Embracing Islam in 1153 AD
The written history of Maldives begins with the country’s Buddhist monarch embracing Islam in 1153 AD. Because the Muslim religion prohibits images portraying gods, local interest in ancient statues of the pre-Islamic period is not only slight but at times even hostile; villagers have been known to destroy such statues recently unearthed.
Early mosque designs in the Maldives echoed the temple designs of India and Sri Lanka, and it was not until the 19th century that people were able to travel easily to Mecca and bring back more classical designs. The Eid Mosque represents the older style, in strong contrast to more modern places of worship in Male'. The 18th century Eid Mosque is the most finely carved of the four coral mosques in Male', the capital of the Maldives. The unique features of the mosque, probably built on the site of an ancient Buddhist temple, reflect the history and geology of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The interest of Middle Eastern peoples in Maldives resulted from its strategic location and its abundant supply of cowrie shells, a form of currency widely used throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast since ancient times. Middle Eastern seafarers had just begun to take over the Indian Ocean trade routes in the tenth century AD and found Maldives to be an important link in those routes.
The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the twelfth century AD may partly explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives converted to Islam in the year 1153. The king thereupon adopted the Muslim title and name of Sultan Muhammad al Adil, initiating a series of six dynasties consisting of eighty-four sultans and sultanas that lasted until 1932 when the sultanate became elective. The person responsible for this conversion was a Sunni Muslim visitor named Abu al Barakat. His venerated tomb now stands on the grounds of Hukuru Mosque, or miski, in the capital of Male. Built in 1656, this is the oldest mosque in Maldives. Arab interest in Maldives also was reflected in the residence there in the 1340s of the well-known North African traveler Ibn Battutah.
In 1558 the Portuguese established themselves on Maldives, which they administered from Goa on India's west coast. Fifteen years later, a local guerrilla leader named Muhammad Thakurufaan organized a popular revolt and drove the Portuguese out of Maldives. This event is now commemorated as National Day, and a small museum and memorial center honor the hero on his home island of Utim in South Tiladummati Atoll.
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