Nine hundred Hijri years after the Maldives embraced Islam, more than 700 young Khatibs are being prepared to carry the island nation’s Islamic legacy into the future.
The anniversary is more than a commemoration of the moment Islam transformed the Maldives. It offers a glimpse into how deeply the Deen has become woven into Maldivian life — and into a deliberate effort to ensure the country’s Islamic identity is passed from one generation to the next.
That theme of continuity was at the heart of a national Friday Khutbah delivered during the anniversary commemorations. Titled Steadfastness in Islam, the sermon described “the blessing of guidance in Islam” as the greatest bounty bestowed by Allah, noting that Maldivians had remained steadfast in Islam “generation after generation”.
Against that backdrop, efforts to prepare a new generation of religious leaders take on deeper significance.
Through the Young Khatib Training Programme, launched by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments in 2024, 712 young people have been trained across five rounds to deliver Friday sermons and lead prayers. The government aims to train 1,000 young Khatibs during President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s term.
But the figures tell only part of the story. Their deeper significance lies in what they represent: hundreds of young Muslims stepping forward to assume responsibility for the mosques, congregations and communities they will one day serve.
As the Maldives marks 900 Hijri years since embracing Islam, it is therefore not merely looking back at a faith that shaped its history. It is investing in those expected to carry that faith forward.
A new generation for the Mimbar
The initiative was launched partly in response to a shortage of Imams and Khatibs across the archipelago, with some island communities struggling to secure permanent or visiting religious leaders.
But the programme represents more than simply filling vacant positions.
An Imam is not merely the person who leads Salah, nor is a Khatib simply the person who ascends the Mimbar on a Friday. From that position comes the responsibility to remind, guide and strengthen an entire congregation.
The Quran recited in prayer, the Khutbah delivered each week and the knowledge passed from teacher to student all form part of the fabric through which Islamic life is sustained.
That responsibility is increasingly being entrusted to a new generation.
More than 300 young Khatibs gathered in Malé on September 13 for the National Young Khatibs Symposium, held as part of the country’s 900-year Islamic anniversary commemorations. Among the guests was Sheikh Dr Yasir Al-Dawsary, an Imam of Masjid al-Haram in Makkah.
President Muizzu urged the young Khatibs to lead by example, highlighting Islam’s emphasis on human dignity, unity, peace and security. He also called on them to exercise wisdom and prudence in carrying out their responsibilities.
Islamic Affairs Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed similarly emphasised the weight of the position, saying: “The role of a Khatib is a model position. Every Khatib standing on that pulpit must be a personality capable of setting an example.”
The statement reflects something fundamental about Islamic leadership: influence cannot be separated from responsibility. Those who stand before communities are expected not only to speak about Islamic values, but to embody them.
Preserving the Quran
Alongside developing a new generation of Khatibs, the Maldives is strengthening another pillar of its religious life: the preservation of the Quran.
The country has 322 registered Huffaz, with the government seeking to increase that number to 500. Support for Huffaz has also been strengthened through increased financial allowances and greater recognition of Quran memorisation.
The focus closely echoes the message of the anniversary Khutbah, which stressed that preserving Islam depends upon how the faith is transmitted to the next generation.
The sermon described a good individual as the seed of a good family, a good family as the foundation of a good society, and a good society as the basis of a good state.
It is a powerful expression of how Islamic civilisation is built: beginning with the individual, taking root within the family and ultimately shaping society.
The Khutbah also called for the development of Quranic centres, Islamic educational institutions and programmes to train Huffaz, Imams and others required by an Islamic society. Particular emphasis was placed on teaching children the fundamentals of faith, encouraging the five daily prayers and nurturing a love for the Quran.
The initiatives underway today therefore reflect an understanding that the strength of an Islamic society cannot be measured simply by the number of mosques it possesses. Those mosques require people who preserve the Quran, transmit knowledge, lead congregations and embody the values they teach.
The government has also increased support for Imams and introduced measures aimed at strengthening standards among those leading regular, Friday and Eid prayers, including plans relating to professional dress and conduct.
Taken together, these developments point towards a broader effort to strengthen not only Islamic institutions, but the people through whom those institutions remain alive.
Faith carried through people
Nine hundred Hijri years is a remarkable span of history. Yet perhaps the most significant aspect of the anniversary is not the number itself, but the recognition that an Islamic civilisation cannot survive through commemoration alone.
Faith is carried through people: by the Hafiz who preserves the Quran in his heart, the Imam who stands before the congregation, the Khatib who reminds the Ummah from the Mimbar, the teacher who passes knowledge to another generation and the parent who first teaches a child how to perform Salah.
Mosques can be built from stone and concrete, but Islamic continuity depends upon human beings willing to fill them with worship, knowledge, character and responsibility.
President Muizzu captured that ambition when he described today’s young Khatibs as “tomorrow’s scholars, thinkers, leaders and eloquent orators of the Maldives.”
After 900 Hijri years, the Maldives is therefore doing more than remembering the arrival of Islam on its shores. It is asking who will preserve that inheritance when the present generation is gone — and preparing young people to shoulder that responsibility.
Its answer is increasingly visible in the young men stepping onto the Mimbar, standing before congregations in Salah and committing the Quran to memory.
Perhaps that is the most meaningful way to mark nine centuries of faith: not merely by remembering what Islam has been, but by preparing those who will carry it forward.
