{"id":112974,"date":"2021-03-24T17:58:41","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T00:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=112974"},"modified":"2021-03-24T17:58:41","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T00:58:41","slug":"the-burqa-ban-is-not-a-mere-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/03\/24\/the-burqa-ban-is-not-a-mere-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Burqa Ban is not a \u201cMere Proposal\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Last week, the Pakistan High Commissioner\nMajor General (Retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak, in an unprecedented and shocking\nmove took to Twitter to make a comment on an internal matter of Sri Lanka. His\nTweet appeared shortly after Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd.)\nSarath Weerasekera made the long pending announcement that he signed the\ncabinet papers to present in Parliament to ban the burqa. Mr Khattak claimed\nthat such a move would injure\u201d the feelings of Muslims in Sri Lanka and\nelsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan, who had been our all weather\nloyal friend had always prided itself for not being India. While India for\ndecades had played politics with Sri Lanka by passing itself as a voice for Sri\nLankan Tamils (whilst largely ignoring the Indian origin Tamils), Pakistan had\nmaintained a strong relationship with the Sri Lankan Government. As such,\nPakistan had been a friend to the nation as a whole without promoting or\ndemoting any community in the Island. Despite the disparity in economy,\nterritory and military strength, Pakistan had always treated Sri Lanka as an\nequal and given space for us to deal with our internal concerns as we see\nfit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the conclusion of the war\nagainst terrorism waged by the LTTE, there had been a concentrated effort by\nknown and unknown parties to create tension between the Sinhalese and the\nMuslims. The incidents at Aluthgama and Digana had been twisted as attacks on\nthe Muslim community. The provocation that led to these incidents or the\nbravery of the ordinary Sinhalese as well as the Buddhist clergy to protect the\nMuslims from the mob during these riots are being deliberately suppressed. The\ncalm that prevailed after the vandalism of Buddhist statues in Mawanalla and\neven after the dastardly Easter Sunday Attack is also discounted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The West, masters of divisive\npolitics, had not lost an opportunity to exacerbate the situation and portray\nthat the Muslims are being marginalized by the Sinhalese. It was the West that\ntook cudgels against Sri Lanka for cremating all COVID-19 deaths. The Islamic countries,\nother than perhaps a private inquiry, kept out of the debate. Even though the\nmatter has been resolved the West remains still concerned\u201d that the burials of\nCOVID-19 deaths are only allowed in the remote parts of the Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The irony is that the concern\ncomes from the very elements that had reduced most Arabic countries to rubble.\nThe resulting displacement of persons has been the largest since WWII.\nCountries like Germany pat their own back for absorbing large numbers of these\ndisplaced persons, but have never addressed the cause for this displacement in\nthe first place. At the very least, none of these countries nor world bodies\nlike the UNHRC had taken any measures to restore the destruction caused by\nthese military invasions to alleviate the people from the consequential\nsuffering. A case of point is the silence over NATO\u2019s actions in 2011 to\ndebilitate Libya\u2019s water supply by targeting critical State owned water\ninstallations, including the factory that manufactured pre-stressed concrete cylinder\npipes for the Great Manmade River (GMR) project that supplied water to over 70\npercent of the Libyan population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamic countries have\nrefused to get duped by the hypocrisy promoted by the West. Hence, despite the\npropaganda against Sri Lanka on alleged discrimination against Muslims, the\nIslamic world had continued to be supportive to Sri Lanka. The West, to quote\nthe British parliamentarian Lord Tariq Ahmad, is working hard to build support\nfor the new resolution on Sri Lanka\u201d at the UNHRC to make us accountable for\nall violations and abuses committed in Sri Lanka.\u201d However, he fears that it\nwould be an unwinnable\u201d resolution. This means that they have been unable to\nmuster the support for it outside the Western Hemisphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is at such a moment that\nPakistan High Commissioner Khattak commented on a proposed action by the Sri\nLankan Government. The Foreign Ministry\u2019s response is however of greater\nconcern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ban is certainly not against\nthe Muslim community and should not be misinterpreted as a move to intimidate a\nsmaller community. The face covering veil that shrouds the entire body and thus\nenforcing an anonymity on the person, making it difficult even to distinguish\nthe gender is not a religious or a cultural attire. It is a political stance to\ncreate exclusivity from the rest of the nation. Concerns over this alien\ncostume has been coming from within the Sri Lankan Muslim community\nitself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until the Easter Attack in April\n2019, Sri Lankans with a sense of unease watched Muslim women in growing\nnumbers opting to cover themselves in a burqa and some even with a niqab.\nHowever, this was seen as a matter that the Muslim community needed to resolve.\nThis perception changed immediately with the Easter Attack. Then only the\nseverity of the situation was grasped as it became clear that this dress code\nis a strong indication of extremism that will not hesitate at terrorism. Hence,\neven before the then Yahapalana Government could react, it was the people who\nreacted against the burqa by not allowing anyone in it from entering public\npremises, including buses. With everyone following this precautionary measures,\nthe Yahapalana Government had little choice but to impose a temporary ban on\nthe burqa. In turn, it did not provoke a reaction from Pakistan or any of our\ntraditional friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, Sri Lankan Muslim\nwomen, especially the young women, did not cover their heads. They mostly wore\nthe shalwar with a shawl loosely wound around or hanging from the neck. The\nolder women used to cover the heads very loosely with their sari fold. Today,\nthis has changed almost completely and those who do not wear the burqa often\nsports a hijab, which still covers the head but with a colorful scarf and done\nso quite artfully. This does not cover the face and thus does not hide the\nwearers\u2019 identity. The burqa ban does not include the hijab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The burqa\/niqab are not the only\nadaptations by the Muslim community that make the other Sri Lankan communities\nuncomfortable. The Halal certification for food has become a hidden cost for\neven the non-Muslims. Sunanda Deshapriya saw the Vesak lanterns hung by\nsoldiers near their camp in the North as a religious invasion. However, this\nadded cost due to the Halal certification to non-Muslims is yet to draw a likewise\ncomment from Deshapriya and his cahoots. Still, though not vociferously\ncommunicated, this is a situation that most Sir Lankans are unhappy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special banking facilities for\nthe Muslim community alone is another unfair practice of the Muslims. The Muslim\nentrepreneurs are privy to bank loans at almost zero interest rates, which\nmakes it harder for the other business communities to compete fairly at the\nmarket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muslims also enjoy polygamy,\nwhich is an offense if committed by another community. However, the concern in\nmany of the social groups is more on the underaged brides than of\npolygamy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sharia laws and quasi courts\nalso is extremely upsetting the other Sri Lankan communities. Yet, the\nimmediate recommendation is to ban the burqa along with the niqab. This\nrecommendation was once again reiterated by the Presidential Commission\nInvestigating on the Easter Attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of explaining the\nbackground and reasons for the stance on the burqa, the Foreign Ministry has\ntried to dilute Rear Admiral Weerasekera\u2019s statement and his move to legalize\nthe ban. In a statement released by Foreign Ministry the Foreign Secretary\nAdmiral (Retd.) Jayanath Colombage has stated that the ban is merely a\nproposal\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is not and should not\nbe treated or dismissed as a mere proposal\u201d. Since the Easter Attack the\nextremism represented by the burqa along with the exclusivism certain sections\nof the Muslim community is enveloping themselves is cause for apprehension.\nEven before the Easter Attack, Rear Admiral Weerasekera had been highlighting\nthe unforgivable acts of these extremist elements that also includes the\nflattening of the ancient Buddhist temple in Digavapi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he contested at the 2020\nGeneral Elections he pledged to address this growing extremism that is\nthreatening the ways, monuments and Iives of the non-Muslims in this country.\nWhen he started his election campaign he did not have a base in Colombo. Yet,\nafter canvassing for a very short period of few months he got the largest\nmandate from the district. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a man who had always spoken\nagainst terrorism and extremism to win with an overwhelmingly large mandate\nfrom a liberal minded, cosmopolitan vote base as Colombo signifies the strongly\nworded message people wanted from the new Administration. No one has the right\nto dismiss this message as a mere proposal\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Admiral Colombage was\nappointed as the Foreign Secretary there was hope that he will be without the\nprejudices afflicting our Foreign Ministry. Despite the numerous missions we\nmaintain throughout the world, we have consistently failed to properly\narticulate our position to the outside. Instead, we are always aiming to\nappease and wilt at even the slightest glare. In the face of this abysmal\nfailure to project Sri Lanka positively, the very <\/p>\n\n\n\n

need for our missions has been\nquestioned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sorry state of affairs was\nexpected to change with Admiral Colombage at the helm. However, instead of\nexplaining the reasons for the ban, he had opted to dilute Rear Admiral\nWeerasekera\u2019s move and thereby have created the space for protest. It is not\nclear whether the same stance is adapted by the Foreign Minister Dinesh\nGunawardena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the Foreign Ministry\nexplained the basis for this ban, Pakistan would have understood and continue\nto support us. They too are deeply affected by undisciplined ideologists who\nharbor extreme views. Protecting the porous borders along the Pakistan\nterritory, especially along Afghanistan is a tough challenge for the country.\nThese border regions, which are often rural and cut off from the mainstream\nhave schools taught by uneducated teachers. Their take on the religion is\nwarped and seeks to twist young minds to view the world violently. It is mostly\ntheir action that the Western media often highlight to paint the entire country\nas a bomb exploding terrorist terrain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statements made by the former\nwestern governor Azath Salley would have certainly helped the Foreign Ministry\nto build its case. Certainly a country cannot allow elements that would not\naccept or respect the Constitution or the law of the land. At the same time, a\ncommunity – majority or minority – of a country cannot be allowed exclusive\nprivileges denied to other communities based. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of taking the easy route\nto be in other countries\u2019 good books for short term gains, our Foreign Ministry\nmust get its act together. Its duty is not to create dispute over statements\nmade by our policy makers but to articulate our position to the world.\nTherefore, instead of shooshing the people or their political representatives\nit is hoped that Admiral Colombage, one time Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy,\ntoo would have the same spine and courage as Rear Admiral Weerasekera, who was\nalso a high ranking officer of the same Navy, to stand by the country by\nfearlessly speaking out the truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe Last week, the Pakistan High Commissioner Major General (Retd.) Muhammad Saad Khattak, in an unprecedented and shocking move took to Twitter to make a comment on an internal matter of Sri Lanka. His Tweet appeared shortly after Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera made the long pending announcement that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}