Muslims and Internal Religious disputes in SL part 5

(By DR RIFAI)

 It should be noted here without any hesitation as a result of internal religious dispute among Muslim community in Sri Lanka we have built many more mosques in Sri Lanka. some may agree with this observation or disagree and yet it is true that numbers of mosques are increased due to our internal disputes.  It is obvious fact that recently the amount of mosques increased in Sri Lanka. I do not deny the fact that building the mosque is one of rewarding good deeds in Islam and yet, we have built mosques additionally   in completion with our groups and ideological differences. . It was reported and quoted By BBS and other extremist groups that Akurana region itself has got more 50 mosques while they have only 13 Buddhist temples. We should examine the true nature of this report and yet, increasing numbers of mosques is one of the reasons that alarm extremist groups.  it is one of excuses to wage a barrage of campaign against Islam and Muslims in SL. This increase was due to our unwillingness to perform our religious rites together in some central mosques in our villages.

Due to religious disputes we are divided into groups each groups want to have their own mosques in the same village.  In each and every Muslim village we have different of Muslim groups.  Each group wants to dominate mosques and if they can not do that  they want to have their own mosques and consequently a large numbers of mosques increased. Some of these mosques are not used five times and even there may be only a few people for dawn prayers. 

While this is the case in the most of Muslim villages and the situations in town areas are different. In town areas mosques are overcrowded. Some mosques do not have place to accommodate people in Friday prayers. some are forced to pray on the street and yet, we do not have any systems to expand these mosques or construct more mosques where and when needed in town areas.  Please do not take me wrong I ‘m not saying that we should not have mosques but what  I'm saying is that we do not need to build mosques in completion because of our ideological differences between us, rather we should have one or two big mosques in each village  in accordance with needs of our population.  

 Recent times our people have built mosques in every nook and corner of Island without properly thinking about social, communal and environmental implication of such buildings. Of course building mosques is a rewarding act in Islam if there is a demanding need for that and yet, what has really happened is totally different: it is a competition between some Islamic groups to complete in mosque building that increased unplanned mosques. With pity dogmatic difference in Islamic legal discourses some extreme groups broke away from main stream Muslim community in SL and I do not need tell you about them. As you one of our community you may have come to know them. 

With pouring Oil money from Saudi these people have built mosques in very corner of the Muslim areas. Sometime, it is money that speak not Islamic ethnics or Islamic mode of contact: who is responsible for tarnishing good name of Islam and Muslims in this Island? I know well that some of these mosques have rarely been used for prayers: some of them have not been used at all. For instance, some Takiyyaz never have been used for five times prayers:

We live in a non-Muslim country why do not we have a sense of humour and respect to others: we behave with mentality of majority though we are second minority in SL without any geopolitical influence or without any influence at all. I agree that President rightly said that we have more than two mosques in one street within a short distance: who is responsible for a such competition in mosques building without any need for such mosques: Bring the culprit into book. Is it Saudi government that is responsible for this mess or our so called self-proclaimed Islamic groups? Will Saudi government come to our support in time of danger for us in SL.? I honestly think that some of these people among us need to learn how to live in Non- Muslim country. I think that some of these anti- Muslim trends increased in SL because of our failure to live in accordance with Islamic teaching of co- existence and communal harmony

I think that behaviours of some of these groups have given bad name for Islam and Muslims in SL.  We did not have any problems in the past to build mosques when needs and demands arise but now because of stupidly of some of our brothers, the entire Muslim community has to suffer: I assume that SL might put limits in the foreseeable future on building mosques or curtail building mosques some areas: I think we should blame ourselves for our failure to understand other community's sensitive religious matters: some of us have been jolly riding with freedom and respect that we have had in the past in SL,  consequently some element of majority people have waken up to realise this growing trend among Muslims:

I do not deny the fact that there has been anti: minority element among Singhalese people since the time of Anatharika Darmapala. Yet, in recent times we have helped these extreme people to build up their arguments. Our behaviours and communal interactions have been at low ebb. We have failed to treat them well in all social occasions and we have failed to give them this beautiful message of Islam or make them understand it so that at least they would be sympathisers of Muslim community: Of course, we should not be prey to this extreme groups rather we should re-evaluate our social contact with Singhalese community once again: we should once again rethink about our behaviours towards humanity in SL and educate our masses through Friday sermons and bayans on this issue: our religious and political leaders have moral and religious duty to act quickly in this situation.