Guest Speakers at the Launch

Ven. Uduwe. Dhammaloka. Thera. – Addressing the Launch

Buddhism is not for one community but for the wellbeing of all.

The philosophy preached by the Buddha is not for one community but for the wellbeing of all, Parliamentarian Ven. Uduwe. Dhammaloka.  Thera. said addressing a large gathering in Colombo on Sunday at the launch of the Sailan Muslim website.
He said Buddhism was a doctrine which promoted communal harmony – a fact well illustrated by the life and the teaching of the Buddha. “The Great Teacher has called on his followers to wish for others what they wish for themselves,” Venerable.  Dhammaloka.  Thera.  said.

Hailing the objective of the Sailan Muslim Foundation – promoting national harmony – as a noble goal, the venerable monk said the Foundation may face obstacles and challenges, but it should move ahead regardless.

The Right Reverend Duleep de Chickera.

Bishop of Colombo.

Bishop urges border-crossing for communal harmony.

Border crossing is as important a tool as inter-faith dialogue in promoting communal harmony, Colombo’s Anglican bishop Rt.Rev Duleep de Chickera said at the launch of the Sailan Muslim Website on Sunday in Colombo.

Addressing a large gathering at the Orchard building, the highly-respected Christian leader said people must not confine themselves to communal borders and try to safeguard the interest of their community only. They must cross the divide and reach out to other people in distress. Right. Reverend. Chickera said that each community and each religion had something to offer to the people. He said brotherhood and spiritual discipline practiced by Muslims were worthy examples for people of other faith to follow.

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran.

Country cannot progress unless the rights of minorities are recognized and safeguarded.

Tracing the bitter experience of the Tamil community which tried to live in peace and harmony but was sidelined by the majority community resulting in the current chaotic situation    Justice C.V.Wigneswaran had this to say:

Yet we must not forget that there are many sympathetic and enlightened persons among the majority community today in Sri Lanka who recognize that this country cannot progress unless the rights of all minorities are recognized and safeguarded. May your website strengthen the understanding and awareness of these decent persons who are humane at heart and bent altruistically. Unless we strengthen those persons from among the majority community our exercise may not succeed to the extent we expect. If by this launching of your website you could galvanize the support of your community as well as the enlightened sections of the other communities we could march confidently towards a united, wholesome, harmonious enlightened nation of diverse peoples. Islam means to surrender to the will of God. Muslim means one who submits to God coined from the Arabic word salma – to submit. Let us submit to the will of Almighty and may He direct us on the correct path! May God help you in your noble venture always.

Mr. Izeth Hussain.
The legitimate interests of the Muslims mean only those Muslim interests that are consistent with the National interest.

In his address Mr. Hussain focused on the problems arising from the politics of identity, by which is meant politics in which the interests of a group tend to predominate over everything else. In the last century the great black American ideologue W.E.B. Dubois said that the crucial problem of the twentieth century would be the color line. He was right if we recognize that Hitler’s aim in the Second World War was to make the Aryan race supreme over the rest of humanity, after which there were anti-colonial struggles by the colored peoples to assert their right to independence. President Obama said some time ago that the crucial problem of this century would be the problem of the Other. He evidently had in mind mainly the ethnic problems which started proliferating in the course of the latter half of the last century.

Those who had the idea of establishing a Muslim website were very much aware right from the inception of the problems that could flow from the politics of identity – the politics of putting group interests above everything else. They decided therefore that the pursuit of the legitimate interests of the SL Muslims – which is the fundamental purpose of the website – should be based on the principle that the “legitimate interests” of the Muslims mean only those Muslim interests that are consistent with the national interest. This principle flows from the fact that we SL Muslims have dual identities as we are both Muslims and Sri Lankans. Hence the name chosen for the website, Sailan Muslim, Sailan being the ancient Muslim name for Sri Lanka.