Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said that he agreed to become President Abdulla Yameen’s running mate without any pre-condition upon the President’s request.

Speaking at a ruling party conference on Monday, Dr. Shaheem said that he did not want the position but was compelled to accept due to the Prophet’s teachings.

He said he resigned as Islamic minister of the current administration after the arrest of Adhaalath Party (AP) leader Imran Abdulla and that President Yameen back then had urged him to stay in order to help Imran.

He said that he wanted to join the opposition after resigning from the government since he was a close friend of Imran, but that he cannot get involved in a situation with someone if it was caused by principles that he could not accept.

Due to their differences, Shaheem said he parted ways with Imran and has still remained apart politically.

Shaheem warned that if religious teachers try to overthrow the government, they might receive an unexpected and ‘bitter’ result.