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There is a revolt in the Maldives, led by the police who refused to obey an order to break up an anti-government protest, and the former president, Mohamed Nasheed, has been forced out of power and replaced by another guy - Mohammed Waheed Hassan (a former UN employee). In the wake of these events a mob (apparently Islamic radicals) is reported by the Maldavian police to have stormed the Maldives national museum and smashed Buddhist statues.
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There is a revolt in the Maldives, led by the police who refused to obey an order to break up an anti-government protest, and the former president, Mohamed Nasheed, has been forced out of power and replaced by another guy - Mohammed Waheed Hassan (a former UN employee). In the wake of these events a mob (apparently Islamic radicals) is reported by the Maldavian police to have stormed the Maldives national museum and smashed Buddhist statues. “A mob entered the museum yesterday (Tuesday). They smashed many statues. This included some statues of Buddha,” police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam told AFP. In an interview with AFP on Wednesday, Nasheed said a mob including Islamist hardliners had attacked the museum because they believed some of the statues inside were “idolatrous.”Islam is the official religion of the Maldives and open practice of any other religion is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
AFP, 'Maldives mob smashes Buddhist statues in national museum', Al Arabiya News 08 February 2012
Photo: Pre-Islamic objects in Maldives Museum
