Who thinks of the Maldives, immediately thinks of white beaches, the blue ocean, coconut palms and relaxed and friendly inhabitants that enjoy their life to the fullest. However, appearances are deceitful because the paradisiacal image we have of the Maldives only applies to the islands where tourism flourishes. In fact, everyone travelling to the Maldives should be aware of the island nation’s dark secret. The truth is all the other islands that aren’t visited by tourists are stricken by poverty and dissatisfaction and a lack of perspectives.

Poverty and unemployment have always made the most fertile ground for extremism. This is why radical imams and mullahs pay those poor villages regular visits in order to spread hatred against the western world. Lately, the Maldives were shaken by riots, which even caused the government to send military groups to defuse the situation.

Since the proclamation of the caliphate, more and more young men from the insular state devote themselves to the IS, ready to fight and kill for the terror organization. Yes, many people don’t know about this problem because the government does everything to hide it from the world. Journalists that go to the Maldives to investigate are threatened and intimidated or sent back to their home countries. Inhabitants that want to talk about it are forced to stay silent.

Of course, hatred alone often is not enough to bring somebody to resort to violence. But the ISIS, the richest terror organization that has ever existed, pays well, which is certainly a good reason for the poor population of the Maldives to join the IS.

Unfortunately, the methods of the IS are extremely effective, which is clearly visible in the fact that in relation to the total number of inhabitants, most IS fighters come from the Maldives.

Those of you, that intend to spend time in paradise, should think again because your travel experience can quickly turn into hell.

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