Many people will find it difficult to compare human populations to rat populations. Many humans will suffer for that cognitive impairment. When a pair of reproductively competent rats are placed in a closed space and provided with sufficient food, they will reproduce and reproduce until the space is filled with rats. At a critical density, wars break out. Some rats, alpha males, claim territory and defend it. Others attack. Sound familiar? Only difference between rats and humans is the language-making capability of the human left brain. We humans give names to our territoriesó”World Trade Center” is one. The right brain, impelled by drives and emotions, is the fundamental force operating here. The left brain makes “reasons” for what the right brain is going to do anyway. Some of these “reasons” are: democracy, Islam, God, Allah, terrorist, Third World, globalization.
What we are seeing is the result of an exponentially increasing population. This is population biology at work. Anthropologists and population biologists studied all the wars in history for which adequate data were available. They learned that war breaks out when the percentage of the population consisting of single males in the age range 16-26 exceeds a certain fraction of the total population. Whatever Osama bin Laden may call it, whatever Al Fatah, or the PLO, or Jonas Savimbi, or Mexican President Fox, or the Australians who refuse to allow the Indonesian refugees into their country, whatever the East Timorese may call it, the Afghanis, the Pakistanisówhatever name is given is not correct; the correct name is overpopulation.
And this is just the beginning. World population stands at over 6 billion now. Projections differ on how high it will go. At one point it was projected to top out at 15 billion. Then it was reduced to 13 billion. The latest numbers I have seen are 9 billion. This will happen in the next 25 years. What happens after that? Mass die off. Itís a fact of population biology. Eventually the bacteria on the Petri dish use up all the resources and die. We live on a spherical Petri dish. Almost all the resourcesóremember that “living space” is a resourceóare used up. As groups led by alpha males come into unavoidable contact with each other, conflict erupts. Osama bin Laden is an alpha male. Yasser Arafat is an alpha male. The clerics of the Taliban are alpha males. God help us, our alpha male is George W. Bush. The attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and whatever was going on in Pennsylvania are conflicts between population segments assembled behind alpha males in an overpopulated, confined space, in which the segments are seeking to expand into territory that is resource rich compared to their own.
Unfortunately, all the players are thinking from inside the box. Bush tells us weíll find the terrorists and punish them. The terrorists are only the proximate problem. The terrorists are the vanguard of the real problem: the surplus billions of people on this spherical Petri dish. Only when the true problem is identified and addressed will we escape the inevitable fate of our speciesóa mass die off that will sometimes look like terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and will at other times look like AIDS and at other times like “ethnic cleansing” in Serbia.
Control of our specieís reproductive drive is the central survival issue our species must solve if Homo sapiens is to be a successful evolutionary experiment. Solving the issue will require the cooperation of all human beings. We are not doing very well.
John Omaha, Ph.D., is with Chemotion Institute: Treatment, Education & Research for the Ingestive Disorders P.O. Box 528 Chico, CA 95927 530-899-7719 E-mail: jomaha@sunset.net
SINGAPORE (IDN) – I gave leadership to the government that defeated the terrorists that no one thought could ever be defeated. From the moment this government came into power in January 2015, they have been persecuting the members of the armed forces and the intelligence services that ended that war,” said former President and Current Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse in an emotional 10 minute address to parliament on April 23.
Photo: The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo, which was among three Colombo hotels hit by suicide bombers on Easter Sunday.
With his voice almost cracking up with emotion, the war-winning president said that the armed forces personnel who carried out their duties on behalf of the nation were harassed and hunted down by this government”. He slammed the government for listening to foreign (western) powers and undermining national security.
The government should at least now realise that you cannot run this country according to the dictates coming from foreign countries. We have to solve our own problems. Because the government was engaged in relentlessly persecuting its own armed forces, we became an easy target for terrorists,” pointed out Rajapakse, adding that no other country in the world has persecuted and weakened their own armed forces and intelligence services in this manner”.
While social media is blocked by the government, his comments have triggered a debate in much of the mainstream media about how the government led by President Maitripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been inept at protecting the security of the country, because they have allowed western governments, NGOs funded by them and UN organisations like the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to dictate national security policies to them.
In September 2015, the government virtually surrendered the policy making process to the UNHRC when it co-sponsored a resolution calling upon the government to account for alleged war crimes and missing persons during the final push to eliminate one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world at the time, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
This has led to pressure on the government to set up war crimes courts with foreign judges, set up a missing persons investigation centre and imprisonment of former intelligence officers and army personnel, many of whom are seen by most Sri Lankans as war heroes, who brought peace to the country. At the time of the Easter Sunday attack, the government was on the verge of repealing the ‘Prevention of Terrorism Act’ under the dictates of the West and UNHRC.
If that had happened what position would we be at today?” asked Rajapakse.
In a video interview given by leading Constitutional Lawyer Manohara de Silva on April 23 that was widely circulated via email, he also slammed the government for giving the responsibility for the country’s security to the international community. He blamed the 2015 UNHRC resolution for the current situation where the country’s security guard was lowered.
He pointed out that the new anti-terror law that was presented to parliament recently, makes it impossible to pursue or charge anyone for terrorism activity if that person is a foreign national – even though he may have been a Sri Lankan national before.
If the country he lives now don’t agree, we can’t charge him,” he notes. So this law is going to be subservient to the West (because most of those who support terrorism in Sri Lanka have obtained asylum in Western countries, especially LTTE sympathisers)”. He accuses the government of trying to please the West rather than protecting our citizens”.
Silva pointed out in the interview that about 40 intelligence officers who helped to end terrorism in Sri Lanka are now behind bars. They are still held on remand when there is no sound evidence against them,” he notes. If so they should be charged by now.”
This has led to a situation, argues Silva, that intelligence officers are afraid to investigate terrorism threats today because they are worried that they would be framed like those in jail. We cannot operate our intelligence services this way. This is why we have to depend on Indian intelligence,” he argues.
Silva also points out that 54 bills have been passed against our army” under pressure from UNHRC and the missing persons act passed does not allow the police to the investigations, but delegates it to the ‘Office of Missing Persons’ that is stacked with anti-national NGO types, one of whom is Dr Nilmalka Fernando, a well-known anti-Buddhist western-funded NGO activist.
In a statement released to the media today on April 25, Sri Lanka’s major Buddhist chapter, Asgiriya chapter, called upon the government to give an immediate pardon to all imprisoned intelligence officials and draft them back into the country’s national security framework. Religious extremism spread in the country because experienced intelligence officials have been imprisoned for various reasons. They did an immense service to defeat terrorism. We need to consider our national security and they should be pardoned and released immediately,” the statement said.
Another Sri Lankan lawyer, Dharshan Weerasekare, author of ‘UN’s Relentless Pursuit of Sri Lanka’ in a commentary published in Lankaweb has called into question the timing and reason for the Easter Sunday attack.
What is crucial is that the bombings not be permitted to become a pretext for the Government to join the U.S.’s ‘War on Terror.’ For the past four years, the U.S. and India (the U.S.’s new ally in Asia) have been busy trying to gain maximum indirect control over Sri Lanka in order to prevent the Chinese from establishing a presence in this country,” he argues.They would have succeeded had it not been for the collapse of the ‘National Government’ and the subsequent collapse of the drive to enact a new Constitution”.
With both presidential and parliamentary elections due in Sri Lanka within the next 12 months, the nationalist alliance led by Rajapakse is strongly tipped to win both elections. Survival of the staunchly pro-Western Wickremasingle is crucial for the West to control Sri Lanka’s destiny.
In March 2018 when a no-confidence motion against the PM was gathering momentum a riot broke out between Muslims and Buddhists in Central Sri Lanka. Timely action by local community leaders of both communities prevented it becoming a major nationwide conflict.
Then when Sirisena sacked Wickremasinghe and appointed Rajapakse as PM in November 2018, Western ambassadors in Colombo openly interfered in the domestic political process to get Wickremasinghe reinstalled. Now come the terror attacks that have the potential to create chaos in the country so that Sri Lanka could be called a ‘failed state’, ripe for the West’s new-colonialism via the R2P (Right to Protect) framework.
Sri Lanka which sits at a strategically vital spot in the Indian Ocean is crucial for both the Americans as well as the Chinese, the former in order to further entrench their control over this region, the latter to break out of the ‘encirclement’ notes Weerasekare, pointing out that a new government that would take power after elections next year could be heavily pro-nationalist as well as pro-Chinese.
In short, all the hopes that the Americans/Indians had in January 2015 are now in ruins, and the ‘gains’ they made in the last four years are very much in danger of being reversed.”
Sri Lanka’s oldest leftist party Lanka Sama Samaji Party (LSSP), while issuing a condolence message to victims of the bombing, said there was something more sinister than what meets the eye. This whole attack has similarities with events abroad that have been attributed to the CIA of the USA,” the statement argued.
The statement added: It is known that the CIA and USA think tanks are operating here with the support of the Government. With the blue print for a police state, the diabolical Counter Terrorist Act (CTA) available, to ensure that the UNF (governing alliance) can stay in power, without holding elections, the path to becoming a neo-colony of the USA can go ahead without interruption.”
Thus, what happened on Easter Sunday, may not be merely a jihadist attack on Christians and Western tourists to take revenge on the New Zealand Christchurch massacre in March 2019. This could well be part of the dirty geo-political wars being fought around the world by major powers with young brainwashed religious zealots as fodder. [IDN-InDepthNews – 25 April 2019]
Photo: The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo, which was among three Colombo hotels hit by suicide bombers on Easter Sunday. CC BY-SA 4.0
Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy takes on a terrifying question: How does the Taliban convince children to become suicide bombers? Propaganda footage from a training camp is intercut with interviews of young camp graduates. A shocking vision.
Gamini Parakrama Dissanayake On behalf of Sri Lankans in Tokyo
Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya Chairman ELECTION COMMISSION Elections Secretariat, P.O. Box 02, Sarana Mawatha, Rajagiriya, 10107, Sri Lanka
We Sri Lankans in Tokyo, Japan are kindly requesting you to hold
provincial elections without any further delay. You have the sole
authority to hold such elections and if you have any obstructions, you
should go to courts without making statements like “I will resign if
elections are not held”. If the member Rathnajeevan Hoole could go to
courts seeking preventing of general elections, we don’t understand why you
cannot go to courts to secure the democratic rights of Sri Lankans.
We are aware that there are foreign elements and NGO’s
behind Rathnajeevan Hoole to act as a puppet but we don’t expect you too
to be a puppet of the prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe or any other
elements.
We expect you to do the right thing without any further delay.
The speed with which the Police, STF and Armed services swung into action following the explosions, despite their initial failing, is commendable. They seemed to know where to strike no sooner than the green light was given. Within hours, the police visited the most vulnerable spot in Dematagoda, and the three police officers and also the pregnant wife and children of the prime suspect blew themselves into smithereens. Security Forces with STF then raided the right places in Sammanthurai, Kalmunai and Katthankudy with devastating results. All this is good and no doubt that the Forces are in good health and kicking yet, despite the beating they got from the government for being efficient.
But the immediate problem however is, who will monitor and follow this through, to a conclusion? Who co-ordinates all this work and give directions? We do not see outwardly the existence of such an institution in place right now.
With regard to co-ordination and direction, one needs concurrent activity in so many areas from the word ‘go’. (a) Examination of so many deadly items recovered from so many places for investigation and intelligence reconstruction purposes. (b) Case preparation and prosecution. (c) Interrogation of so many suspects arrested, and following up on what they reveal and connect the dots (d) matters of custody and relations with Prisons Department. (e) Sifting and co-ordination of exchange of information among intelligence and investigation people, to piece together for the whole picture to emerge. (f) Relations with foreign intelligence and enforcement agencies. (g) Need to trace the financial sources of the Terrorists, and many more.
There is also the need to co-ordinate with the AG’s Department and Justice Ministry, the need for new laws in terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001 as pointed out by Neville Ladduwahetty in his article in ‘The Island’ of 3/5. The need to take immediate strategic action regarding Sharia Law, and the Sharia University; and correct many other political blunders done for short term political gains. What are the long term political decisions to be made now, while things are hot and before the sense of urgency is lost with time? There are so many other things to do; the list is too long to be given here.
If we are keen to learn from history, we have a fine model to look at; in the way the then government handled efficiently the crisis that arose from the 1971 JVP Insurgency, which was totally a new experience then. When the crisis hit the ceiling when JVP struck on the night of 5th April ’71 the big political guns went into hiding. One couldn’t be surprised as they did not know what had hit them, in those peaceful albeit some post-election violence. It was unprecedented. The Opposition UNP got to a side, did not obstruct and engage in the blame game. Only two people stood fast, like the rock of Gibraltar. That was Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike and her cocky young nephew Felix Dias Bandaranaike, the brilliant lawyer and Minister of Justice, finest speaker in Parliament, disliked by all. It is said that on the night of the 5th it was Mrs. B herself who served coffee to the top officials who manned ‘Ops Room’ which was hastily set up at the Temple Trees. No wonder that Sir John described her cynically as “the only man in the Cabinet!”
They immediately re-called IGP Stanley Senanayake who had gone to England and replaced the acting IGP Leel Gunasekera, a Civil Servant whom they had earlier appointed, in their euphoria after the 2/3 victory at the recent election. They scrapped the Janatha Committees that they had appointed to oversee the top administration, following their romantic escapade with socialism.
Mrs. B. immediately brought in as Additional Secy. Defence, a totally new idea, Mr. S.A. Dissanayake, Rtd. IGP. He had helped them in the ’62 Coup case, again an unprecedented investigation, as DIG CID where his brother was the 1st accused. Mr. Tyrell Gunatilleke, the then Director CID described to me the following discussion that took place between the top two immediately thereafter.
Mrs. B.: ‘Jingle’ who else do you need on board?
S.A.D.: Eleric Abeygunawardane as Additional. (The brilliant IGP who had retired immediately after the election).
Mrs. B.: Will he come?
SAD. : Madam, if you personally talk to him, he might.
She did. And he came in. (Note here the respect with which they treated the Police top brass then.)
Mr. Abeygunawardena set up his office in a Government Bungalow in either Wijerama Mawatha or in Longdon Place, my memory is not clear here, to monitor and direct operations then on. That relieved the IG to restore the police stations which were in shambles after the unprecedented simultaneous attack.
The Police station OICs and ASPs were asked to send their investigation files direct to this office. Under Emergency Regulations, admissions made to ASPs by suspects were made admissible in courts. Mr. Abeygunawardane’s office had a few Senior State Counsels like Ranjith Abeysuriya, Kenneth Seneviratne and some others to prepare cases for prosecution and advise the police officers on further investigations. Thus cases were filed in courts without delay. Mr. A had a few CID and Intelligence officers attached to him, who continued to monitor and direct operations to arrest the balance rebel leaders who were hiding.
India loaned us Gurkha soldiers to guard Katunayake Air Port. On 8th April a full day curfew was declared and a load of ammunition was air lifted here, as we had run short of ammunition! The important thing is all this was done logically and on time.
Then Mrs. B declared a ten day amnesty Thousands surrendered to local DROs and temples. They were all accommodated in detention camps in the closed University campuses, under army volunteer officers. Middle level Public Officers were detailed to ferret out the chaff from the paddy, and the rest were released.
FDB, Minister of Justice then set up a new Court called the Criminal Justice Commission, chaired by three Supreme Court Judges. Rohana Wijeweera and the top leaders numbering 42(?) suspects were charged here and convicted. It was called the ‘Maha naduwa’.
Parallely, we in the CID were asked to probe whether and how the JVP was funded.
Mrs. B also had a long term strategy. She declared that we were sitting on a ‘powder keg’, and proceeded to take several radical steps. She brought in the unpopular Land Reforms Act, Nationalization of Tea, Rubber estates, Oil companies, Insurance trade, import & export trade and so many which was thought socialist reforms, to take the sails off the JVP thinking.
Of course there were abuses. She got another arm of the CID to investigate such cases, and the Kataragama Beauty Queen case was the well-known conviction obtained against an Army volunteer Captain and a Sergeant.
When the Parliament finally met, many MPs mainly government MPs, brought in many allegations of abuse against the police. Mrs. B dismissed them with the following words: “If not for the police, none of you will be here talking ill of them.”
Mr. J.R. Jayewardene, when he came to power had the JVP convicts released from prison on the grounds that CJC was bad in law. He had the return 20 years later.
UPFA MP Kumara Welgama, on Sunday, disputed President Maithripala Sirisena’s claim, at a Kalutara District Security Committee meeting, that the security situation was under control.
Welgama said that though the President had assured that normalcy had returned, his head of security had been informed by his superiors to ensure his safety. Thus, the statements the President made on the security situation were contradictory, Welgama said.
When Welgama made that statement, the President did not respond, according to sources.
The meeting was held at Kalutara District Secretariat with the participation of a large number of politicians and state officials. It was closed to media except the presidential media division.
The President told those present that the security situation was under control.
Welgama then criticized the President and the government, and at the end of his speech, those who were present applauded the MP.
Welgama added that he had been informed by his security, on April 21, the day of the Easter Bombings, of the impending attack, but he had not paid much attention to it. But as the Minister of Defence, the President should have informed the people, he said.
The president, ministers and other MPs should take the responsibility for the situation. All the politicians were aware of potential attacks and, therefore, neither they nor their family members had gone to church, Welgama said.
“We must go for elections only after solving the problem completely. All must extend their support for the security forces to bring the situation under control. The security forces can tackle the situation if there is no political interference.”
Several others including MP Jayantha Samaraweera also expressed their views. The President left, saying he had to attend the Cabinet meeting.
A Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States and an ally or partner, defines the legal status of any member of the U.S. armed services (land, sea or air) serving on active duty anywhere in such a country, excluding personnel of U.S. Armed Forces attached to the United States embassy in that country and such personnel who have been specifically mentioned as being outside the binding clauses of such agreement. They can include the civilian staff, being American citizens in the employ of, serving with or accompanying the U.S. Armed Forces personnel in the ally/partner country. Usually, a SOFA will not cover civilians ordinarily resident in the partner/ally country, occupying similar capacities with US Armed Forces personnel coming under the agreement. Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake is the latest aficionado of these hyped–up anti-SOFA elements. His take on it was, to put it mildly, very shocking: He is on record as having said that How can we sign such an agreement? That is like committing suicide after writing all my properties to someone else”. One presumes he knows what he is talking about because he has been privy to the contents of the pending agreement.
What is significant and to the point, however, is not anyone’s fear about the contents of the SOFA because on closer analysis one sees that the Commander has preceded his comments by observing that There are various regional and world powers trying to take advantage of the current situation due to the strategic and geographical (and geo-political?) importance of Sri Lanka’s location.
When the Army Commander comes out with such a firm statement at this specific juncture , one may be excused for presuming that the Commander-in-Chief of the nation’s Armed Forces, President Maithripala Sirisena, might well heed his Army Commander’s advice to tear up the proposed SOFA with the U.S. That matters have been brought to the brink of the signing of this geo-politically defining landmark agreement mostly because of the accommodation by the UNP-led Government is seen in diplomatic and other political circles as the outer manifestation of America’s success in seducing Sri Lanka away from capitulating blindly to Beijing with whom this country may well be having a similar agreement.
Presidential election as an excuse
The political grapevine is abuzz with speculation whether this is the real reason behind President Sirisena’s trip to Beijing, ostensibly to attend a conference, but more importantly for a briefing with Xi Jinping on advice as to what position is to be now adopted with the Americans relating to the SOFA agreement. Xi Jinping can be trusted to have some tough things to say to the Sri Lankan President, not forgetting that he botched the plan to reinstate Rajapaksa in power and thereby put an end to Ranil Wickremesignhe’s cooperation with the U.S. to the detriment of China’s Belt and Road plans and the crunch plan to take total control of the South China Seas.
A positive nod from Sirisena to Xi Jinping, offering the imminent Presidential Election as an excuse for ‘postponement’ could totally jeopardise the SOFA signing in Colombo. That would be the best news Beijing has heard in several decades, especially ever since Xi Jinping lost out when Sirisena botched plans to reinstate Rajapaksa in power last September.
Coincidence or not, it’s interesting that the Army Commander’s opinions were voiced exactly at this specific juncture. Seducing Sirisena into the SOFA process began way back on 29.11.2016 at the Galle Dialogue at which President Sirisena met U.S. Admiral Harry Harris, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, since renamed the U.S. INDOPACOM (broadened to include the entire Indian Ocean) at the Galle Dialogue 2016 Maritime Security Conference, at which Harris also met PM Wickremesinghe, and Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces Commanders. This led to the USS Somerset arriving here to support the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit Exchange with Sri Lanka Marines and still later on had U.S. Marines, Sailors work with the Sri Lanka Navy’s newly-minted Marine Corps.
Admiral Harris then stressed the importance of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and expanding partnerships among like-minded nations TO UPHOLD THE RULES-BASED GLOBAL OPERATING SYSTEM. SRI LANKA IS A WELCOME AND SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR TO THE SYSTEM.
Admiral Harris also met privately with Commanders of the Sri Lanka Navy, Army, and Air Force, along with discussions with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, and other senior Government leaders.
Expanded cooperation with the United States – cooperation that benefits both countries in meaningful ways” was how Admiral Harris put it. SOFA is the plum in that scenario of cooperation. But those in the know will tell you that SOFA has absolutely nothing in it even remotely engendering Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity or sovereignty. The US-Korea SOFA has been inexistence for decades and it has in not in any way been negative for South Korea: Just the opposite in fact.
The difference is that there was no way that Beijing could find broad political support in Korea of the nature found in Sri Lanka…and so the US-Korea went through and persists to this day with no negative issue whatsoever emerging from it. Unfortunately for China, her support was across the border in North Korea. Not so in Sri Lanka pre-2015 and for Beijing, hopefully, post-2019!
So, then the sudden recent spate of news taking up space in the print media against the SOFA is a manifestation of the pro-US and pro-China forces trying to hit, while the iron is hot with the staunchly pro-U.S., pro-SOFA Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at his weakest since getting ‘outside’ help in 2015 to send Beijing man, Mahinda Rajapaksa, out of power.
Commander Senanayake’s opinion, therefore, is the first hard indication of a split in opinion among leaders of the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka vis-a-vis the proposed SOFA.
The contention that the current security situation in Sri Lanka is being exploited to hurry up the signing process however, is flawed. The fear is that any future Government reneging on such agreements, such as the SOFA with the U.S., can have nasty diplomatic and bilateral trade negatives emerging from it. Those negatives, as Iran well knows, can hurt extremely harmfully. They can destroy Sri Lanka economically and in affairs before the UNHRC.
This is what is back of the sudden haste to drum up resistance to tear up the imminent SOFA threat that sends grave danger signals to China’s Lankan political stooges on one side and America’s friends in Colombo on the other.
How very badly the U.S. wants SOFA to go through, will, I am afraid, also determine the outcome of the coming presidential and general elections. For the U.S. and China, it’s now a winner takes all” prospect in Sri Lanka…and that’s fraught with all sorts of dangers. The U.S. plays very rough, China plays dirty.
The National Sangha Council (NSC) will lodge a complaint with the Police Headquarters tomorrow (14) against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, calling for his arrest and that he be charged in Court over his involvement in the Easter Sunday (21 April) attacks.
The carnage, due to the suicide bomb attacks in churches, hotels and elsewhere, claimed the lives of over 250 and injured over 500 others.
The Council claimed that Wickremesinghe, among others, had prior knowledge about the attacks, but had not, as part of the Government, taken any action to prevent them. This constitutes negligent behaviour and conduct, the Council alleged.
The Council also claimed that the suppression of information about the crime and aiding and abetting in it too were grave offences.
Sri Lankan security personnel stand guard at a checkpoint on a roadside in Colombo on May 13, 2019. A Muslim man was slashed to death in Sri Lanka, police said after imposing a nationwide curfew to contain a violent new backlash against Easter suicide bombings
A Muslim mas was slashed to death in Sri Lanka Monday, police said after imposing a nationwide curfew to contain a violent new backlash against Easter suicide bombings.
The 45-year-old man died shortly after admission to a hospital in Puttalam district during anti-Muslim rioting which began Sunday in the area, a police official told AFP.
“Mobs had attacked him with sharp weapons at his carpentry workshop,” the official said. “This is the first death from the riots.”
His death was reported after authorities ordered the entire country placed under a night curfew and police were ordered to use maximum force to deal with troublemakers.
Police will take stern action against rioters and constables have been issued with orders to use maximum force, Police Chief Chandana Wickramaratne warned in a televised address after rampaging mobs set fire to Muslim-owned shops and vehicles.
Homes and mosques were also vandalised by large groups of people armed with sticks and blunt weapons, police said.
The unrest was concentrated in three districts north of the capital, but a night curfew was imposed across the country to prevent the spread of violence, police said.
The latest rioting came three weeks after a string of suicide bomb attacks against three Christian churches and three luxury hotels, leaving 258 people dead and nearly 500 wounded.
The
Easter Sunday terror attacks done by Islamic terrorists in Sri Lanka consider
as a barbaric aggression by Islamic terrorists against a peaceful nation and no
religion in the world based on the concept of taweed (There is no God, but
Allah himself) would not support for such a barbaric attack and many Islam
devotees condemn the attacks. After this
barbaric attack, several significant issues emerged in Sri Lanka and they
should be publicly discussed and debated without political alignments. I would
like to present the issues point by point to consider.
After the barbaric
Islamic attack, security forces in Sri Lanka checked Islamic Mosques and houses,
and found many swords and offensive weapons, which are banned in Sri Lanka in
terms of the Offensive Weapons Act.
Legally it is very clear that no one can keep in hand such weapons and
it is a criminal act if any person or an organization keep offensive weapons.
The law indicates that such offensive weapons could be displayed in a shop but
cannot keep such weapons in hands. I saw a statement of Mr. A.M. Ameen, the
leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Council that offensive weapons were kept in Muslim
Mosques and houses to safeguard girls. What was the legal provision he was
talking about? The criminal law of Sri
Lanka clearly prohibits keeping offensive weapons for any reason and this law
is effective in the country since independence.
In this environment, how the president of Sri Lanka considers this
offense as a simple activity. If any
person in Sri Lanka needs a weapon for personal security, he or she can get a
gun after obtaining a legally valid permit from the government.
Could Sri Lanka allow
only one religious group to violate the law of the country ignoring other
religious groups? The law of a country provides justice to all citizens and why
the government doesn’t consider giving justice to all citizens? The law of Sri Lanka is applicable to all
communities without except to any.
Does Saudi Arabia or any
other Muslim country allow to violate criminal law provisions in the name of
religion or Allah? The answer to these
questions is no and why the Muslim community in Sri Lanka attempts to violate
the law, which is not allowed in any Muslim country? In this connect it is
quite important that many Muslim people condemn the terror attacks and
attempted to express that terror attacks were not authenticated by the Islam
religion in Sri Lanka.
There are personal laws
such as Muslim Law, Thesawalamai law, Buddhist Vihara and Property law and
Kandyan Law. These laws are allowed in Sri Lanka considering human rights and
the common law provisions in Sri Lanka clearly indicate that no personal laws
in Sri Lanka can violate the rights of any citizen of the country. However, it seems that legal provisions in
relation to Muslim Marriage and divorce in Sri Lanka contradict with the common
law and why the government wants to keep such laws discriminating other
citizens of the country. Many practices
of Muslim law in Sri Lanka in relation to marriage and divorce are unacceptable
to the international community and the government needs to change the Muslim
personal law consistent to common law practices.
Personal laws of Muslim
and Thesavalamai use to discriminates women, children and lower caste people in
Sri Lanka. It is a violation of Human right convention of the United
Nations. Why the Human Rights Commission
of the United Nations in Geneva did not question or focus on this issue. Is this international organization playing
politics in Sri Lanka than performing the role assigned by the United Nations?
As Rt Rev Cardinal Malcolm
Ranjith publicly stated some politicians and individuals have unduly enriched
in the country. Did these people pay a
fair share of tax to the government? In terms of the Land Reform Commission Act
in 1972, a person can hold only 50 acres, but it is reported that certain
personnel hold more than 50 acres and how did such transactions legally
register. Why is the government not
investigating the issues and punish responsible persons?
Did the unduly enriched
people engage in money laundering activities? Why the government is not engaging
in the investigation?
Education is a national
activity of Sri Lanka. The primary and
secondary education in Sri Lanka is a government role or government supervised
role. How can deviate from such role allowing Madrasa and other higher education
institutions disregarding law and regulation of the country? The Curriculum in primary and secondary education
must be approved by the Department of Education and how private organizations
offer different curriculum without government approval?
The
national reconciliation process began after 2015 was mythical acting against
the United Nations’ accepted universal human rights and advocates of the
yahapalana regime didn’t question about the dishonest process.
As
a religion Islam contains vital philosophical views such as sakaat (Muslims who
have money give 1/40 to people, siyam (fasting during the Ramadan) and salaat
(pray five times a day) etc. Any religion, which is peaceful has a right to
exist and if Muslim devotees consider that non-believers should be killed, it
is unacceptable philosophy and such a religion would not exist because it is
discharging criminal acts, which are subject to prosecution and punishment.
See how arrogant these Muslim
leaders are. Isn’t it a situation where
the tail wagging the dog. I put the entire blame squarely on all Sinhala
politicians who have miserably failed to build up the status of the Sinhala
Nation and consolidate their dignity and rightful place on this land of the
Sinhala race, in their crazy chase after minority votes for power ever since 1948.
Doesn’t this clearly shows that
the danger is beyond comprehension
Why doesn’t this stupid
Government declare possessing these swords, axes, mallets, mattocks and knives and all similar weapons by any
Muslim as illegal and take over all of them and charge them for possessing
illegal weapons and whatever other crimes for which they could be charged. If
on the other hand this government is not going to ban and declare that it is a
serious offence to possess them and take them over and charge them or else give at least one gun to every
Sinhala and Tamil house and immediately in this country for them to protect
their lives.
Although ජමිතුල් උලමා ‘s version
is this, according to Abdul Saleem of Harispattuwa the Minister of Muslim
affairs these swords are stocked for
grass cutting and according to Asad Sali Sirisena’s Governor WP every Muslim
house has a sward to protect girls. His bulla again Sirisena’s Governor EP does
not say either of these purpose though he also justifies possession of swards
by Muslims, because he knows they are meant to slaughter Sinhala people.
In this backdrop it is crystal
clear that all these fellows are one well organized gang of criminals. As such
their elimination is a must to bring this country back to normalcy. In order to
reach this target the president should immediately sack his two Muslim
Governor, (Hisbulla and Asad Sali), the Minister of Muslim Affairs and arrest
them along with ජමිතුල් උලමා and fully disarm all Muslims who are planning a
massive jihard all over the country and initiate action against all culprits.
If Ranil obstructs it then sack him as well and initiate action against his as
well in the same manner.
Looking at the way the President
has failed even to issue the gazette banning Muslim terror organization Thahith
Jamad for two weeks, and the Presidential order issued on April 29th
under sec 5 of the Public Security Ordinance the order banning Thavhith Jamad
is not included. Also I read that in another gazette issued there were 23
mistakes. We know there is no point in asking the President to do this as he
will never do anything to dissatisfy Muslims as he is dreaming of their votes
although he will never get a single vote from them.
Whether he likes it or not the
whole country wants him to take penal action against these Muslim terrorist
immediately lest it escalate any further. O All Sri Lankans know our President
is only a talking machine confined to his own world of self- delusion and as
Sarath De Alwis (Colombo Telegraph 12 5
2019) has quite correctly said he has got reduced to a Dead Man Walking.
The general public is asking the
most pertinent question as to how you justify keeping Rev Galabodaatte
Hammuduruvo in jail so long for a trifle issue while Ulamas and Muslim
Ministers and Governors who have taken to arms and openly justify for keeping
them with them and admit they have swards in all Muslim houses and Mosques and
waged war against the State and the Sinhala nation who are the real Bhumiputras
of this country are left free. They even write to you challenging right of the
government to take them over and take action against them. They claim they have
a right to keep such weapons with them and ask for permission permission to
keep them where they are.
Mr President and PM if you duo fail
to take action against all Muslims involved in this well organized massacre
with many more to follow and try to protect them to get their votes, please
remember the Sinhala voters will put you to the dust bin of history at the next
election, if they are fortunate live to vote.
The Lankaweb
published the first part of this series on February 8, 2019. In its last
para we identified ” Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe by
far the most shrewd and intelligent politician of Sri Lanka.”
MINISTRY OF LAW AND
ORDER- UNDER RANIL
Since the formation of
the Government, Ranil Wickremasinghe or his UNP colleagues held the role of Law
and Order. Ranil himself held it for couple of months and then relegated
to his erstwhile friend Sagala Ratnayake and then to Ranjith Madduma Bandara.
During this period
Ranil dismantled the intelligence network, downgraded its manpower, experienced
Officers were transferred to other Divisions in addition to arresting and
jailing them. Most of them are still behind bars, with no sign of legal
action being instituted.
Ranil did all this
ground work to satisfy LTTE diaspora, the West, the Indian political mafia and
Muslim minorities. At the time the Ministry was removed from him, the
Ministry was virtually defunct.
MINISTRY OF LAW AND
ORDER-UNDER MAITHREE:
Maithreepala took over
the Ministry on 1 November 2018. Just couple of days before taking over the
Ministry, the President appointed Mr Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister.
RANIL’S ANGER:
The loss of powerful
Ministry of Law and Order and the appointment of Mahinda Rajapakse, did not go
down well in the books of Master Mind Ranil Wickremasinghe. He became the
Prime Minister again, yet without the Ministry of Law and Order.
ATTACK ON CHURCHES:
On 21 April 2019, the
Churches were attacked, whilst President Sirisena was holidaying and shopping
for his son’s wedding. Ranil escaped to Nuwaraeliya for a holiday,
instead of going to his famous downsouth destinations off Baddegama.
MOTIVES:
I.
Since the
attack on Churches and killing hundreds of innocent worshippers, Ranil used the
opportunity to blame the President as he was the Minister.
II.
Advocating
that President is incapable of holding the role of Ministry of Law and Order,
Ranil, his kiths and kins are now gearing up for a political promotion for
convicted criminal Sarath Fonseka.
III.
Without
Tamils and Muslims support, Ranil is a political pedestrian. Therefore,
he will use his skills of political manoeuvre to retain the position of Prime
Minister and destroy Maithreepala politically.
The Bond Scam, the
failure to bring back Arjun Mahendran, the alleged coup to assassinate the
President Maithreepala and the former Defence Secretary, the 21 April attack on
Churches by Muslim Terrorists may not be mere coincidences.
Fighting Tamil terrorists and Muslim
terrorists are two different things.
1. (During the war) Tamils were a
net economic burden to the nation.
Over 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils lived
in the north and the east but a very small amount of tax was paid by them.
Their expenses were enormous. A massive number of taxpayer funded schools, a
large number of Tamil university students (far more than 12.8% their ethnic
percentage then), very high free medical cost, free fertilizer, free food, etc.
The more the dead and emigrated, the
lesser the recurring economic burden on the economy as tax payers were
extremely few in the north. (Sorry, economic realities don’t play catch-up with
morality).
This is not the case with Muslims. They
make a net positive contribution to the economy and less tax money is drawn by
them for education, healthcare, higher education, etc.(for whatever
reason). Therefore inevitable disruption of Muslims’ economy in a conflict
has an adverse impact on the nation.
2. India (the main sponsor of
Tamils) doesn’t provide any economic benefit to Sri Lanka. In fact, India is a net economic drain on Sri Lanka. So if
India imposed sanctions, etc. It would have benefited Sri Lanka! Even in India
only 6% of the population is Tamil. So whatever happened in Sri Lanka to Tamils
mattered a little to India.
However, OIC countries are providing
Sri Lanka over $7 billion net gains. They are at the heart of this conflict and
they stand up for each other of the Muslim community. If Sri Lanka gets them
off side, that is the end of the nation and the economy of the Sinhala
community. Almost 100% of these countries’ population is Muslim.
3. The distribution is another
factor. Over 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils live/d in the north and east. The north
is/was almost 100% Tamil only. The collapse of the northern economy didn’t
impact Sinhalese and Muslims. But Muslims are everywhere. The collapse of their
economy affects all.
4. Although Tamil terrorists
maintained links with other terrorist groups and nations, it was limited.
Muslim terrorists are very tightly linked to at least 50 similar terrorist
groups around the world.
5. Muslims are far more integrated
to the Sri Lankan society than Tamils economically and politically. No Tamil politician is voted by Sinhalese but plenty of
Muslim politicians are voted into parliament by Sinhalese. e.g. Imitiyas,
Marikkar, Cader, Fowzi, Aboosally, Hameed, MH Mohammad, Hasheem, Musammil.
Muslim businessmen sponsor many
community events benefiting all.
Uprooting Muslim terrorists has
collateral damage and the impact seeps into the entire Lankan community.
Self-isolated Tamil community didn’t have any such impact.
For these reasons we must be extra
careful in handling this. We cannot exterminate Muslim terrorists as easily
(and as least costly) as we exterminated Tamil terrorists.
However, it must be done. That’s why
a very clever strategy is needed that saves the economy and the nation both at
the same time.
Colombo, May 12: Ven.Athuraliye Rathana Thera, Jathika Hela Urumaya leader and a National List Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament, has brought out a document on a comprehensive plan to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which is believed to have inspired or directed the suicide bombings in Sri Lanka on April 21.
Produced in the name of Sri Lanka National Council (SLNC), the document was released late last week in the presence of religious leaders including Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.
It begins by saying that it is important to realize, first and foremost, that the ISIS is not similar to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and that the methods developed to fight the LTTE cannot be blindly applied to the fight against the ISIS.
The LTTE was fighting for a piece of territory where the Tamils would rule themselves, but the ISIS is a global organization aimed at converting the entire world to Islam by force of arms. It tentacles are spread across the world and it strikes in various parts of the world.
The roots of the ISIS are in global oil politics and not in Sri Lanka per se. The scope of the ISIS being global, Sri Lanka will have to join the global war against the ISIS.
While this calls for Sri Lanka’s cooperation with the West it should do so without surrendering its national independence, the document says. Intelligence should be shared with the West and other countries involved in the fight, but prudently without giving the recipient country a foothold in Sri Lanka.
To gain the confidence of the West and India, Sri Lanka should have prudent and measured relations with China. According to the document, Sri Lanka is in danger of being dominated by China economically. At the same time, Sri Lanka should see that it does not come under the political domination of India and the military domination of the West, it adds.
The SLNC urges the government to opt for sustainable development rather than just development measured in terms of the GDP. The latter strategy has landed Sri Lanka in debt.
There should be less dependence on imported oil and coal and more on renewable sources of energy. This will obviate the need for excessive dependence on foreign investments and foreign funding, the document says.
To secure Sri Lanka from the stranglehold of foreign countries, ports and airports should not be handed over to foreign entities and the plan to build a corridor between Colombo and Trincomalee with foreign assistance should be abandoned.
The document cautions against going overboard in accepting international help to fight the ISIS as that would only further weaken the country and erode its independence in the long run.
The document said that while in the case of the LTTE, the then opposition supported it, in the case of the ISIS, support is coming from a section of the government itself.
This is because of electoral alliances and sharing of power with some pro-extremist parties necessitated by the proportional representation system. The SNC proposes a new electoral system which will obviate the need for such alliances with minor communal parties and enable a single party to form a stable government.
Apart from taking stringent action against persons involved in extremist activities, the government should promote national unity and moderation in civil and religious thought and action.
Towards this end, denominational schools should be replaced by multi-religious schools. Co-education should be insisted upon. Extremist and fundamental teachings should be banned. On the other hand there should a compulsory course of study in inter-religious harmony.
There should be no religion based uniforms in schools or religion-based banking. And there should be no religion-based laws or religion based enclaves, the document says.
(The featured image at the top is that of Ven.Athuraliye Rathana Thera, MP and leader of Jathika Hela Urumaya )
While noting that there are various regional and world powers trying to take advantage of the current situation, due to the strategic and geographical importance of Sri Lanka’s location, Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake vouched that he will not agree to sign the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States of America.
How can we sign such an agreement? We can’t agree to what is stated in it. That is like committing suicide after writing all my properties to someone else,” he said.
The alleged plans by the Government to sign the SOFA agreement with the USA has drawn much criticism from various political parties and interested groups, who opined that it poses a severe threat to the country’s sovereignty.
SOFA agreement allegedly contains clauses which undermines domestic rule of law and tax and there was no reciprocity.
The US had requested that US military personnel be subject to US law when they are in Sri Lanka, several Opposition Parliamentarians alleged earlier. There is also a request to exempt US military personnel from taxes in Sri Lanka,” JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake said.
Sri Lanka’s Customs cannot inspect them or their baggage. When Sri Lanka’s President goes to the US, is he exempt from US Customs?” he asked. US military personnel would also be allowed to export goods purchased in Sri Lanka without questions being asked
Confession by EX-Muslim in Sri Lanka
_____________________________________
ලෝකයේ ගොඩක් රටවල් වල තරුණ තරුණියන් මේ වන විට ඉස්ලාම් ආගමෙන් ඉවත් වන ප්රවණතාවක් දැකිය හැකිය. පහත දැක්වෙන්නේ ඉන් සමහරක්
සංවිධාන වේ.
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB),
Council of Ex-Muslims of Bangladesh,
Ex-Muslims of North America,
Council of Ex-Muslims of New Zealand,
ExMuslim Support Network of Australia
Ex-Muslims of India
Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco CEMM مجلس المسلمين السابقين بالمغرب
මෙම වීඩියෝවෙන් ඉදිරිපත් කරනු ලැබුවේ ශ්රී ලංකාවේ
Council of Ex-Muslims of Sri Lanka සංගමයේ මුස්ලිම් සහෝදරයෙකුගේ පෞද්ගලික මත සහ අදහස් බවත්,
ට්රිප් පිස්සෝ චැනලය වන අප මේ ප්රකාශ වල කිසිදු වගකීමක් භාර නොගන්නා බවද කරුණාවෙන් දන්වා සිටිමු.
Council of Ex-Muslims of Sri Lanka – https://www.facebook.com/groups/CEMSL…
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Every day we read and hear about the way tourism has
suffered and how not only airlines ,hotels ,and eating houses and even tuk tuk
drivers are suffering .
During one of the meeting hosted by EDB I mentioned about
the problem we are facing to get insurance policies for industries
.Industires are facing problems in the port,customs ,transport of raw materials
and delays everywhere.We cannot get workers to report to work.Productivity at
rock bottom and people are suffering due to drastic reduction of income.
Countries like Vietnam ,Cambodia ,Laos and even Indonesia
had such downturns and yet they bounced back.
These countries just forgot tourism and concentrated on
local production and their agriculture .
(The knives recovered should be used to make sickles and
hammers ?)
Let us try to create more blue economy related industries in
fishery etc .
Let us us create marinas and get local tourism in the
forefront.
Government should get the bureaucracy back to work.
Install a strong minister of Local Government who can make
all local state institutions get back in action.
It is time to open our eyes and look for other avenues to
carry on with the life of people without talking about tourism knives swords
and Facebook postings.
Colombo, May 11 (Reuters/News18/newsin.asia): Sri Lankan Security Forces are looking for terror-leader Zahran’s successors.
A madrassah teacher and a firebrand preacher of the Wahabi and Salafi brands of Islam in Kattankudi in Eastern Sri Lanka, Zahran Hashim had led the group of suicide bombers on April 21 and perished in the attack on Shangri-La hotel. There could be some aspirants for the leadership of the group led vacant by his death.
Lankan Army chief Lt.Gen.Mahesh Senanayake told Reuters here on Friday that there may be people who are seeking the leadership of Zahran’s group, the National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ), and that the forces are on the look-out for these.
Our understanding is that Zahran who commanded and orchestrated the bombings. However there may be other important players linked to the militant ideology and seeking leadership,” the General said.
Trips To India
Gen.Senanayake further said the bombers had mostly used local explosives but may have also sourced some from southern India, likely Tamil Nadu.”
He said some suspects had gone to India, mainly to Kerala, Bengaluru and Kashmir for training. However, there is no reliable information on this. Investigators are still trying to determine more details around their travels, he added.
He ruled out pilgrimages as the reason for their visits to India.
Senanayake said that investigators had established that the plotters had links to Islamic State, but added that the authorities were still trying to establish how deep those contacts were.
We don’t have to worry about the situation; it is controllable, it is contained. We are quietly confident that normalcy is brought back without any second round of militant attacks.”
The attacks in churches and hotels across the Indian Ocean island on April 21 killed more than 266 people, including 44 foreign nationals.
Sri Lankan authorities have said the bombings were believed to have been carried out by two little-known domestic Islamist groups, the National Tawheed Jamaath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI).
Islamic State has claimed responsibility.
Definitely there is an IS link. That doesn’t mean it was a direct IS hit. But we are trying to establish how deep it is in order to plan our (military) operations,” the General said.
Offshore Links
The focus of the probe is on the plotting, funding and planning of the attacks, as well as the precise nature of the offshore links – including whether any of the explosives came from southern India, Senanayake said.
Investigators from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, are helping Sri Lanka with the investigation.
Senanayake further said that India, China, United States, Israel, Australia and the United Arab Emirates were looking to provide high-grade military technology, including communication and surveillance equipment, to deal with future threats.
Asked to comment on a report that India’s National Security Guard commandoes were at the ready to join in any security operations in Sri Lanka, Gen.Senanayake said while respecting India’s offer of help, Sri Lanka itself has a fund of experience in tackling terrorists which it has been sharing with other countries.
Colombo, April 29: As recent events have shown, religious extremism is going to be the biggest challenge of our times. In every part of the world, extremists hijack religion to push their evil agendas, be it ISIS in the Middle East, Shiv Sena in India or the Bodu Bala Sena in Sri Lanka. Nor is the danger localized, as the Easter Sunday carnage showed, extremism is insidious and far-reaching with groups like ISIS spreading their menacing tentacles to other parts of the world including our island.
Extremism very often leads to terrorism because it knows no love or compassion for the other. It is a cult based purely on hate for the other and extreme pride in one’s race or religion at the expense of the other. It flourishes because it has a foolish flock willing to follow it and is fed by extremists from the other.
What we can do about it?
Extremism is incompatible with the Islamic faith, and many were the occasions when the Prophet (PBUH) spoke against it. But there are Muslims who are certainly extremists. There is a saying that you shall know a faith by its fruit, but the truth is there are rotten fruit as well, and the fringe extremists in our community belong to this lot. The majority don’t.
However there is a big problem they have. They don’t speak out their mind in public or in social media forums. They are very reluctant to confront a firebrand hate preacher even if he engages in an utterly nonsensical, ear-splitting cacophonic verbal barrage like many of them do from the all important position of the mimbar or pulpit of the mosque during Friday service. Well surely, you don’t have to shout at him when he’s at it in the pulpit, but you can speak your mind to him after it’s over and you can tell the trustees he’s a misfit and need not be there.
The fact is that our religious scholars have not educated themselves enough to pass on the message to their flock and those of other faiths – that Islam is a religion of love and compassion that even values the life of a tiny ant. Nor can they handle the many questions that need answers today, with the result that a few lay persons have had to fill that lacuna. Thus, it is high time Muslims understood that we have a problem in the community and addressed it. Even one extremist preacher is enough to do all the damage it takes to destroy a community or nation.
For starters we need to:
1) Promote broad-minded religious teachers
Believe it or not, good religious teachers are few and far between. This holds true of Islamic preachers more than those of other faiths.
Ever heard a preacher saying how our beloved Prophet welcomed Christians to his mosque in Medina and allowed them to lodge and pray there, or how he let women visit mosques and even shortened his prayer because he heard an infant crying so as to not inconvenience its mother? Chances are you haven’t.
As such it’s imperative to breed a new generation of preachers who understand Islam in its true spirit, who can win the hearts and minds of people including those of other faiths by just talking to them. By the way, ever heard a Christian priest speak? Visit a church and listen to him, he’s following the Prophet to the word, speaking the language of mercy and humility, so soft and soothing and so very pleasing to the ear. This is exactly what we should look for in our preachers. But why look to the priest when the Prophet showed us the way!
2) Eliminate hate preachers
Just as we need to promote good preachers, we need to eliminate the bad ones. There are certainly misguided preachers among us. One has only to attend our Friday sermons to realize this. Chances are you’ll find at least one in ten, probably more, ranting and raving against people who don’t measure up to their warped ideal of a religious person, speaking ill of other faiths or busy commenting about how women are not covered up nowadays, stressing on the mundane, rather than the spiritual aspects of Islam. The state through the Ministry of Muslim Affairs must ensure that such preachers don’t have a say in the first place. Monitor them and if they overstep the bounds prohibit them from giving sermons.
The fact is that our madrasas have become breeding grounds for extremist ideas and as such need to be controlled”
3) Supervise madrasas strictly
Bad preachers are of course the product of bad madrasas, usually half-baked ones who believe that teaching students to simply recite the Qur’an or that women should go out fully covering their faces is all they need to know about Islam. I have on more than one occasion interviewed the products of these seminaries to find one suitable for outreach work for an organization I serve, only to have them say that they believed the niqab or face veil is compulsory for women, despite so much evidence in both the Qur’an and hadith literature to the contrary.
Yes, the fact is that our madrasas have become breeding grounds for extremist ideas and as such need to be controlled. It is only the strong arm of state authority that can do this. After all, how can one expect the religious authority to do this when they themselves are largely the products of such madrasas? The state must not only supervise the teachers but also draft a new set of curricula incorporating all positive teachings of Islam and eliminating sectarian and misogynist interpretations.
4) Ensure the weak-minded don’t get into our madrasas
Yes, sad to say, this is another grave problem we in the Muslim world face. Parents are only too happy to put their weak-minded offspring into these madrasas which don’t require much intelligence. Their bright ones they induce to go out to the world and make it big in lucrative, well paying jobs. This is the kind of shabby treatment we give our faith. Why not put our best minds to the madrasas, like the Christians do theirs. Did you know that the churches, both Catholic and Protestant admit only their best minds, while we persist in putting our worst to these sacred institutions.
5) Give young people the tools to think
But hold on, it’s not only the weak-minded who are the problem. As the Easter Sunday massacre showed, youth from educated, well-to-do families were also involved. What is surprising is how these boys who should have known better, were induced into joining a hate cult led by uneducated, ill-bred bumpkins. The problem is, whatever formal education one receives, there is no use if one does not have a proper family environment where true religious values are taught. We find many such people hailing from new rich families that have no proper grounding in the true spirit of Islam but rather obsessed with an overkill of ritual.
Young people also need to be encouraged to think for themselves and not be misled by extremist scholars. They need to understand that Islam is written not by the talks and doings of extremists, but already revealed to us in the Qur’an, which is the Word of God, and the exemplary conduct of His Messenger Muhammad. They need to study these sources of the faith rather than depend on preachers for their religious knowledge.
6) Don’t let extremism evolve into terrorism
The problem with extremism is it can evolve into terrorism. This is its natural course if allowed to go unchecked. So what do we do about it? Simple, we discourage extremism in its all its forms. As we all know, terrorism has no basis in Islam, but still we have extremists twisting certain Quranic verses to suit their agenda, like the so-called verse of the sword. Verses such as this are actually contextual, revealed at a time when the Pagan enemies of Islam were all out to annihilate the new faith and were revealed only as a means of accommodating a war situation. Even then, in subsequent verses toleration, security and protection of non-believers is stressed. Further, these verses can come nowhere near those verses that speak of tolerance of others and are not contextual, but perpetual.
However, extremist preachers often quote such verses out of context to propagate their evil designs, notwithstanding the fact that the Prophet of Islam and the rightly guided caliphs who followed him never forced Islam with the sword and even gave people of other faiths covenants guaranteeing their right to life, liberty and freedom of religion. So what’s important is to muzzle any preacher who shows signs of hate against others.
7) Crush terrorism ruthlessly
Terrorism has no religion and no terrorist follows a particular religion because every religion preaches against terror and harming our fellow beings. Even animals kill for a reason, but terrorists kill only for the joy of it. Therefore they cannot be human, human rights should certainly not apply to them. To put it simply, those who show no mercy should be shown no mercy.
Government must do everything in its power to wipe out this scourge, knowing well that the vast majority of Muslims, well over 99% are with them. Anybody having membership in any terror outfit or collaborating with these should be given the harshest possible sentence bearing in mind that even a simple death by hanging is too good for them. Their families if found complicit should also be penalized, given harsh jail sentences and deprived of their properties.
To start with, our authorities do have a list of names of terror suspects. These radicalised youth had been freely moving about in the community, but have now probably gone into hiding. Everything must now be done to take them into custody, interrogate them and if needs be incarcerate them and penalize them if found guilty of aiding or abetting terror. Some might say that such a course of action might ruin their future and prevent any hope of rehabilitation. However, one could counter argue that their future is already over as they have been radicalized beyond redemption and what is important now is not their future, but the future of the country as a whole.
Our image suffered badly in how we handled the Easter Sunday carnage. The past cannot be undone but we can learn lessons from it, and we can do something about it. Sri Lanka can prove to the world how the international war on terror can be won now that it has come to our shores. We won our civil war, now we can show how to win the bigger war against international terrorism.
8) Don’t ostracize Muslims, play the blame game
Last, but not least, members of other communities need to be told not to look at Muslims with a jaundiced eye or discriminate against them. This is exactly what the extremists want. They want to brainwash Muslims into believing that they have no place in a multi-cultural nation such as ours, and isolate and marginalize them, so they can easily feed our youth with their poison.
As I said earlier, one extremism feeds the other and this is what we always have to bear in mind. Muslims too are only human and have feelings and very sensitive in these times. They are angry about a crime which they had nothing to do with and are vehemently angry about it. The last thing we need to do is drive an innocent and impressionable boy or girl to the arms of a hate preacher.
(The article had originally appeared in Daily Mirror under the title: Extremism: What can we do about it?)
Colombo, May 10: The Easter Sunday terror attacks have opened the Pandora’s Box of questions on various aspects of Islam, its teachings and commands, amid an avalanche of Islamophobia, hate speech, distrust and scorn.
When the 9/11 terror attacks happened, a similar wave of Islamophobia swept the United States and the Americans began to ask questions about Islam and its alleged association with violence. Some white supremacists went to the extent of promoting nuking the Muslims.
In Sri Lanka’s mainstream and social media, a topic that was being discussed with much interest and the ridicule it rightly deserved is the reward of 72 virgins for the killers of hundreds of innocent people, including children. Does Islam preach this? Religious scholars will not be able to answer this question.
The best they could say is that the Quran, the primary source of Islamic teachings, does not say anything about 72 virgins.
True, it is not found in the Quran, which, the Muslims believe, is a compilation of the messages the Prophet received from God throughout his 23-year ministry, during which he and his followers suffered persecution, ostracisation, attacks and exile.
But the promise of 72 virgins is found in a book of Hadeeth, a term that refers to the sayings of the prophet and his traditions. Some Ulemas or religious preachers will not have the intellectual courage to admit this. This is because they still believe that Sunni Islam’s six main Hadeeth books were compiled by ‘infallible’ imams, even after modern-day Hadeeth scholars have dismissed thousands of ahadeeth — plural of hadeeth — as fake or falsely attributed to the prophet.
The so-called reward of 72 virgins is found in a hadeeth book called Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, also known as Sunan al-Tirmidhi.
Notwithstanding the presence of fake ahadeeth, both the Sunni and Shiite streams have their own canons. The Sunnis have six and the Shiites two.
It must be said here that in Islamic history, one of the biggest scandals is hadeeth literature. Islam’s first four Caliphs, who assumed leadership of the Muslim community after the prophet’s death, opposed attempts to compile the sayings of the prophet.
The first to compile a book of hadeeth was Imam Bukhari, who was born in Bukhara in Uzbekistan some 200 years after the prophet had passed away. By this time, Islam had been highly politicized with rulers misusing and misinterpreting religious teachings to consolidate their hold on power.
From the people who he met, during his 16-year travel through the Arab-Persian region, Imam Bukhari began collecting the sayings correctly or falsely attributed to the prophet. The process began when he was only 16. He collected some 600,000 ahadeeth and, sifting through this large volume, he selected only about 7,000. His students claimed the selection was made on strict criteria such as the reliability of the chain of narrators or Isnad which usually goes all the way to the time of the prophet. Imam Bukhari’s compilation came to the public domain through a disciple’s disciple, after his death.
Following Imam Bukhari, several Hadeeth collectors appeared. They claimed they adopted a similar method to select or reject the sayings attributed to the prophet.
Today, the hadeeth literature is analysed by intellectuals who say some ahadeeth are fake and incompatible with the Quran.
An enlightened and famous hadeeth scholar was Sheik Muhammad Nasir-ud-Dīn al-Albani , who died in 1999 in Jordan. He opposed extremism and did not associate himself with any school of thought. He spent his scholarly life identifying thousands of fake ahadeeth found in the so-called canons.
The learned sheikh had classified the hadeeth on 72 virgins as ‘Munkar’ which means it needs to be denounced. Hadeeth scholars acknowledge that fake ahadeeth were the creation of the Zanadiqah or the heretics, sectarian fanatics, favor seekers, storytellers, ignorant ascetics and hyper-zealous preachers.
Using modern research methodology, Muslim academics have deducted that some ahadeeth do not conform to the text and the spirit of the Quran while some contradict each other. For instance, they point out that hadeeth literature about the punishment in the grave after one’s death was contrary to the Quranic teachings, just as the carnal claim of 72 houris for the martyr.
It needs to be stressed here that, according to the Quran, those who kill innocent people while killing themselves are not martyrs, but serial killers of humanity as a whole.
Suicide bombing is a late 20th century innovation or bid’a and it needs to be rooted out from Islam, though a handful of theologians have taken pains to endorse it strictly in the context of a fight against an occupying force or an invading army.
Given the damage ISIS and its followers have caused to Islam by their un-Islamic acts, the priority for Muslim theologians today is to gear Islamic learning towards intellectualism and rational thinking.
Intellectualism demands respect for opposing views and ideas, while reason or rational thinking will enable to weed out false ahadeeth, such as the myth about the 72 virgins.
Rational thinking and intellectualism are not new to Islam. Described as the Mutazila or the rational school of Islamic theology, it flourished from the 8th to the 10th century in Iraq, the seat of the Abbasid caliphate. It was during this period that the Muslim world reached the peak of learning, making major strides in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, law, philosophy and literature.
The fall began with the emergence of the Ash’ari theology, named after its founder Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari. It grew as a counterforce to the Mutazila and soon dominated Sunni Islam, producing in its wake Jihadi Imams such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Abdul Wahab and Syed Kutub.
These imams’ teachings have become a manual for modern-day terror groups such as ISIS.
To address the multiple problems the Muslims of this country face, mainstream Muslim scholars, both religious and academic, representing different groups, need to unite to bring about a progressive Islamic theology based on the rationalist and traditionalist foundations.
This is perfectly in tune with the spirit of Islam.
In the wake of the Easter Sunday massacres, the need to de-radicalize those who are romanticizing with a dangerous and inhuman suicide ideology has become not only a security priority but also a religious responsibility upon every right-minded Muslim theologian and civic-conscious Muslim in Sri Lanka.
In Singapore, I understand, the de-radicalization process is carried out with the help of local Muslim scholars. Singapore’s state policy and surveillance systems aimed at communal harmony have also helped that nation to curb hate speech, inflammatory preaching and avert terror attacks.
(The article had appeared in Daily Mirror under the title: Mainstream Muslims must unite to about a progressive Islam)
Some people might be of opinion that the present
government of Pakistan has yet not succeeded in coming up to the expectations
of the people but facts and figures say that things would get better in the
days to come. The Imran Khan government is neither inefficient nor incompetent;
the actual problem seems the promised time-frame. People were expecting that
everything shall come to the normal; there would be a lot of job-opportunities,
ceaseless foreign investment, end of energy-crisis, reduction in the prices of
fuel and electricity, a better law and order situation and so many other things
; just in twinkling of an eye. People were right in all their expectations,
their dreams and desires were not unnatural in any way but things take time. We
can never upgrade any social system by pushing an imaginary button. Up-gradation,
reformation, renovation are the terms pointing towards the process of
overhauling; certainly a long and time-taking process. In Pakistan, things are
not as disappointing and depressing as portrayed by some of our media-men and
social media activists. The situation could soon reach a better destination if
we don’t let disappointment and depression hurdle our way.
Certainly the responsibility of keeping the flame of
hope alive goes onto the shoulders of all those who are blessed with the power
of using words in written and spoken form. Such people include teachers,
religious scholars, writers, speakers, and journalists belonging to the print
and electronic media. The social media activists can also play a very vibrant
role in this context. Spreading of
depression and disappointment along with spreading of disinformation among the
people is now-a-days being used as one of the most fatal weapons all over the
world. Everywhere the hostile forces have their own specific targets and to hit
these targets they adopt all fair and foul means; most frequently used of all
such means is the media. Recent exploitation of a statement by Pakistan’s Chief
of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa is the worst example of spreading
disinformation.
The Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, a
few days back, went to Peshawar and there he had a meeting at Corps Auditorium
with students from various universities of KPK. He said talking about the
negative role played by the PTM, A few individuals playing in foreign hands
are by design exploiting sentiments of the people who have actually suffered at
the hands of terrorism and now need care. He further said that both government
and the security forces are working to address genuine issues of the tribals
regardless of where they come from. One of the participants was a Sikh student from
FATA who requested that he should be allowed to put a picture of Ranjit Singh
in Qila Balahisar as Sikhs have ruled Peshawar during his time. Just to honour
the Sikh minority, the Chief of the Army Staff acceded to that request. The students
present at the moment sincerely appreciated the good-will gesture of the Army
Chief and promised that they all would provide all possible moral support to
the Pakistan Armed Forces. They also expressed their determination that they
would never be swayed by detractors of any type. One of the students present
there said, We promise to be the contributors and not by standers to bright
future of Pakistan.” Certainly it was a heart-winning speech of the Army Chief
but at the same time it pinched and pained a lot of groups hostile to Pakistan.
On Face Book and in various Watsapp groups, these hostile forces started
levying baseless allegations on the Army Chief. It was blamed that the Army
Chief is promoting Punjabi culture in KPK as Ranjit Singh was a Punjabi. It was
also blamed that by giving importance to a non-Muslim character of the regional
history, the Army Chief is trying to protect and promote secularism in the
country. The fact of the matter is that by allowing the placement of a picture
of Ranjit Singh in Qila Balahisar the Army Chief meant nothing but wanted to
tell the world that all minorities enjoy equal rights in Pakistan. His was a
massage to the world that Pakistan is a safe land for the minorities where
their desires and wishes are valued and honoured at every level. His objective
was neither to promote any regional culture nor to project secularism. Pakistan
Army is a uniting force for the whole nation.
There is no discrimination on the basis of any
caste, creed or language in the Army as its soldiers and officers represent
different linguistic and religious backgrounds. The only priority of all
soldiers and of all officers of Pakistan Army is Pakistan; the Land of the
Pure. The propaganda move against the Army Chief is just a childish reaction of
those who didn’t like Army Chief’s remarks on the anti-state activities of the
PTM. Whatever said the Army Chief with particular reference to the anti-state
activities of the PTM is in fact the voice of all Pakistanis including the
Pashtuns; such activities, if allowed to flourish, would simply push the
country towards a hell of disintegration and degeneration. Such activities of
the PTM type organizations would give birth to political
instability, social anarchy and economic chaos which in no way could be
affordable at this crucial juncture of our history. The nation will have to be
vigilant in this regard. As far as the countries worried about Pakistan are
concerned; the only suggestion for them is; just wait and see please.
All officials who received prior information about the Easter Sunday bombings but did not take any action to prevent them should be removed along with the country’s leadership, Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said at the Sunday mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena, yesterday.
This mass was held to commemorate those killed in the Easter Sunday attacks and invoke blessings on the injured.
The prelate said that the Easter Sunday bombings had come as a shock to him and he was still grief-stricken like millions of others. Not only the officials who had not acted on an intelligence warning of terror attacks but also the rulers were responsible for the tragic incidents.
The cardinal added that a large number of people had been killed and injured in the attack not because of God’s will but because of the evil of men.
Those who were incapable of taking responsibility must be removed from their positions and from the leadership of the country, the Cardinal said.
He said some terrorists were still at large and they thought they could escape punishment. If they were not punished by courts, there would be divine justice. Those who failed to punish those involved in acts of terror would be punished by God.
The cardinal added that those who were trying to use the tragedy to fulfill personal gains and political agendas would also be punished by God.
The Cardinal said that he was aware that some leements were after him, too, but he was not scared. “My life belongs to the people and God and I am ready to die anytime,” he said.
A large number of relatives of the victims of the bombings attended the mass under heavy security.
Mohamed Aliyar, 60, is the founder of the Centre for Islamic Guidance, which boasts a mosque, a religious school and a library in Zahran’s hometown of Kattankudy, a Muslim-dominated city on Sri Lanka’s eastern shores.
Sources said Aliyar’s hardline views were shaped by ultra-conservative Salafi-Wahhabi texts he picked up at the Centre for Islamic Guidance’s library. (Photo: IANS)
HIGHLIGHTS
Wahhabi Islam has its roots in Saudi Arabia and is backed by its rulers
Salafism has often been criticised as the ideology of radical Islamists worldwide
Aliyar was “involved” in training suicide bombers who attacked hotels, churches on Easter: Police statement
Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a Saudi-educated scholar for what they claim are links with Zahran Hashim, the suspected ringleader of the Easter Sunday bombings, throwing a spotlight on the rising influence of Salafi-Wahhabi Islam on the island’s Muslims.
Mohamed Aliyar, 60, is the founder of the Centre for Islamic Guidance, which boasts a mosque, a religious school and a library in Zahran’s hometown of Kattankudy, a Muslim-dominated city on Sri Lanka’s eastern shores.
“Information has been revealed that the suspect arrested had a close relationship with … Zahran and had been operating financial transactions,” said a police statement late on Friday.
The statement said Aliyar was “involved” with training in the southern town of Hambantota for the group of suicide bombers who attacked hotels and churches on Easter, killing over 250 people.
A police spokesman declined to provide details on the accusations.
Calls to Aliyar and his associates went unanswered. Reuters was unable to find contact details for a lawyer.
The government says Zahran, a radical Tamil-speaking preacher, was a leader of the group.
Two Muslim community sources in Kattankudy told Reuters his hardline views were partly shaped by ultra-conservative Salafi-Wahhabi texts that he picked up at the Centre for Islamic Guidance’s library around 2-3 years ago. The sources are not affiliated with the centre.
“I used to always run into him at the centre, reading Saudi journals and literature,” said one of the sources.
During that time, Zahran started criticising the practice of asking God for help, for instance, arguing that such pleas were an affront to pure Islam.
“That kind of teaching was not in Sri Lanka in 2016, unless you read it in Salafi literature,” the source added, requesting anonymity to avoid repercussions in Kattankudy.
Salafism, a puritanical interpretation of Islam that advocates a return to the values of the first three generations of Muslims and is closely linked to Wahhabism, has often been criticised as the ideology of radical Islamists worldwide.
Wahhabi Islam has its roots in Saudi Arabia and is backed by its rulers, although Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has committed the kingdom to a more moderate form of Islam.
Other than the fact that Zahran visited the centre, the sources in Kattankudy said they did not know of any personal ties between him and Aliyar.
Aliyar founded the centre in 1990, a year after he graduated from the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, in what one resident said marked a key moment in the spread of Salafi doctrine in Kattankudy. The centre was partly funded by Saudi and Kuwaiti donors, according to a plaque outside.
TROUBLEMAKER
Reuters spoke to three members of the centre’s board before Aliyar’s arrest. They asked to remain anonymous, citing security concerns amid a backlash against some Muslims.
They said Zahran was a troublemaker and that they had warned authorities about his extremist views. The members said they thought Zahran frequented the library around a decade ago, but had no recollection of him visiting recently and denied that any of its books were to blame for his views.
