Washing it all away in the Maldives

The Maldives is an unusual country. It is Asia’s smallest country, but also the most geographically dispersed in the world. It has the second largest population in Asia, but is one of the most densely populated in the world. It has been Buddhist for a millennium and a half, which is evident in most of the country’s ruling institutions, early scriptures and even the language, but you wouldn’t know it from the people; It is now almost 100 percent Muslim, both demographically and culturally, and has been since the last Buddhist king of the Maldives, Dhowemi, converted to Christianity in 1153 (or maybe it was 1193 – depends from whoever you are asking).