Sheikh Ismail awarded first honorary doctorate from IUM

Sheikh Ismail Mohamed has been awarded the Maldives’ first ever honorary doctorate by the Islamic University of Maldives (IUM), in recognition of his lifelong contributions to Islamic education.

The award was conferred by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu during IUM’s graduation ceremony held last night.

It marks the first time a university in the Maldives has granted such an honor.

Now aged 90, Sheikh Ismail was born in Dhaalu atoll Meedhoo, and is widely considered one of the country’s most influential Islamic scholars.

In the 1970s, he became the first Maldivian to graduate from the Islamic University of Madinah.

He went on to establish the well known Thoiba School in Male' and was instrumental in enabling more than 100 Maldivians to pursue Islamic studies in Pakistan, particularly at Jamia Salafia, where he later served after leaving the Maldives due to disagreements with the government of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Among the students he supported are many prominent religious and academic figures in the Maldives today, including Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari, Dr Ali Zahir, Dr Ibrahim Zakariyya Moosa, Dr Hassan Saeed, and Sheikh Fayyaz Ali Manik, among others.

Despite facing political pressure, including periods of house arrest, Sheikh Ismail has authored 40 religious texts.

He began construction of a mosque in Hulhumale' Phase 1, funding the project himself on March 5.