Defence secretary Gotabhaya’s unfounded accusation of Muslim community in SL
(Dr Rifai, UK)
Recently Sri Lankan defence secretary has assumed that some “extremist Muslim elements might promote extremism in Sri-Lanka”. This is a mere assumption and today Sri Lankan Muslim community is clever enough not to become of victims of radicalism and extremism. I should categorically say that Sri Lankan Muslim community does not have any connection or link with any international organizations what so ever. It is true that a few Sri Lankan Muslim students go abroad to learn Islam and yet, they have not been radicalised by any groups or any international elements. Sri Lankan Muslim community is clever enough to understand prevailing situations in our mother land. We all know well that Sri Lanka has suffered 30 years of constant wars and this Island can not afford to face any more communal violence or upheaval. We have been loyal citizens of this Island since the ancient time and we will never and ever betray this Island and its people.
Recently Sri Lankan defence secretary has assumed that some “extremist Muslim elements might promote extremism in Sri-Lanka”. This is a mere assumption and today Sri Lankan Muslim community is clever enough not to become of victims of radicalism and extremism. I should categorically say that Sri Lankan Muslim community does not have any connection or link with any international organizations what so ever. It is true that a few Sri Lankan Muslim students go abroad to learn Islam and yet, they have not been radicalised by any groups or any international elements. Sri Lankan Muslim community is clever enough to understand prevailing situations in our mother land. We all know well that Sri Lanka has suffered 30 years of constant wars and this Island can not afford to face any more communal violence or upheaval. We have been loyal citizens of this Island since the ancient time and we will never and ever betray this Island and its people.
Defence secretary further reiterated this assumption is based on the concerns and worries of Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies and security forces. In his key note speech at a conference on regional security he noted that “It is a known fact that Muslim fundamentalism is spreading all over the world and in this region. This is a situation that our law enforcement agencies and security forces are concerned about. The possibility that such extremist elements may try to promote extremism in Sri Lanka is a cause for concern”. This is a mere assumption and generalization. The terms such as fundamentalism, terrorism, extremism and radicalism have no clear-cut definitions. These terms and terminologies have been used by different people with different connotations in different contexts. We hope that defence secretary and Sri Lankan intelligence officials do not take Muslim fundamentalism blankly without contextual and geopolitical understanding.
It is not elements of Muslim fundamentalism that Sri Lanka should worry but it is about BBS and its cohorts that Sri Lankan law enforcements and intelligence officials should worry about. Hard line Buddhist extremists have already shuttered social and communal harmony in Sri-Lanka and yet, there is no talk about Buddhist extremism. Why does Sri Lankan defence secretary worry too much about the remote possibility of Muslim extremism growing in SL.? Muslim community should loudly and clearly tell the defence secretary that No Taliban, No Al-Qaida will entre this Island. We should tell that none of Sri Lankan Muslim has any connection with these groups.
Sri Lankan Muslim will never endorse any extremist group into this island from outside world. It would be unreasonable to tarnish the name of Sri Lankan Muslim community in the pretext of any fundamentalist groups in the world. It should be clearly noted that We Sri Lankan Muslim community do not have any connection with any international radical groups. It is true that Sri Lankan Muslim community has its affiliation and its attachments with international Muslim community as a faith community. As a universal faith community Sri Lankan Muslim community is bound to communicate and interact with international Muslim communities all over the world. Muslim people ought to go hajj and Ummrah pilgrimage regularly and Muslim students are frequently given scholarships and studentships to some universities in Muslim and Arab countries. This does not mean that Sri Lankan Muslim community bring Islamic fundamentalism into Sri Lanka.
While many mosques and churches are vandalised by Buddhist fundamentalism in Sri Lanka, defence secretary has no word about it. It is hypocritical to worry about Muslim fundamentalism in Sri Lanka and yet to conceal the true faces of Buddhist fundamentalism in Sri Lanka. It is Buddhist fundamentalism that spreads panics and terror among minority communities in Sri Lanka. Defence secretary should bring all these Buddhist extremists into book first if he wants to do justice on this matter.
One wonders if this is a mere political rhetoric of defence secretary to lure Buddhist votes in coming elections. One wonders if this is the way to deviate attention of people from burning issues in Sri Lanka. Yet, today people are clever enough in Sri Lanka to know the false political rhetoric of these politicians.
It is pathetic to note that we have more than 18 members of parliament in Sri Lanka and yet except a few our politicians were unable to respond to these false accusations. Most of them do not care about Muslim community and yet they claim that they represent Muslims in Sri Lanka. We Muslims should realise that we are living as a minority in Sri Lanka. Unlike in the past today our internal communal affairs are exposed into wider non-Muslim communities: our theological disputes, our religious dogmatic arguments are exposed into wider non-Muslim community through media. It is our responsibility and duty that Muslim community resolve our internal problems within perimeters of our communities. Look at what happened in Beruwala some years ago. Incidents like these give ample opportunities to Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies to intrude into internal affairs of Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Isn’t it our faults that we give them opportunities to intrude into our communal and religious affairs? Because of our internal dispute and divisions Non Muslim community get bad impression about our faith and religion.
It is true that Muslim community is fragmented locally and internationally. This fragmentation is based on some theological and dogmatic issues and yet, it would be difficult for non-Muslim people to comprehend fully all these differences between us and consequently religious extremism within our community is seen as a threat to national security. It is high time that Sri Lankan Muslim community realise these facts and learn how to live in multi cultural Sri Lankan without exposing our internal religious disputes to other communities. By the grace of Almighty Allah Sri Lankan soil has produced some excellent religious scholars and clerics. We do not need foreign agents to teach us Islam in Sri Lanka and our home grown indigenous religious leadership is capable of guiding our community. We should tell defence secretary that Muslim community does not import extremism from any country. If there is any solid evidence for that he should speak with such evidence rather than blankly accusing Muslim community in SL.
bbs founder mr.gota govt.approval terr,group bbs
ReplyDelete