Former Home Minister and Adhaalath Party President Imran Abdullah has claimed today that the Maldives’ first Islamic Minister and renowned religious scholar Dr. Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari was not just deceased, but martyred. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Imran said that the doubt he had harbored for many days regarding Dr. Abdul Majeed’s sudden death has now reached a level of certainty.
“Yes, Dr. Majeed was martyred by some people,” he wrote.
Although Imran served as Home Minister in the MDP government that followed Nasheed, he had not previously mentioned any suspicions regarding Dr. Majeed’s death. In 2015, Imran had spoken about the 2012 assassination of religious scholar and parliament member Dr. Afrasheem Ali, claiming to have documentary evidence linking former President Abdulla Yameen to the case. Imran was arrested and spent some time in jail in connection with that case.
Majeed passed away at the age of 55 the age of 55 on May 22, 2018. This was four days after he was admitted to the ICU of Lanka Hospital following a stroke. Majeed, who played a key role in the Maldives’ reform movements, was the president of the Adhaalath Party when it was formed in 2005. Former President Mohamed Nasheed came to power in 2008 in a coalition that included the Adhaalath Party. Nasheed appointed Dr. Majeed as the Minister of the first-ever Islamic Ministry established in the Maldives.
Dr. Majeed was the first Maldivian to obtain a doctorate in Quranic exegesis. He made significant contributions to the education sector and authored books in both Dhivehi and Arabic.
This allegation by Imran Abdullah is a serious one, suggesting foul play in the death of a prominent religious and political figure in the Maldives. It’s likely to spark discussions and potentially calls for investigation, given the stature of both the deceased and the person making the claim.
