Lankan President to ban the face veil or niqab on Monday
Posted on April 28th, 2019
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Colombo, April 28 (newsin.asia): Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will on Monday impose a ban on Muslim women wearing the face veil (the niqab/burqa) to ensure public safety, the Presidential Media Division said here on Sunday.
Though the measure is unlikely to meet any resistance from the Muslims, given the security situation, there is a feeling among Muslim leaders that an advice not to wear the face veil from the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU) would have been more acceptable.
The President’s decision follows the suicide bomb attacks staged by Islamic State affiliates on three posh hotels in Colombo and three churches in the capital and two other towns on April 21 which led to the death of 253 people including 40 foreign nationals.
However, the President’s decision came as a surprise to people who were discussing the issue of the face veil with government Minister Thalatha Athukorala and the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU) in the last couple of days.
The issue of the niqab (or burqa as it is called in Sri Lanka) came to the fore five days ago when a Member of Parliament Prof. Ashu Marasinghe moved a Private Members’s Bill outlawing the face veil as it hinders identification.
Meanwhile, in view of the security situation in the country, the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU) issued a press release saying that it is requesting Muslim women to remove the face veil when necessary. It did not say that Muslim should not wear the face veil.
Later on Sunday, at a meeting of all religious heads to sort out inter-faith matters in the context of the terrorist attacks, a Buddhist monk asked for a ban on the face veil. But the Catholic leader, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said that asking for a ban would be improper. It is not right to dictate to Muslims on what practices they should follow. They know what their religion says. The Cardinal wanted the meeting to come to a workable solution based on consensus, which will take into account the needs of national security which had been very badly breached on Apri l 21.
The Muslim representatives backed the Cardinal as did Minister Thalatha Athukorala who represented the government. She categorically stated that she would go by the decision of the ACJU.
And the meeting decided to appeal to Muslim women not to wear the niqab (face veil). It was not a diktat but an advice.
After the meeting ended successfully, came a press release from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe saying that he is not opposing a ban on the face veil. He said that the government is discussing the issue with the ACJU to make a suitable law on the ban.
This came as a surprise to the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL) leader Hilmy Ahamad.
The Prime Minister’s statement has created confusion. Perhaps he was misinformed about the decision taken at the meeting of religious heads. It was clearly agreed that the ACJU will issue an advice to Muslim women to remove the veil, not to wear it. A ban was ruled out, ” Ahamad said.
I had asked for two weeks’ time to get the message across to all Muslim women in the country. But the ACJU said that it could do with just one week.”
A few years ago, the militant Buddhist group, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) had agitated for a ban on the burqa and abhaya, the black gown worn by Muslim women influenced by Arabic culture imbibed through contacts with Saudi Arabia over the past 20 years.
Following the high decibel demand of the BBS, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka appealed to Muslim women to abandon the black robe and black head cover, and opt for colorful gowns and head scarves. The MCSL even arranged for a system of exchanging black ones for colorful ones. But the project fizzled out when pressure from the BBS waned.
This time, however, it is different. It is the State which is wanting a ban and the Muslims have no option but to go along.
Given the magnitude of the Islamic State’s attacks on Easter Sunday, and the fears that these have generated in the general population through all classes and religions, resistance to the ban is expected to be extremely weak, if there is any resistence at all.
This will be so especially because the ACJU is not insisting that Muslims should cover their faces.
April 28th, 2019 at 4:35 pm
No. Not enough ! Ban wearing shapeless Gonibilla totally !
How could this funeral dress allowed in a country whether there is 2500 old teaching well and alive to make everyone happy with ZERO violence but PURE UNCONDITIONAL COMPASSION to all. No other religion offer UNCONDITIONAL COMPASSION TO ALL BEINGS with no strings attached.
BAN THE BLOODY BLACK DRESS AND EXTEND YOUR PRESIDENCY !
April 28th, 2019 at 4:37 pm
Ganasara Thero shall be released and made him Presidential Adviser !
Amith Weerasinghe shall be discharged of all charges and made State Minister of Muslim Affairs !
April 28th, 2019 at 9:49 pm
Face veils banned in Sri Lanka from today
Mon, Apr 29, 2019, 08:14 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Apr 29, Colombo: Muslim women in Sri Lanka will not be allowed to wear face veils in public from today under the emergency regulations.
President Maithripala Sirisena has taken steps under the emergency regulation to prohibit the use of face coverings of all sorts which is an obstacle to ensure the identity of the people and a threat to national and public security, the President’s Media Division said.
The order clarifies that the key criterion for establishing the identity of a person is the need to clearly expose the face.
The President has taken this decision to establish a peaceful and cohesive society which does not inconvenience any community people as well as ensure national security.
President Sirisena has taken the measure to ban face veils a week after suicide bomb attacks by extremist Muslim terrorists on churches and hotels killed 290 people.
April 28th, 2019 at 9:58 pm
I am with Randeniyage,
BAN the BURKA and the “gonibilla” ABHAYA too!
Muuslims in Sri Lanka should REVERT to the moderate brand of Islam they follwed 20 years ago, and DITCH the WAHHABI brand and the Sharia Law the WAHABBIS advocate.
NO SHARA Law in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka MUST HAVE ONE SYSTEM of Law APPLICABLE to ALL of its citizens in ALL fields INCLUDING Marriage ands Women’s rights!
Muslims who feel they cannot live in such a country, should MIGRATE to Saudi Arabia where they will fit right at home …. That is, UNTIL TERRORISM in Saudi Arabia makes that country UNINHABITABLE for ordinary mortals!
April 29th, 2019 at 8:55 am
Fully agree. When the they started clamouring for Halal certification and more and women started wearing the black dress with the face covering, the government should have realized the Islamic radicalism has come Sri Lanka. Most people and BBS realized. But the politicians trying to be politically correct and in order to appease the Muslims for their votes did not take any action. Same thing happened in the 70s, the then government ignored the the report of the then Superintendent of Jaffna police Mr Suntheralingam, about the situation brewing in Jaffna.The rest is history.
The black dress and face covering should have been banned as soon as began. Can the so called moderate Muslim political r and religious leaders show and explain where in Islamic teachings says that women should fully cover their faces in black. As far as I know it is not Islamic but Middle Eastern may be due to the climatic and geologic conditions and bedouin life styles. Not all Muslim countries allow it.