Maldives: Bomb attack against former president

On 7 May 2021, a bomb exploded outside former President Nasheed"s house as he stepped into his car, according to a report by AP News published on 7 May 2021. The 53 year old suffered serious injury and had to undergo emergency surgery. World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller explains: "Nasheed, who is currently serving as Parliament Speaker, returned to the country from his London exile in 2019, when his party won an overwhelming election victory. While the motives for the attack are still unclear, Nasheed has always been very outspoken against radical Islamic groups in the Maldives. At the same time, he had just announced the publication of a list of politicians involved in the country"s largest corruption scandal revolving around the Tourism Agency (Al-Jazeera, 8 May 2021). Be that as it may, the attack shows how volatile and insecure Maldivian politics remain and this in turn means that the country"s Christians (whether migrant workers or indigenous converts) have to remain very cautious, as they can quickly become both pawns in domestic politics and targets for attack by Islamic militants."