Local Issues

Ignored by the government, UNHCR, NGOs and Muslim Politicians   Muslim settlements in Mannar dates back to more than one thousand years.In her book “The Muslims of Sri Lanka” eminent historian Dr. Lorna Dewaraja explained that by 9th century Muslim settlements were established in the coastal areas including Mannar. Muslims in and around Mannar area were descendants of early Arab traders who …

The Dambulla mosque fracas engineered by the militant elements of Sri Lankan Buddhists, the reaction to it by local Muslim politicians and Muslim religious leaders, the former threatening to withdraw their inconsequential support to the government while the latter urging Muslim masses to pray to Allah to restore the status quo, and the conflicting messages from the nation’s prime minister …

Dispute The dispute over the presence of a Muslim mosque on Buddhist temple land in Dambulla points Muslims protest in front of the Davatagaha mosque in Colombo to an underlying tension in Sri Lanka’s multi religious society that is capable of being exploited by extremist forces. It is reassuring that the violence that suddenly manifested itself over the location of …

  This year the celebration of Vesak takes place against the backdrop of an incident, the memory of which must surely cloud the tranquility of this sacred day for many Buddhists. In Dambulla two weeks ago an unruly mob led by Buddhist monks stormed a mosque, yelled abuse and prevented the Muslim devotees gathered there from conducting their prayers. This …

To mainstream Sinhalese; Save the Sinhalese and the country from chauvinists. To Muslim politicians and theologians; Don’t sell the community. You are under watch. Muslim community’s overall response to vandalism at the Dambulla mosque by a mob led by Ven Inamaluwa Sumangala Thero on Friday 20 April 2012 has been “calm and dignified”. In one voice their message to the …