The Islamic Ministry has counseled Sheikh Ali Zaid in private, after he claimed in a sermon that there is an island where 70 percent of its Maldivian population do not observe fasts during Ramadan. 

An official from the ministry has confirmed this to RaajjeMV, however he did not provide any details as to the nature of the counsel. 

Sheikh Zaid’s sermon at the Trader’s Mosque, officially named Majid Al-Sultan Muhammad bin Abdulla, in the capital city was scrutinized after he claimed that most of the island do not fast during Ramadan, when it is illegal to eat or drink during the day across the country.

He claimed that 70 percent of the island’s population cook and serve food at their homes ‘just like any other month’, as he described the deteriorating piety of some Maldivians. 

After this claim was met with criticism, Sheikh Zaid said that he was informed of this by an individual he has complete trust in.