{"id":75736,"date":"2018-03-17T21:51:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T03:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=75736"},"modified":"2018-03-17T14:42:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T21:42:30","slug":"muslim-wahhabi-menace-undermining-amiable-community-relations-in-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/03\/17\/muslim-wahhabi-menace-undermining-amiable-community-relations-in-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"MUSLIM WAHHABI MENACE UNDERMINING AMIABLE COMMUNITY RELATIONS IN SRI LANKA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/span><\/b><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Sufism or the Sufi Muslim Ideology<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the past, political strife among Muslims in the world, resulted in their division into two major rival groups \u2013 Sunni and Shias. Sunnis who form the large majority are predominant in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh. The Shias who form about 15% of worlds Muslims live mostly in Iran, Iraq, Yeman, India and Sri Lanka. Sufism or the Sufi Muslim ideology had been the predominant Islamic spiritual tradition observed throughout Southern Asia, including Sri Lanka. Sufis can be members of either the Sunni or Shia divisions. Sufism is the mystical or ascetic branch of Islam\u00a0in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of Allah.<\/p>\n

Threats to the Dominance of Sufism<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent decades, in Sri Lanka, the dominance of Sufism has been threatened and undermined by the increased presence of other Islam sects such as Tabligh Jamaat,\u00a0\u00a0Jamaat-i-Islamiya andWahhabism.<\/p>\n

Tabligh Jamaat<\/strong>\u00a0sect was founded in India in 1926 and became active in Sri Lanka since the 1950s. It promoted a more conservative view of Islam and developed a mass following and focused on religious rituals and daily prayers. Also, it promoted rigid dress codes for its members. This ultraorthodox Islamic sect preaches that it is the duty of Muslims to travel across the country and convert non-believers to the Islamic faith. It soon became common practice, especially for young Tabligh members to make regular journeys around the island, mix with other ethnic groups, especially Buddhists, and propagate Islam.<\/p>\n

Jamaat-i-Islamiya\u00a0<\/strong>was founded in Pakistan in 1941 and\u00a0became active in Sri Lanka in the 1950s and thereafter. In Pakistan it started as an Islamic political party with the objective of establishing anIslamic state<\/a>, governed by\u00a0Sharia law<\/a>. It opposes Ideologies such as\u00a0capitalism<\/a>,\u00a0socialism<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0secularism<\/a>, and practices such as bank interest and liberalist social mores. It generated greater appeal among the more educated middle-class Muslims of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Wahhabism<\/strong>\u00a0as opposed to Sufism, is an ultra conservative branch of Sunni Islam which is dominant in Saudi Arabia. It is a movement that started in the 18th<\/sup>\u00a0century, in Saudi Arabia, among fundamentalist Islam believers who were promoting a return to the earliest fundamental Islamic teachings of the Quran and Hadith or religious law and moral guidance enunciated by Prophet Mohamed.<\/p>\n

After 1973, with the Arab oil embargo, the financial status of the oil-rich Saudi Arabia boosted to an unprecedented level. This resulted in the dominant and powerful ultra-fundamentalist Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia, to vigorously promote Wahhabism in other countries, and thereby have increased impact on other countries.\u00a0Saudi and Arab Gulf oil wealth helped fuel the global expansion of Wahhabism ideology, which is often associated with hardline Salafism. Funds were freely available for the purpose.\u00a0The House of Saud soon became the primary source of the promotion of Wahhabi ideology world-wide. The result was the birth of al-Qaida, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Wahhabi terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Wahhabi terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia spends 87 billion US dollar per year to spread Wahhabism world-wide. All the ‘Islamist’ terror attacks in South Asia including in Mumbai, Afghanistan and Pakistan had the hallmarks of Wahhabism. Faith blinds Wahhabi Jihadists to believe that they have the mandate of Allah to rid the world of ‘infidels’ and ‘heretics’. Wahhabi followers \u2013 al-Qaida, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Wahhabi terrorist groups \u2013 have caused untold misery in several countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.<\/p>\n

Wahhabism in Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the late 1980s, there has been a strong growth in ultra-orthodox interpretations of Islam in Sri Lanka, coming from particularly from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries and Pakistan. This has led to considerable unease and conflicts among Muslims living in different parts of the island.\u00a0\u00a0Wahhabis have already built several illegal Mosques in Sri Lanka using Saudi Arabia’s petro dollar.\u00a0Newspapers have reported a significant influx of Wahhabi preachers and activists from Saudi Arabia and South India especially during the past three decades. The Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka, has admitted that certain wealthy Saudi persons are helping various Muslim religious groups in Sri Lanka to put up mosques. The Wahhabi jihad trends have revealed their ambition to control South Asian Islam communities even by means of using violent methods.<\/p>\n

During the last two decades, many Sri Lankan Muslims both male and female, found employment in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern Muslim countries and were exposed to and strongly influenced by Wahhabism. It is a fact that there has been a significant increase of Wahhabi followers in Sri Lanka in recent years and this trend is clear in the Eastern and Northeastern provinces. Also, many young Sri Lankan Muslims were awarded scholarships by Saudi Arabia to study Wahhabism in Saudi universities. Upon their return to Sri Lanka they undertook in an organized manner the propagation of the ideology of Wahhabism. They were instrumental in the establishment of numerous madrasas where young Muslims were subject to various forms of brainwashing in Wahhabism including the jihad approach.\u00a0Islamic fundamentalism brought about by Wahhabism is causing communal polarisation in Sri Lanka, like in all other southern Asian countries. In India, thetrend of increasing radicalisation of Indian Muslims owing to Wahhabism has become a serious national security issue. The growth of radical Islamist streams became visible only in the past two decades. Wahhabism calls for\u00a0Jihad, or war against infidels, or non-believers of Islam<\/p>\n

Madrasas in Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the past two decades, many madrasas have been established in Sri Lanka, especially in places where Muslims predominate.\u00a0Saudi Arabia has been the primary source of funding for their establishment.\u00a0Madrasas are meant exclusively for Muslim children and youth. According to those responsible for their establishment, madrasas are Islamic education and training centres, with an exclusively Islamic curriculum,\u00a0offering instructions in Islamic subjects including but not limited to the Quoran. It includes Jurisprudence or “figh” and Muslim law or Sharia Law and the teaching and practice of “sufi” which encompasses Islamic mysticism. It is significant to note that the relevance and implications of teaching Sharia Law in these institutions has not been investigated by the Sri Lankan government authorities, especially given the fact that there can be only one law in our country and that is a secular law which is applicable to all citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religious affiliations.<\/p>\n

With Saudi Arabian funding, many Madrasas have been established in Muslim dominated countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Maldives Island. Some of them are run by fundamentalist and jihadi organizations and their education and training are focused on Muslim fundamentalism. Madrasas have been banned in\u00a0several non-Muslim countries because they were known to propagate Islamic extremism and militancy and were becoming recruiting grounds for terrorism. It has been widely alleged that Madrasas were places where\u00a0young Muslims were subjected to various forms of brainwashing and indoctrination in Sharia Law, Jihad, and extreme forms of Wahhabism. It has been\u00a0widely reported that some Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders obtained their radical political views at madrasas. Some madrasas were known to be promoting a militant form of Islam and were teaching and training young Muslims to fight non-believers and stand against the moral standards of the western society. Some who have researched and investigated the functioning of Madrasas have revealed that they are mostly concerned with teaching violence. The suicide bombers involved in the July 2005 London terror attack were trained in Pakistani Madrasas.<\/p>\n

In countries such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, Muslims are among the most deprived in terms of education and therefore the establishment of Madrasas for basic educational purposes has become necessary. This is not the case with Sri Lankan Muslims. In fact, our public-school system is open to all and there are many Muslim students attending regular schools in Sri Lanka. Also, there are exclusively Muslim national schools and it is important to note that most international schools in the country are owned and operated by Muslims where Muslim students predominate.<\/p>\n

Indoctrination of Younger Generation in Madrasas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zachary Abuza, in his book “Militant Islam in Southeast Asia (Crusible of Terror)”, highlights the role of Madrasas or exclusively Islamic schools established by Muslim extremists in indoctrinating the younger generation. The author comments that “In their pursuit of the creation of Islamic states, many Southeast Asian jihadis established Islamic schools to indoctrinate, propagate, and recruit. The leaders of many militant groups in Southeast Asia, returned from training in Mid-Eastern countries and established madrasas as the base of their operations and recruitment. These radical Islamic madrasas, with unrestricted material support from foreign Muslim countries, especially Saudi Arabia, have begun to recruit and brainwash many Muslim children and youth in Islamic Jihadist movement and Islamic fundamentalism.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Arabic<\/a>, the word jihad translates to mean “struggle”. Persons engaged in jihad are called\u00a0mujahideen<\/a>. Jihad is an important religious duty for Muslims. There are two meanings of jihad: an inner spiritual struggle and an outer physical struggle. The “greater jihad” is the inner struggle by a believer to fulfill his religious duties. The ‘halal’-haram- practices are related to this type of struggle. This is a non-violent struggle. The other meaning of Jihad is the physical struggle against the enemies of Islam. This physical struggle can take a violent form or a non-violent form. The proponents of the violent form translate jihad as “holy war”.<\/p>\n

Impact of Wahhabism on Sufi Islam<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wahhabism is, in fact, a new politico-religious movement that has been sweeping the Eastern province of Sri Lanka with more than sixty Muslim Wahhabi organizations helping in propagating the movement throughout Sri Lanka and has raced ahead and taken control of the Jihadist and Al Fatah groups in Sri Lanka under their wings. Wahhabism is imported and planted in the midst of peace-loving Muslims in Sri Lanka, mostly through the lavish inflow of Saudi money pumped into Sri Lanka has overtaken other Islamic organizations by threats, intimidation, and coercion. Wahhabism has been encroaching Sri Lanka without any form of resistance from the governments of the day and having strong impact on adherents of the traditional Sufi Islam. Operating through a movement called Thawheed which was hugely funded by Saudi Arabian sources, and through NGOs such as Al Haj Adul Jawad Alim Valiyullah Trust, Wahhabis have fully established itself in Sri Lanka. They have been instrumental in the establishment of many new mosques and Wahhabi education and training centres named “madrasas” in many locations Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

The Wahhabis claiming to be the real scholars of Islam, maintains that the Sufis or the moderate Sri Lankan Muslims are ignorant of the basic teachings and practices of Islam. This has led to serious sectarian clashes among Sri Lankan Muslims and increased unruly behavior patterns in some sections of the Muslim community, especially in the East. Wahhabi fundamentalism has advanced so quickly in Sri Lanka mostly because of the building of many madrasas and mosques with Saudi funding. Wahhabis are trying to take the peaceful Islamic community in Sri Lanka down the path of extremism and violence. The Wahhabis have already created deep divisions in among Sri Lankan Muslims and have formed gangs that intimidate moderate Muslims who speak out against Wahhabi fanatics. Like the Christian fundamentalist groups using NGOs to convert innocent poor families to Christianity, Wahhabis help poor Muslim families by providing cash and other material benefits to convert them to their cult. Wahhabis appear to be using Sri Lankan Government agencies to propagate Wahhabi activities.<\/p>\n

Severe Clashes between Sufis and Wahhabi Muslims<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wahhabism in Sri Lanka is headquartered in Kattankudi.\u00a0\u00a0In recent years, clashes between Sufis and Wahhabi Muslims in Kattankudi and Oddamavadi have been regular occurrences. More than 200 homes of Sufi followers were burnt down by Wahhabi Jihadists in Kattankudi during clashes in October-2004. One of the Sufi leaders Abdul Payilvan died in Colombo was buried at in Kattankudi the next day. Wahhabi Muslims observed a hartal and demanded the removal of the body from the burial grounds. Wahhabi Muslims claim Kattankudy soil is sacred and bodies belonging to those who preach views contradictory to Wahhabism should not be buried there. Wahhabis demanded that the body of Abdul Payilvan, who is from Maruthamunai in the Ampara district, should be exhumed and buried elsewhere. Wahhabis had dug up the buried body of another Sufi Muslim from Mosque burial grounds and dumped the body on a local road as an act of protest. Kattankudi Police recovered the body, re-buried it in the original burial ground and guarded burial ground for few days. In Kattankudi, the hatred between Wahhabis and Sufis has widened in the last few years and has grown in intensity, left many injured, and caused damage to several houses and vehicles. Though residing in Sri Lanka illegally, P Jainul Abedin \u2013 a powerful Wahhabi preacher from Tamil Nadu \u2013 is now leading the Wahhabi Jihadism in Kattankudi. A more recent 2009 clash in the south-western Muslim coastal town of Beruwala reflects similar religious tensions between a popular Sufi sheikh and a nearby Wahhabi congregation.<\/p>\n

\nIt is evident that the traditional practices of Islam of the island’s Sufi Muslim community, are under threat by the Wahhabi group. Sufis are under attack not by adherents of other religions but by their own Muslims brothers. Worship of saints practiced by the Sufi Muslims of Sri Lanka is frowned upon by the Wahhabi group. Owing to increasing threats, many Sufi Muslims appear to be distancing themselves from their traditional practices such as mosque feasts and the worship of saints. Wahhabi groups are violently opposed to these traditional practices. They are in fact promoting the theology endorsed by senior scholars in Saudi Arabia. They claim that the religious practices of Sufi Muslims are impure, tinged with superstition and mystical rituals and they are determined to make \u015ari Lanka’s Muslim community conform to more orthodox strictures and they are will use violence if necessary to achieve their ends<\/p>\n

Trend of Intolerance and Extreme Forms of Violence<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sufis in the meanwhile has begun a campaign against the Wahhabis appealing to Sri Lanka authorities for an impartial inquiry into Wahhabi activities in the country, to disarm the Wahhabis and to enable the reconstruction of its headquarters in Kattankudy which was destroyed by the Wahhabis and the Sufis affected and displaced to be compensated by the Wahhabis so that they can rebuild their ruined homes and businesses.\u00a0Saudi agents have successfully penetrated Sri Lankan Muslim social fabric. With training provided with the financial and other backing from the House of Saud, they have been able to subdue the Sufis to a great extent.<\/p>\n

Thareekathul Mufliheen Organization of Sufi Muslims<\/strong><\/p>\n

In late 1980s, the Sufi Muslims formed an organization known as All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen organization defining itself as “a peace loving and non-violent Religious Society, where members were expected to be patient and tolerant even in times of grave injustice and calamity brought about by the Wahhabis. This organization was\u00a0founded by Sheihul Mufliheen M.S.M. Abdullah, known as “Rah,” in the southeastern Sri Lanka village of Maruthamunai.\u00a0\u00a0It was registered as a cultural society with the civil authorities in 1989. The headquarters of Thareekathul Mufliheen was in the small eastern coast village of Kattankudy.\u00a0This organization maintained that each human being is free to choose a path of faith and that there should not be any compulsion to embrace the views of the organization. This was published in a book in Tamil, in 1980, by the founder of this organization titled Imanin\u00a0Unmaiyai Nee Arivaya<\/em>, or\u00a0Do You Know the Truth of Iman<\/em>? \u2013\u00a0iman<\/em>\u00a0referring to Islamic belief. This led to serious problems. A book was translated into English as\u00a0The Court of Reason<\/em>\u00a0and was published in 2010. The country’s official Council of Islamic Scholars, the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama, purportedly without reading the book or holding a hearing to examine it, published a fatwa or religious opinion on September 10, 1989, declaring Abdullah (Rah) and his followers as\u00a0murtadd<\/em>\u00a0or apostates, who renounced Islam, in the judgment of the clerics.<\/p>\n

Abdullah (Rah) the founder of\u00a0Thareekathul Mufliheen\u00a0organization filed a defamation suit against the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama in 1990 in Colombo which led the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama (ACJU) revoked the fatwa in 1996 and settle the complaint. Besides the fatva, the AUJU also took action to deny the Thareekathul Mufliheen to register marriages and the burial of the dead in conformity with Islamic practice.\u00a0\u00a0However, through legal action these rights were restored.<\/p>\n

Wahhabi Attacks the Sufi Meditation Centre<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thareekathul Mufliheen organization of the Sufis opened a “Meditation” Centre at Kattankudy in 1996.\u00a0\u00a0Wahhabi extremists struck the building setting fire to it. Abdullah (Rah) and the members of the order were targets of shooting and grenade attacks, and other physical aggression, as well as threats. In 2004, many Wahhabis organized under the title “Jihad” again set the “Meditation” Centre ablaze, destroying its library, along with homes and businesses owned by Sufis. Financial loss to the injured parties was considerable, and one Sufi was shot and killed while gunfire wounded another. In 2005, the organization filed a protest, with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRC) in 2005. The HRC found in favor of the Sufis, stating that their constitutional right to adhere to the belief of their will and choice had been violated. The Meditation Centre and headquarters were rebuilt in 2006.<\/p>\n

Sheihul Mufliheen M.S.M. Abdullah (Rah) the founder of the\u00a0Thareekathul Mufliheen\u00a0organization died in December 2006. Wahhabi preachers and the armed “Jihad” incited the local clerics and politicians (Jamiathul Ulama Kattankudy, the Muslim Federation of Mosques, and the Urban Council of Kattankudy) to oppose his burial according to Islamic rites, in the Meditation Centre, as he was a supposed “apostate.” According to the Wahhabis and their accomplices, “apostates” could not be buried in Kattankudy. The Jihadis, armed with lethal weapons, rioted after the death of Abdullah (Rah), causing widespread social disruption in Kattankudy resulting in a general work stoppage, shutting down of schools, government and private offices, banks, and businesses. Some banks and shops were looted and burned in the process. The official clerics of All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama, Jamiathul Ulama Kattankudy, the Muslim Federation of Mosques, other Islamic organizations, and the Kattankudy Urban Council initiated a judicial argument on December 11, 2006. They denounced Abdullah (Rah) as defying Muslim norms and traditions and charged that Thareekathul Mufliheen organization had failed to seek permission from the authorities for the burial. The petition by the official clerics and Wahhabis was dismissed in 2007. The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission declared in 2007 that it could not “interfere in the disputes between various sects of a religion” and recommended the conflict be referred to the Council of Ulemas \u2013 All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama, or to the Ministry of Religious Affairs.<\/p>\n

In December 2006, in a separate controversy, the Urban Council in Kattankudy had ordered the dismantling of the minaret at the “Meditation” Centre, as an “unauthorized structure.\u00a0\u00a0Although the Police tried to prevent the commencement of the demolition, Wahhabi extremists interfered with the police resulting in shootings and the death of three rioters. A police post and police vehicle were assaulted.\u00a0\u00a0However, subsequently members of the Urban Council joined a Wahhabi mob and invaded the “Meditation” Centre and knocked down the minaret, removing the body of Abdullah (Rah), either burning or reburying it in a location yet unknown. Fire levelled the houses of 117 Sufis. Many were threatened and fled the district.<\/p>\n

Since then, however, abuses against the Sufis of Kattankudy have continued, with the Wahhabi Thawheed faction in the forefront of violence. Official ulema and the village authorities attempted unsuccessfully to prevent celebration of a Sufi festival in 2008. That year, a Sri Lanka Supreme Court order, providing that 200 members of Thareekathul Mufliheen be allowed to return to their homes in Kattankudy and practice their beliefs in freedom, was obstructed by armed Jihad members. In response to the campaign against it, Thareekathul Mufliheen has appealed to the Sri Lanka authorities for an impartial inquiry into Wahhabi activities in the country; to disarm the Wahhabis; to provide for reconstruction of the headquarters of Thareekathul Mufliheen in Kattankudy; to enforce the revocation of the fatwa issued by the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulama against Abdullah (Rah) and his disciples, as ordered by the Colombo District Court, and to compensate the displaced Sufis, facilitating restoration of their lost heritage, ruined homes, and businesses. The Sufis of Kattankudy seek “peaceful resettlement with honor.”<\/p>\n

There is clear evidence of increasing tension and extreme forms of violence between traditional and more fundamentalist Islamic groups in Muslim communities across Sri Lanka.\u00a0During the latter period of the war with Tamil LTTE terrorists, the Sri Lankan government recruited Muslim Home Guards to fight the terrorists. In the East some of these Home Guards deserted with their weapons and joined the Wahhabis rebels to fulfill its demand for “Jihad” against traditional Sufi Muslims.<\/p>\n

The Beruwala Violence<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most cruel and crude nature of violence was well evident in the 2009 attack and devastation of the Beruwala Rahuman Masjid Mosque during its annual Buhari feast, which has been a practice in this mosque for over 130 years. A fundamentalist group of Muslim extremists\u00a0armed with knives, swords and axes stormed the mosque,\u00a0yelling that all those participating in the feast were infidels who had deviated from the path of Islam. The attackers set fire to the mosque and caused millions of rupees of damage. Two men were brutally hacked to death in the violence. They damaged cars, motor cycles and bicycles, and a special Police team had to be deployed in control the situation. A curfew was imposed in the area and some of the perpetrators were arrested but some had escaped.\u00a0In 2009 the Wahhabis vandalized and destroyed a 150-year old shrine located in Ukuwela near Matale. This was associated with violent clashes between Muslim groups.\u00a0\u00a0According to Muslim community leaders and groups this violence contradicts the fundamental teachings of Islam.<\/p>\n

In pursuit of their mission to expand their sphere of influence among Sufi Muslims and others, these Wahhabis resorted to violence and intimidation culminating in death and\u00a0 destruction.\u00a0Most Muslim problems in the country at present appear to stem from foreign, particularly Saudi Arabian funding for fundamentalist groups. Also, the young Muslims who have been exposed to Saudi Islamic religious norms and who are being indoctrinated in madrasas and universities in Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and reading Wahhabi texts which are opposed to traditional practices such as those of Sufi Muslims. What is wrong with this trend is the approach adopted by these\u00a0 \u00a0 extremist groups to propagate and promote their ideology, thinking and practices\u00a0 \u00a0among the traditional Sufi Muslims of Sri Lanka. Their approach is unacceptable\u00a0 \u00a0because it is causing disharmony and violence within the Muslim community which has\u00a0 \u00a0direct implications for peace and social stability in the country. Those\u00a0 professing Wahhabism or any other religion in Sri Lanka, should realize fully, that they are living in a non-Muslim country where Sinhala Buddhists form the mainstream dominant community. Religious extremism and related violence are not compatible with the traditional peaceful social ethic and values of the mainstream Sinhala Buddhists of the country. They will not tolerate or permit Muslims or any non-indigenous community in Sri Lanka, to\u00a0destabilise their country.<\/p>\n

\nThe traditional Sufi Islam practiced by Muslims in Sri Lanka for centuries, and related lifestyle of Muslims facilitated harmonious relationships with other religions and communities in the country. Maintaining such relationships was necessary for most Muslims who were business-men dealing with a market consisting mostly of non-Muslims. Owing to their living among Buddhists most Muslims were inevitably influenced by and learnt to respect the social values of Sinhala Buddhists marked by tolerance and non-violence. It is unlikely that the more fundamentalist Muslim groups and related extremist attitudes and practices that appear to be emerging will help Sri Lankan Muslims to coexist successfully with the island’s other religions, as before. In fact, the Wahhabis do not seem to be able to coexist peacefully with their own Muslim brothers.\u00a0As a nation with a historic cultural tradition that extends to over 2200 years, where freedom, compassion, tolerance, and accommodation of people of all faiths and ethnicities have been the founding principles, it is necessary that we as a nation take necessary steps to protect and preserve these noble and wholesome cultural traditions. We cannot allow them to be undermined under any circumstances. It is necessary that all communities living in this country develop respect towards the social values and norms of other communities inhabiting this land and not pursue policies and activities that would jeopardize the quality of life and stability of our nation. As a nation with a historic cultural tradition that extends to over 2200 years, where freedom, compassion, tolerance, and accommodation of people of all faiths and ethnicities have been the founding principles, it is necessary that we as a nation take necessary steps to protect and preserve these noble and wholesome cultural traditions. We cannot allow them to be undermined under any circumstances<\/p>\n

Harmonious Community Relations threatened<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spiritual aspects of society could be seen and understood only by those who are spiritual and not by those who are blinded and brainwashed by fictitious beliefs which prevents them from being spiritual.\u00a0\u00a0Being spiritual is different from being religious. There is a fundamental difference between Spirituality and Religion. Abiding by a bygone religious belief system does not make one spiritual no matter what the nature of those beliefs are. Religion inevitably has a divisive and intolerant effect on society and therefore violates human rights. Being highly institutionalized religion is always authoritarian and oppressive and has resorted to crusades, terrorism, and other unethical means to promote their cause. Spirituality does not involve a belief system but is focused on inner transformation. It is a state of consciousness leading to a state of awakening to realities of life, to the ultimate meaning of life.<\/p>\n

In recent years, some Muslim extremists have started a campaign to disrepute and undermine using various direct and indirect means, the traditional leaders of the country – Venerable Bhikkhus, and the Buddha Sasana which Is the foundation of the national culture of Sri Lanka. Buddhist historic sites and National Forest and Game reserves have been encroached upon illegally for Muslim housing purposes. In parallel, Muslim extremists are propagating within Sri Lanka, an exclusive attire, life-style, education system (madrasa) especially among their younger generation, a banking system, a parochial Islamic legal system, proliferation of children and of new mosques are among other new tendencies. The effects of these tendencies, particularly their long-term effects are precariously unhealthy and unfavourable for the unity and social harmony of our nation and are contrary to the socio-cultural norms and values of the country. These tendencies are having a highly divisive effect on our society and are bound to create serious problems with drastic negative implications for the nation stability and prosperity.<\/p>\n

Today there is increased interest in the country, for the consolidation of national unity. Divisive tendencies of any nature should not be encouraged or tolerated. With our massive success in containing Tamil terrorism and our determined efforts to bring the various communities together as One Nation, it is important that divisive tendencies in our society be eliminated. It is important that we prevent polarization tendencies in communities living in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.ora.tv\/rubinreport\/2015\/9\/…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane Sufism or the Sufi Muslim Ideology In the past, political strife among Muslims in the world, resulted in their division into two major rival groups \u2013 Sunni and Shias. Sunnis who form the large majority are predominant in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh. The Shias who form […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-daya-hewapathirane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75736","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=75736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75736\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}