at the time. Even when Ibn Battuta visited an island of the Maldives, the governor of the island at that time was Abd Aziz Al Mogadishawi, a Somali. Also another prominent Shaykh on the island during Ibn Battuta's stay, was Shaykh Najib al Habashi Al Salih, another learned man from the Horn of Africa. His presence Indicating a strong Horn of African Islamic presence on the Island. Scholars have spoken that Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari might have been a resident of Berbera, a significant trading port on the north western coast of Somaliland. Barbara or Barbaroi (Berbers), as the ancestors of the Somalis were referred to by medieval Arab and ancient Greek geographers, respectively. This is also seen when Ibn Battuta visited Mogadishu, he mentions that the Sultan at that time 'Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh Omar', was a Berber (Somali). Persian theory Another interpretation, in the Raadavalhi and Taarikh, is that Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari was Abu al-Barakat Yusuf Shams ud-Din at-Tabrizi, also locally known as Tabrīzugefānu. In the Arabic script the words al-Barbari and al-Tabrizi are very much alike, owing to the fact that at the time, Arabic had several consonants that looked identical and could only be differentiated by overall context (this has since changed by addition of dots above or below letters to clarify pronunciation – For example, the letter "ب" in modern Arabic has a dot below, whereas the letter "ت" looks identical except there are two dots above it). "ٮوسڡ الٮٮرٮرى" could be read as "Yusuf at-Tabrizi" or "Yusuf al-Barbari". Islamic influence Islam is the state religion of Maldives, and adherence to it is legally required for citizens by a revision of the constitution in 2008: Article 9, Section D and 10 states,A non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives. The religion of the State of the Maldives is Islam. Islam shall be the one of the basis of all the laws of the Maldives. No law contrary to any tenet of Islam shall be enacted in the Maldives. The traditional Islamic law code of sharia forms the Maldives' basic code of law, as interpreted to conform to local Maldivian conditions by the President, the attorney general, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Majlis. Article 142 of the constitution states, When deciding matters on which the Constitution or the law is silent, Judges must consider Islamic Shari’ah. Proselytizing by non-Muslims in Maldives,