SRI LANKAN JUSTICE MINISTER NEEDS SOME LESSONS ON MUSLIM EXTREMISM

-Dr S.L. M RIFAI-

         Today Sri Lankan justice ministry has said that some Sri Lankan Muslim families have joined IS and they have been to Syria in fight for IS. We Muslim community vehemently condemn anybody from Muslim community to go to any Arab countries to fight alone with IS or any other radical group.

MUSLIM community should take all precautionary measures to stop. Any Muslim joining this radical groups anywhere in the world. I think that this information that Hon. Minister shared in the debate in the parliament is old information and yet, he shared it as if it is an updated information. Islamic movements and groups have been rightly advised by Muslim community leadership on this issue. Sri Lankan government is assured that Sri Lanka Muslim community today is matured enough and educated enough to know the threat of IS and any affiliated radical groups. 

Background of war on terror is a fake propaganda war against Muslim world. It started with some hidden agenda. It was George Bush who initiated this war on terror to inflict maximum damage to Muslim world...since he started this war on terror on Muslim world thousands of innocent Muslim people have been killed or injured and lost their houses in many countries. Modern technological warfare does great damage to innocent people. All norms of human rights are not considered in this modern war on terror. In the name of war on terror unimaginable damage has been done to Muslim communities in many countries. No human consciousness would agree with this fake war on terror. It was US which created so called Al-Qaeda to counter Russian insurgency in Afghanistan, it was US who funded, trained and financed Al-Qaeda in this modern world: Mighty always rights: this parlance should not be emulated by Sri Lanka government: We Sri Lankan communities have our Asian human consciousness that is to day we all follow some religious, ethical and moral conducts and principles: Our human consciousness tells how justice is unconditional: there is no one sort of justice to Americans and another sort of justice for the rest of the world: so, we should not be following this fake notion of war on terror to terrorize innocent people: 

 This does mean that we should not punish anyone who break the rules of Land. Any one let it be Muslim or Tamil or Sinhalese whoever breaks the laws of land let them pay the price for their actions: We should appreciate that Hon. Minister is firm in his statement to take some firm actions against anyone who breaks the law of the lands; If it is so Hon. Minister should start that with some extremist  Buddhist groups who have been breaking laws in this country: Who have invaded the offices of ministries , who have mocked judiciary and who have mocked top level government officials and security officials:

 Hon. Minister if you are honest person in your statement please go ahead with your actions and take some firm actions to anyone who is found guilty of breaking laws of Sri Lanka: 

Today, some local and international anti-Muslim forces want to use this excuse of war on terror to punish innocent people in minority Muslim community.

They use this as an excuse to punish all Islamic groups and movements. Because of a few people, you cannot tarnish name of all Muslim people as extremists. 

We Sri Lanka Muslims are indigenous people of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Islamic groups are indigenous Sri Lankan groups. None of them have any connection with any international groups.  None of them have any connection with any terror groups. We do not have connection with IS or Al QAEDA or TALIRAN. Muslim community is part of international Muslim community: for that we may have some cultural and religious affiliation with Muslim communities abroad. Even some of us may have inter-marriage with some people abroad. So, it is part and parcel of modern day life. Because of this intercultural connection, we should not connect Sri Lankan Muslim community with terror connections; 

 All these extremist groups are born and brought up outside of Sri Lanka. Making connection between them and Sri Lankan Islamic groups would be a big mistake. Today Muslim political leaders should educate their colleagues in parliament about it.  It appears that Hon. Minister does not have any clue about different Islamic groups in Sri Lanka.  To connect a mystical group such as TJ with extremism is really a distortion of true facts. None of Islamic groups in Sri Lanka is connected to any form of violence or extremism or terror groups. To connect them with any Islamic extremist groups would be a distortion of fact.  

Muslim clerics should educate Muslim youths about dangerous trends of Extremism...Today many Islamic organizations such as ACJU, NSC and many others should do some courses on Muslim extremism.  Mosques, Muslim school and Universities should make some awareness about this issue.  

We should not give any loop hales to BBS and extremist groups to make use of it. They will try to manipulate the facts and make use of this to arrest innocent people among us. Even to harm Islamic groups which are moderate and which are doing a great job to our country. It is important that we educate people on this issue. We should educate local political leaders and MPS on this issue. 

 we should educate Sri Lanka police and security forces on this issue. 

we should educate monks and Non-Muslim academics 

Educate youths of this country. Today Internet and media do a lot of damages to tarnish good name of Islam and Muslims.

Hon. Minister needs to know the difference between all these groups.

Unfortunately Hon. Minister got distorted information about these groups. It is not his fault but fault of Islamic groups.

 When we live in a Non-Muslim country it is our duty that we incorporate our organisations with national government and its organizations. Islamic movements should register its name with government agents and it is in the great interest of Islamic movements that they have a close integrated working network with government bodies so that no suspension will come about any Islamic movements; We all know what contribution that Islamic groups have done to wider communities in Sri Lanka. We all know how some of these Islamic groups work in hand in hand with some Sinhalese organizations in time of natural disasters. During the time of Tsunami, flood and other natural disaster all these Islamic movements worked hand in hand with many organisations.

Muslims of this country has been contributing to this nation since we came to this land. We are here in this country for its development and progress. We did not run way with its natural resources as colonisers did it in the past. We are here to contribute, develop and enhance this land. So, economic contribution of Sri Lankan Muslim to this nation is enormous and huge. Honourable Minister should be a mouthpiece of extremist Buddhist hidden agenda.  He should not put sweat pieces into the mouth of Buddhist extremists . 

 It is unfortunate that this Hon. Minister has picked some wrong information about our community organisations:   We Muslim do all these good works and yet, sometimes we keep it among us and we should tell them what do in Sri Lanka and we should make aware of all our good works. 

Hon.Minister cannot make distinction between these groups. Because it is very hard for him to know the difference.

     To be honest even some Muslim MPS would not know the difference.

Muslim clerics should make him understand this difference between all groups.   We should tell him and all Sri Lankan politicians why we need these groups and how they all come about. The contributions all Islamic groups should be made in public to Sri Lankan government and Public as well. It has been a tradition among us that we do all good deeds and yet, we do not tell about that to Sinhalese community in public: We did a lot of good works: all Islamic groups did a great job in recent flood and Tsunami time. We manged to get a lot of donation from abroad: all Muslim countries helped Sri Lankan during these disasters and yet, Hon. Minister is quick to get some negative impressions about Islamic movements. It is high time that all Islamic movements should declare all its works to Sri Lankan governments and so that no such non-sense talks or criticism will pop up against in Sri Lankan parliament. 

Religious diversity is natural social phenomenon. Not only in Islam all world religious faith has got this diversity: Buddhism too has got two sects and they fought each other on some religious issues. Likewise, many religions too have such diversities and differences of opinions between different school of thoughts. Yet, In Sri Lankan Muslims did not create any arm struggle or they did not work against national interest of Sri Lanka. They could have done it during the British period or sooner after British left this Island: yet, Muslims always stood for the integrity and territorial unity of this nation.  

Hon. Minister needs to know true history of Muslims in this country: probably he may needs to reads some of important history texts books on Sri Lankan Muslims: before he is jumping into some hasty and prejudicial conclusions he does need to read more about Muslim community and its history in Sri Lanka.