President Nasheed needs to take a stand against this Salafist nonsense.
If I were President of the Maldives, I’d say this; “No one is forcing you to drink alcohol, or visit bordellos, or pray to Buddha. We are a Muslim state; we are also a part of the rest of the world. If you sincerely wish to live in an environment where the strictest Sharia law is followed, move to Saudi Arabia. My government will cheerfully provide you with not only all the required documentation you may need for your emigration, we’ll even pay for your trip. One way. So you can have your perfect Sharia utopia - but you can’t have it here. To paraphrase the Americans, ‘The Maldives.....love it or leave it.’”
And if they riot, then the usual measures virtually every government on earth takes to put down civil unrest.
"To build our economy we need foreign investments and we need to create an environment in which foreigners can invest," Nasheed said.
"We can't achieve development by going backwards to the stone age or being ignorant," he added.
"Should we ban music? Should we mutilate girls' genitals? Should we allow 9 year-olds to be married? Should we forbid art and drawing? Should we be allowed to take concubines? Is this nation building?" he asked.