News updates

M.I.M. Rizvi Mufthie addressing the Sri Lankan community in Riyadh on Friday. (AN photo)   A Sri Lankan Islamic scholar currently visiting the Kingdom said racial tensions following an attack on Dambulla mosque in Sri Lanka had greatly eased and the country’s government is trying its best to resolve this issue amicably. “We firmly believe that very soon a satisfactory …

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader and Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said yesterday he had discussed the Dambulla Mosque dispute with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and that he was confident it would be resolved with justice to all. “The President assured me he would not let the dispute get out of hand and will resolve the contentious matter without harming the …

Western Province Governor, Alavi Moulana said that he is willing to resign from his position as Governor if authorities go ahead and demolish or relocate the mosque in Dambulla.   “Under no circumstance can there be a compromise. If the mosque is relocated it will set a precedence,” Moulana told Ceylon Today. The Dambulla Khairya Jummah Mosque was attacked by …

  Move comes after Buddhist monks said structure had been built illegally in an area sacred to their religion.     The Sri Lankan government has ordered a mosque be relocated after Buddhist monks threatened to demolish it because they said the 50-year-old structure had been built illegally in an area sacred to Buddhists. The order came on Sunday, two …

  President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday opened the new building of the Al- Kabeer Grand Jumma Mosque in Nuwara Eliya as the first Sri Lankan President to open a mosque and the first non- Islamic leader in the world to open a mosque. He opened the mosque after receiving the blessings of Buddhist monks at the Nuwara Eliya Buddhist Centre in …