History of Christianity in the Maldives
The government of this low-lying holiday island paradise makes a strange boast…it claims that the country is 100% Muslim! Islam arrived in the 12th century, and it has always insisted on imposing an extreme version of the religion upon its people. There were instances of Christians living in the Maldives as far back as the sixteenth century, influenced by Portuguese traders, including a Sultan and his family.
The country however saw almost no missionaries from the Catholic or Protestant side since they were mostly prohibited even when the country was a British protectorate from 1887-1965. However, some Maldivian citizens living in south India and Sri Lanka converted and took their faith back. From time to time, diplomatic envoys as well as tourists have been bold to witness also, and Christian radio especially from FEBA in the Seychelles can be picked up.
Maldivian Christians do exist today but their numbers are extremely small. Said one, “It is as if we submerge beneath the sea and breathe through a straw to avoid being seen.”
