The Fatwa committee has claimed that the recent European Union (EU) resolution on the current state of Maldives called for the freedom of religions other than Islam to be practiced in the country.

In a press conference at the Islamic ministry, the committee of religious scholars said that homosexuality is a sin and that religions other than Islam are invalid.

Committee president Sheikh Mohamed Rasheed Ibrahim said it was the responsibility of every citizen to protect the 891-year-old Islamic community in Maldives.

Committee member Sheikh Moosa Anwar claimed that while the EU resolution called on Maldives to violate Islamic laws, European countries do not give religious freedom to Muslims. He also said that allowing other religions to be practiced in Maldives would mean that Maldivians have elevated something over Islam, which is prohibited.

He claimed that European countries want to erase Islam from Maldives so that they could do as they wish in the country.

“Only we can change our situation. The country can only be developed if we work within the Islamic doctrine.”

The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution to impose targeted sanctions against senior officials of the Maldives government over the political turmoil in the country. But it does not call for religions other than Islam to be practiced in Maldives and does not mention homosexual rights.