A number of government officials in the Maldives have been accused of "black magic" against President Mohamed Muizzu. Now-former environment minister Fathima Shamnaz Ali Saleem and her ex-husband Adam Rameez, who served in Muizzu's office, were among those arrested in June following an investigation by police.
The Maldives is a strictly Muslim nation, and its laws are based on what is written in the Quran. As the South China Morning Post reports, while practicing black magic is not a criminal offence under the penal code, Sharia law mandates that it be punished.
According to the Times of India, Ali and Rameez were taken into custody alongside two other individuals on June 23. They were quickly removed from their government positions. Since then, not much else has been revealed about their alleged crimes or how authorities came to discover that the crew had engaged in "black magic."
This wouldn't be the first time arrests have been made on the island nation involving the practice. In April 2023, a 62-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her neighbors for allegedly conducting sorcerous ceremonies. Eleven years earlier, organizers for an opposition party were accused of hurling a "cursed rooster" at police when their office was raided.
According to a report compiled by the US State Department, in the Maldives, "Propagation of any religion other than Islam is a criminal offense, punishable by two to five years in prison or house arrest. Proselytizing to change denominations within Islam is also illegal and carries the same penalty. If the offender is a foreigner, authorities may revoke the individual’s license to preach in the country (if they have one) and deport the individual."
"Non-Muslims living in or visiting the country are prohibited from openly expressing their religious beliefs, holding public congregations to conduct religious activities, or involving Maldivians in such activities," the criminal code states. "By law, those expressing religious beliefs other than Islam face imprisonment or house arrest of up to five years, fines ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 rufiyaa ($330 to $1,300), and deportation."
