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed Ibrahim is President of Jamiyyath Salaf (JS). Sajida Mohamed, the President’s wife works as Deputy Director General at the Maldives Food and Drug Authority.
It is worth pausing here for a moment to look at what the JS represents.
Both MDP and PPM-PNC included religious authorities in their larger events, during the election campaign, such as the State Minister for Islamic Affairs on the side of the government in Addu, and scholars of the religious conservative organisation Jamiyyath al-Salaf in support of Dr.Muizzu in Hulumalé.
In November 2021, the ACC again raised concerns that the Hiyya Housing Project was awarded to a party which had submitted the most expensive bid; this was the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
The JS group, registered as a NGO, apparently promoted more conservative Islamic values than the AP which was represented in government.
The public perception, based on the JS group’s support, was that a vote for Dr. Muizzu could result in a more strict application of Islamic rules and education in the future.
In 2019, JS was under investigated by the government on allegations of supporting and encouraging terrorism.
The Presidential Commission Investigating Murders and Enforced Disappearances’ report on the murder of MP and religious scholar Dr. Afrasheem revealed that JS was behind the murder of the former MP.
A closed-door meeting was held by the 241 Committee to discuss taking action against the JS.
The then Speaker Mohamed Nasheed stated that he had received information that the sub-committee formed by the 241 committee had decided that JS is a religious group that encourages and supports terrorism and that the committee is preparing to take action against the organization.
According to intelligence sources in the Maldives, JS is one of the most influential and potent in radicalizing the young people of Maldives.
The President of Jamiyyath Salaf is Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed (sometimes spelled Muhammad like in his Facebook account).
He is the son of the Late Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim who was a prominent leader known for promoting and propagating Wahhabism in Maldives.
He is the infamous Takfiri Kharijite of Baabul Avaalee, which incidentally also is the address of the family home in Male. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed was born on 03.04.1976 and is known to have links with Pakistani Jamia and has received some training from Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). He is also referred to as Abdullah Janab.
The president of JS Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed has a younger brother. His name is Ibrahim Mohamed and who was born on 19.06.1977.
He is also known for his Islamic radical views and is also seen as a figurehead of JS. He is known to have links with Pakistani Jamia and received some training from the LeT. He is referred to as Ibrahim Janab.
He is considered to be the most extreme of the siblings with a militant bent of mind.
It should therefore, come as no surprise that Dr. Muizzu is a religious person and focuses on spreading Islamic faith and values in Maldivian society.
Let us turn to Dr. Muizzu’s comments on Islam and foreign policy.
He has stated that the Solih administration had posed challenges to Islam and that Maldives had lost its sovereignty.
Dr. Muizzu is a leader with many faces and loyalties. His Islamic credentials become apparent on scrutiny of the family links to radical organizations in the Maldives.
He also said that a second term for President Solih would be ‘unbearable’. In 2018, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) temporarily stopped the Hiyya Housing Project on the eve of the Presidential election.
Muizzu who was then Minister of Housing later clarified that he “did not touch a single “Rufiya” during his tenure as Minister despite having overseen projects worth MVR 13 billion over a period of seven years.
In November 2021, the ACC again raised concerns that the Hiyya Housing Project was awarded to a party which had submitted the most expensive bid; this was the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
Towards the end of 2021, the India Out campaign had picked up momentum in Male City and Dr. Muizzu was seen in participating in rallies, often wearing ‘India Out’ T-shirts. His position on India became well known early on and his pre-election remarks and statements were merely a reiteration of long-held views.
For instance, during the PPM-PNC Joint Press Conference on 9 August 2023, Muizzu made it clear that the presence of Indian military personnel in the Maldives had to be ‘resolved’.
He claimed that former President Yameen was jailed because he was against Indian presence.
Of course, Muizzu tactfully added that “We cannot Indian military or any other foreign military to be stationed here, comprising our sovereignty”.
During the course of the election campaign, Muizzurepeatedly targeted India and its assistance to the Maldives.
He criticized the pace and quality of India’s LoC and grant supported Greater Male Connectivity Project (GCMP)undertaken by the Indian company Afcons. Muizzu also alleged that Solih government had taken on a lot of debt and promised to restructure the loans taken by the Solih government.
On the other hand, his attitude towards China is reminiscent of the stand taken by President Yameen. President Muizzu chose to visit China instead of India and pledged to sign the Free Trade Agreement with Beijing at the earliest. Thus, Dr. Muizzu has a background that shows linkages to both Pakistan and China.
Dr. Muizzu is a leader with many faces and loyalties. His Islamic credentials become apparent on scrutiny of the family links to radical organizations in the Maldives.
His anti-India stance stems, partly at China’s behest and an inherent nationalist streak that won him the Presidential election.
While the Maldives is a sovereign nation, it must be mindful of its economic and social grounding, before engaging in sabre rattling.
