Indigenous epigraphic records dating from the late 12th century CE indicate that, in 1153, the Maldives were converted to Islam by a wandering Arab mendicant. Certainly today the islands are one hundred percent Muslim, and eight centuries of tropical monsoon and Islamic iconoclasm have left little trace of the pre-Islamic religion and culture of the islanders.

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Keywords: 1980, andrew, asia, asian, call, conch, forbes, islam, islamic, maldives, maldivian, muslim, prayer, religion, shell