Amid the current thaw in bilateral ties, former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom today said India remains the "most strategically important" partner of Maldives.
"India was and remains the most strategically important partner of Maldives, whether it is our ties in education and army and navy training and the recent goodwill visit of ships to our country only prove that. And, we wish to continue our ties," he said.
Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya along with its support ships INS Mysore and INS Deepak recently were on a four-day visit to Maldives.
The former Maldivian president said this in response to a question after delivering an address on 'Islam: A Religion of Peace' at the Observer Research Foundation here.
Gayoom also condemned acts of terrorism perpetrated globally in the name of Islam and said militant outfits like IS are "not fighting a holy war" or upholding the rights of Muslims with their mindless violence born out of religious ignorance.
"The nature of acts committed by IS only stem out of ignorance about Islam. Anyone who understands the basic tenets of this religion knows that it forbids violence and killing of any kind unless prescribed by law for crimes like murder...
"IS by its terror activities is neither fighting a holy war or upholding the rights of the Muslim community. Thousands of people are being killed in terror attacks and I condemn all such violence and wars waged in the name of religion," Gayoom said.
"But, let me add here that those committing acts of violence in the name of Islam are barely one per cent of the global Muslim population, which is largely peaceful and therefore fear and suspicion about Muslims generated among people in many parts of the world after events like September 11 attack also show lack of understanding of Islam on their part. So, the image of Islam gets tarnished both ways," he said.
The Maldivian leader further said, a Muslim is not someone who says so but he becomes a Muslim by his act, or for that matter a Hindu or a Christian.
"And that act as the Holy Quran says is of kindness and compassion and tolerance...The tenets in our holy books say that killing one man equals killing whole of mankind," he said.
"But acts of terrorism have been committed by non-Muslims groups too like the Ku Klux Klan, the IRA, Red Army and the LTTE. So, people must understand that Islam or for that matter any religion teaches peace and harmony and a few people use it for waging a war," he said.
Speaking on SAARC he said, "I am one of the original
founding fathers of this regional cooperation body but I think in the last few years, we have not been able to live up to the principles with which we had founded it. And I hope, we will again acquire the synergy to do so."
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a regional block consisting of eight countries was established at a summit held in Bangladesh in 1985.
On former president Mohamed Nasheed's case he said, "Nasheed is out of the country on humanitarian grounds."
"But he is indulging in political activities by meeting the UK Prime Minister which is not good for the image of the country," he said.
Nasheed, who is serving a 13-year jail term on terror charges, was granted 30 days of leave, which expired late last month, for a back surgery. However, he had requested an additional 60-day leave.
"A meeting with the Opposition party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is scheduled today where issue of political prisoners would also be taken up," said Farish Gayoom, son of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, on the sidelines of the event.
The former president also reject apprehensions that there was a "climate of fear" in Maldives.
"People are free to criticise anyone, including the President. Also, for us tourism is a major sector for sustaining our economy and therefore we are committed to contributing towards building a comfortable climate for everyone," Abdul Gayoom said.
He also admitted that some Maldivian youths, including the well-educated ones, were "getting radicalised" but the youths were going out of the country and they have no control over where they are going.
"But, in Maldives we are taking every step to make sure no such activities take place. We also have our own anti-terrorism laws in place to ensure peaceful environment," he said.
