An indignant mob barged into the national football stadium in the Maldives on Tuesday morning and disrupted a yoga and meditation event organised on the occasion of Yoga Day.
- An indignant mob barged into the national football stadium in Male, the Maldivian capital, on Tuesday morning and disrupted a yoga program organised by the Indian High Commission. The program was attended by ambassadors, diplomats and participants of the general public. The mob attacked a number of them and vandalised public assets.
- So far, six people had been taken into custody for the violent disruption of the program. “Perpetrators had sought to incite fear with the aid of using forcefully entering, destroying property and trying to attack participants of the program,” the police stated in a statement. Before the program, the protesters brandished placards proclaiming yoga was in opposition to the tenets of Islam.
- A file from a Maldivian news agency, The Edition, cited that a section of Islamists believes exercising yoga is similar to worshipping the Sun, a heretic act according to Islamic tradition. The yoga and meditation hour was an initiative by the Indian Cultural Centre in affiliation with the Union Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga.
- Attendees to the yoga even had been not able to continue with their meditation because of the interruption by the mob. The protesters, who had been wearing banners, placards, and raising slogans, allegedly demanded that the Yoga Day celebrations are needed to be called off and the attendees vacate the stadium immediately.
- Some attendees reportedly stated they had been threatened by the people of the mob. After the short disruption, the program resumed and the session was carried out successfully. Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih stated in an enquiry into the incident was ordered.
- In a declaration, the Government of Maldives strongly condemned the violent disruption that targeted the members, consisting of members of the diplomatic community who had been attending the celebrations held to mark the eighth United Nations International Day of Yoga. Meanwhile, The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) issued a declaration condemning the incident, local media reported.
- Some allege the flags utilized by the rioters had been the same ones utilized in a rally lately organised by the PPM. PPM’s Secretary-General Mohamed Tholal instructed the media that the flags utilized by rioters had been just like those utilized by his party, however, it remained uncertain whether or not it was the same flags.
- Maldives Sports Minister Ahmed Mahloof alleged that preventing the occasion by portraying yoga as an anti-Islamic pursuit was a political act. He stated that the incident worried PPM, nearby media reported. The Maldives was among the 177 countries that voted in favour of co-sponsoring the UN decision to commemorate June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
- The statement of hosting an occasion to commemorate the International Day of Yoga was met with an intense grievance by citizens, who had even threatened opposition to holding the event.
- Yoga is a burning problem in the Maldives for orthodox Muslims, who’ve polarised opinions concerning the religious discipline, which has benefitted millions throughout the globe.
