Hithadhoo Court orders removal of SAARC monuments on religious grounds
19 Jan 2012, 6:37 PM
Eleanor Johnstone
Following two months of theft and vandalism, Hithadhoo Court Magistrate Abdullah Farooq has ordered the removal of monuments gifted by the SAARC nations at the 2011 SAARC Summit “Building Bridges” held in Addu City.
This week, Addu City Council removed Bhutan’s monument – a wooden sign – following a demand from demonstrators at the nation-wide opposition-sponsored ‘Defend Islam’ protest on December 23 to that effect.
The council reported that the police surveillance necessary to preserve the monuments in the current political climate had become unreasonable.
Certain interpretations of the Quran prohibit images of living beings. The Maldives Constitution, itself based on Islamic Shariah, states that no action which violates Islam can be upheld by the courts.
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