The Parliament of the Maldives has decided to send back the proposed bill on acts of hatred to the relevant committee for further review.
The government had proposed an amendment bill to the Penal Code of the Maldives, to specify certain acts of hatred as criminal offences. As such, the bill states acts such as calling a Muslim an apostate / infidel and promoting violence against an individual over a perceived lack of religious faith are criminal offences.
During deliberations on the bill on the parliament floor, most parliamentarians acknowledged the concerns raised by the public as well as different authorities and institutions regarding the bill. Following the deliberations, the parliament passed the decision to send back the bill for further review with votes from 39 parliamentarians.
During the initial review period, the Parliamentary Committee on Judiciary had sought recommendations for the bill from several authorities, including the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The recommendations submitted by the Islamic ministry included amending the clauses of the bill which would obstruct the preaching of Islam and to include acts of hatred against Islam, such as expressing and spreading anti-Islamic views, in the bill as criminal offences.
The bill on acts of hatred was submitted to the parliament on behalf of the government by Parliamentarian Hisaan Hussain. The bill aims to prevent lives from being threatened due to being labelled as an infidel or an apostate. However, many religious scholars have expressed concern that the bill would provide unlimited freedom for people to express anti-Islamic views and disrupt the religious harmony of the country.