Pray for Maldives

Around 1,200 coral islands off the shores of Sri Lanka and India form the breathtaking Republic of Maldives. Vibrant shades of ocean blue, pure white beaches, and glorious sunsets draw people around the world to this tropical wonderland. The average size of each island in Maldives is merely one square kilometer — less than half a mile. For over 2,500 years, the inhabitants of Maldives have been expert sea-farers. Every day before sunrise, Fishermen across the islands put out to sea and come back long after sunset, boats filled with tuna. The Maldives has enjoyed independence for most of its history. Briefly under Portuguese control and later a protectorate of Britain, Maldives regained full sovereignty in 1965. A multi-party democracy was established in 2008 that still rules today.

This apparent paradise is experienced mostly by tourists; beneath an idyllic surface, the realities can be gloomy. Maldives has suffered from one of the highest divorce rates in the world, in addition to rising crime rates, increasing gang activity, child abuse, and drug use among teens. With 40 percent of the population living in the nation’s capital, Malé, numerous citizens live in overcrowded streets. The islands themselves stand in a vulnerable state, as the coral that supports them is destroyed by increasing ocean temperatures. With an average height above sea level of 1.5 meters, the ocean could wipe certain islands off the map.

While some freedoms have expanded through democracy, there remains no freedom of religion. Islam is the official and only religion; all others are illegal. Traditional belief in spirits combined with Islam leave many Maldivians trapped in fear. The New Testament is available in Dhivehi, but no copies of Scripture are allowed to enter the nation. No mission work or Gospel literature has ever legally made it to the islands. As almost no believers are found in this isolated country, a true miracle is needed to bring hope and salvation to its people.