Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said that religious scholar Dr Mohamed Iyaz had discontinued his tafseer classes about a month ago on his own volition.
Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said that religious scholar Dr Mohamed Iyaz had discontinued his tafseer classes about a month ago on his own volition.
Iyaz's tafseer classes were previously held at the Islamic Centre.
Minister Shaheem stated this via a post on social media X, in response to rumours circulating on social media that Iyaz had been made to halt his classes from last Friday following a difference of opinion regarding the decision to not hold funeral prayers for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
When conducting funeral prayers in absentia for Haniyeh was left as a voluntary matter in the country, Iyaz and Shaheem had a heated exchange on the matter on social media.
Following this, some social media users claimed that Iyaz had been restricted from continuing his classes.
The Minister responded that Iyaz had notified the ministry that he had discontinued the weekly classes held every Friday night due to health reasons. Shaheem said that this was sent over a month ago, adding that the Ministry had not blocked any religious sermons.
Shaheem then said that Iyaz had yesterday applied for authorization to resume these classes, and added that permission had been granted to hold those classes somewhere other than at the two centres under their purview.
Reasons behind this decision were not disclosed by the Minister.
While Shaheem has instructed Iyaz to change the venue of his classes, the former administration led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had also taken strict action against Iyaz for sermons he delivered.
Iyaz previously served as an Assistant Professor and Senior Lecturer at the Maldives National University's Faculty of Sharia and Law. He was dismissed from this position in 2021 after repeatedly being cautioned regarding tweets he posted, which they said affected the reputation and image of the University.
The issue was later submitted to the Employment Tribunal, which decided to reinstate Iyaz to his post.
Sign In