By Izeth Hussain –
Sri Lankan Muslims at the cross roads – 22: Clarifications
I will conclude this series of articles by focusing on two questions: firstly, what is the explanation for the anti-Muslim campaign, and secondly, what should be done about it? But before getting to that I want to make some preliminary clarifications. I have concentrated on the actual bilateral issues that have been bedeviling Sinhalese-Muslim relations. It might seem therefore to some readers that I have left huge lacunae about matters that have been seriously prejudicing those relations. There is for instance the ill-treatment, sometimes amounting to enslavement, of our housemaids in the Arab world. There could be some amount of exaggeration about that ill-treatment: if it were uniformly ghastly our housemaids would not continue to go there in huge numbers. Then there are the restrictions placed on the practice of non-Islamic religions in Saudi Arabia. In the vast majority of the Muslim countries there are no such restrictions, and therefore they don’t constitute much of a problem for our Buddhists abroad. The principle to be asserted is this: our Muslims should not be held accountable for what is done by Muslims abroad, because if they were it would become impossible to deal effectively with Sinhalese-Muslim bilateral problems.
There is also the problem of the negative images of Islam that are widely prevalent in the world today, which can be expected to impact negatively on Sinhalese-Muslim relations. I have dealt adequately enough with the problem of Muslim extremism, which I have argued is a fringe aberrant form of Islam that is not to be confused with the mainstream orthodox Islam that prevails in the greater part of the Islamic world. But I have not explained what is meant by mainstream orthodox Islam, nor its variant of liberal modernizing Islam. That would require in-depth treatment which would be out of place in the present series of articles which have the limited pragmatic purpose of clearing up bilateral Sinhalese-Muslim issues.
There is also the problem of the negative images of Islam that are widely prevalent in the world today, which can be expected to impact negatively on Sinhalese-Muslim relations. I have dealt adequately enough with the problem of Muslim extremism, which I have argued is a fringe aberrant form of Islam that is not to be confused with the mainstream orthodox Islam that prevails in the greater part of the Islamic world. But I have not explained what is meant by mainstream orthodox Islam, nor its variant of liberal modernizing Islam. That would require in-depth treatment which would be out of place in the present series of articles which have the limited pragmatic purpose of clearing up bilateral Sinhalese-Muslim issues.
However as those negative images do in fact seem to be impacting very negatively on Sinhalese-Muslim relations – thanks to the BBS campaign – I will here provide a few indications about mainstream Islam and its liberal variant so that the interested reader can turn to the internet for more information about them. Orthodox Islam is really an interpretation just as are the orthodox and other versions of all the other great world religions. It does not consist only of the Koranic texts as is widely believed but of the Sunna – the Way – which includes in addition to the Koran the hadiths – that is the sayings and actions of the Prophet. Orthodox Islam recognizes six books of the hadiths, four schools of the Sharia, and Asharite theology and can be said to have attained its final form more than five centuries after the death of the Prophet. Consequently the BBS and other denigrators of Islam who tendentiously quote only some Koranic texts to project a negative image of Islam are wide of the mark. Some Koranic texts are regarded as conjunctural, meaning that they are valid only in relation to the occasions that gave rise to them, while the core Koranic texts have an eternal validity. Some texts are regarded as abrogated, on which – when I come to write an in-depth article – I hope to quote among others from Relire le Coran (1993) by Jacques Berque, one of the foremost Islamologists of the last century. Anyway, orthodox Islam claimed to get at the eternal core of Islam, and it was that form of Islam which – while it was in the process of formulation – inspired great civilizational achievements. It has also inspired in our time Weeramantry’s Islamic Jurisprudence which projects a very positive image of Islam. Anyone consulting Weeramantry’s text will find that its version of Islam is a universe away from the BBS’ image of Islam.
The liberal modernizing version of Islam began with the work of the great reformer Jamaldin al-Afghani in the late nineteenth century. One of its representative figures was the great poet Iqbal, and one of its classic texts was The Spirit of Islam by Ameer Ali, who was the first Indian on Britain’s Privy Council. It is the liberal modernizing current set off by Afghani that can be expected to prevail in the contemporary Islamic world. It is a significant fact, as I have pointed out earlier, that at the time that President Sakorzy was moving to ban the burqa only two thousand females wore it out of a French Muslim population of five million. Most of those five million, removed from the constraints of their traditional societies, were happily adjusting to modernity. Another significant fact is that when some years ago Afghani’s bones were disinterred and reburied in Afghanistan, the American Ambassador there was present on the occasion and paid him a glowing tribute. The significance is that the enlightened elements in the West see in liberal Islam the real future of the Muslims.
Some readers might think that I am being disingenuous in ignoring a well-known negative feature of Islam, which is a peculiar recalcitrance to change, as I want to twist reality to fit an entirely positive image of contemporary Islam. The recalcitrance to change is certainly there as shown for instance by the travails of the ‘Arab Spring’, indicating that the transition to democracy in the Islamic world will prove to be much more difficult than elsewhere. There is more than one theory to explain this recalcitrance to change. Montgomery Watt, one of the leading Islamologists of the last century, has argued that the reason is that Islam was bred in a desert environment in which to stray from the beaten path could prove to be fatal. Therefore, in religious matters, to stray from the Sunna, the Way, could also be fatal, and from that arises a general Islamic recalcitrance to change. But would that be true of Islamic countries outside the desert regions? The answer to that could be that it is precisely in the Arab countries that the transition to democracy is proving to be most difficult, unlike for instance in Malaysia and Indonesia. But, then, Watt’s theory would not fit the whole of the Islamic world which in general has certainly shown a peculiar recalcitrance to change. For instance the Muslims in the lush tropical island of Sri Lanka resisted taking to secular education for decades. I believe that it would be fruitful to take Watt’s monocausal theory together with that of the theologian Don Cupitt: Islam is the most heteronomous of all the world religions, as it leaves the least room for the autonomous self-determining individual, and therefore there is at the core of Islam conservatism and recalcitrance to change.
The fundamental challenge facing the Islamic world today is to move from orthodox Islam to what might be called liberal Islam, in which connection the recalcitrance to change acquires particular importance. That change is inevitable, as I can illustrate from the details of changes that have been taking place among the Sri Lankan Muslims from the 1930s onwards. The fundamental challenge is not the one posed by the rise of Muslin extremism, which is a result – as I have argued earlier – of the transition to modernity. That Muslim extremism has acquired a peculiar virulence because of very special circumstances, notably the Saudi oil billions and the promotion of Wahabism/Salafism. That point can be convincingly illustrated from the spectacular rise of the Islamic State. How did a group of young fanatics score spectacular military victories with lightning speed, and establish within just a few months a State with territory as large as that of the United Kingdom? Furthermore, it is a State that no one dares take on with ground troops, even though the desire to extinguish it is universal, inclusive of the Islamic world. None of that would have been possible, even thinkable, without big money backing the original group of fanatics, and that money certainly came from the oil-rich Arab kingdoms. A core group of fighters required military training, which was almost certainly provided by Westerners. It is known that the weapons were American and were freely supplied by Saudi Arabia. If not for those very special circumstances the Islamic State would never have been established. It is the product of those very special circumstances and not of something that is inherent in Islam as the BBS and the Islamophobes would want us to believe.
Thalaivar / October 25, 2014
Please visit the religion of peace website to know the truth.
It is not run by BBS.
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Amarasiri / October 25, 2014
Thalaivar
Religions of Peace and Religious War.
With or Without Islam Religious Wars happened along with other Religion based atrocities, Christianity destroyed Native Populations, and supported Slavery.
Christopher Hitchens: Brutal Four Minutes For Religion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQox1hQrABQ
Christopher Hitchens Destroys The Catholic Church
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3766TOukRo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_war
“A religious war or holy war (Latin: bellum sacrum) is a war primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. The (possibly fictional) account of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites in the Book of Joshua, the Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries, and the Christian Crusades (11th to 13th centuries) and Wars of Religion (16th and 17th centuries) are the classic examples but a religious aspect has been part of warfare as early as the battles of the Mesopotamian city-states. In the modern era, arguments are common over the extent to which religious, economic, or ethnic aspects of a conflict predominate: examples include the Yugoslav Wars and the civil war in Sudan. In several ongoing conflicts including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Syrian civil war, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, religious arguments are overtly present but variously described as fundamentalism or religious extremism depending upon the observer’s sympathies. At the same time, members of many religions have been and are active members of the modern anti-war movement.”
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Thalaivar / October 25, 2014
Thanks to Thalaivar, there are no Muslims in Jaffna.
He knew how to handle them.
So do the Jews.
Singlas better learn from Thalaivar and Israel how to handle them.
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Marwan / October 25, 2014
This is exactly the type of web-sites that promote hatred against Muslims, by portraying crimes that purported Muslims do as being part of Islamic teachings. You will never find a sincere good word for Muslims in any of such sites (there are hundreds out there), and all they promote is hatred and disgust towards Muslims. If you read and understood what this writer has referred to in this respect (Islamophobia web-sites), then you would not have jumped the gun to highlight this site and make comparison to BBS hate campaign. They are both born out with the same ulterior motive, which is to demolish Islam as a religion of peace and defame its followers.
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Janz / October 26, 2014
Mr Marwan, Is there a single good word about us in Koran?
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ela kolla / October 27, 2014
koran is full of rubbish and follower [Edited out]
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Sylvia Haik / October 27, 2014
ela kolla, you must talking out of your backside. The Koran is written in medieval Arabic which even the Arabs don’t understand. Surprisingly you do. This ignorance is at the root of all this controversy because the Koran is subjected to various interpretations. E.g. Diabolically, education is prohibited for girls in the Nigerian and Afghan versions. Even more diabolically, driving is banned for women in Saudi Arabia.
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ela kolla / October 28, 2014
your explanation itself tells that koran is full of crap
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Native Vedda / October 25, 2014
Thalaivar
“Please visit the religion of peace website to know the truth. It is not run by BBS.”
Sinhala/Buddhism A Religion of Infinite Compassion
Sinhala/Buddhism promotes peace and harmony
Here is the proof, watch Living Sinhala/Buddhism in this thrice blessed island.
Batticaloa Sumana Thero Attacks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2kkZfb5uM0 or
http://www.tamilwin.com/show-RUmszARYKXnv3.html
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Afzal / October 25, 2014
Singhala language usage at the highest ! Only hamuduru has the authority and the audacity to talk like to this Poilce and government officials, any one else will be going looking for hidden weapons.
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Amarasiri / October 27, 2014
Thalaivar
“Please visit the religion of peace website to know the truth. It is not run by BBS.”
Yes, nor run by BBS.Run by CIA, M16 and Mossad.
http://www.awdnews.com/top-news/10058-noam-chomsky-isis-is-a-saudi-u-s-made-product.html
Published on Sunday, 26 October 2014
Noam Chomsky: ISIS is a Saudi& U.S. -made product
“Noam Chomsky further added that ISIL is a joint CIA, MI6 and Mossad project and indeed this terrorist cult over the past year was successful to fulfill U.S. essential objectives in the volatile Middle-Eastern countries such as toppling the government of the Iraqi outgoing Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki’s, obtaining a greater level of autonomy for Kurds and frightening naïve Arabs from ISIS’ creeping threat and making them to buy more U.S.-made weaponry.”
Noam Chomsky, the famous American scholar, Professor Emeritus and astute political commentator believes the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is the joint US and Saudi product accusing the American administration of adopting a hypocritical approach toward the Iraqi central government.
Chomsky, an outstanding Jewish American linguistics scholar and Noble Prize laureate, said that the American administration did not directly helped ISIL but rather through its oil-rich Arab allies like Qatar provides the hardline organization with lethal weaponry and financial support.
“U.S. administration used ISIL as a scarecrow to frighten Arab monarchs from the fanatic terrorists which Arab regimes themselves have nourished and assisted over the past three years,” said Mr. Chomsky in an interview with the Al-Ahram Egyptian daily newspaper, adding that Obama administration’s policies are in contrast with its previous commitments to the Iraqi government concerning the fight against ISIL insurgents.
According to Prof. Chomsky, should Washington was sincere and serious in dealing with terrorists it would take proper actions against the Saudi regime which adopts a pernicious state- terrorism policy and considered to be the menacing source of extremism in the Middle-East and North Africa.
Noam Chomsky further added that ISIL is a joint CIA, MI6 and Mossad project and indeed this terrorist cult over the past year was successful to fulfill U.S. essential objectives in the volatile Middle-Eastern countries such as toppling the government of the Iraqi outgoing Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki’s, obtaining a greater level of autonomy for Kurds and frightening naïve Arabs from ISIS’ creeping threat and making them to buy more U.S.-made weaponry.
“I believe the creation of ISIL is one of the most brilliant and dazzling CIA achievements since the beginning of this century,” said the American distinguished scientist.
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Kain / October 25, 2014
Please get a life and come out of your attic… Don’t show hatred because of a belief… Go talk to people, think positively, live and let live… Life’s short for us to spend half of it meaninglessly pointing fingers at each others.
I started gardening and Bonsai planting lately… Very interesting, peaceful and relaxing… World is filled with beauty, let’s see goodness in things and love each others :)
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Backlash / October 25, 2014
“…. the reason is that Islam was bred in a desert environment in which to stray from the beaten path could prove to be fatal. Therefore, in religious matters, to stray from the Sunna, the Way, could also be fatal, and from that arises a general Islamic recalcitrance to change…” A peculiar and unacceptable argument. Almost all societies in the world, that yields to reason, offer themselves to change in the evolutionary process. That is how these societies have moved from their medieval beginnings to the more enlightened 21st Century. While the Arab people want to change, as we saw on several occasions in recent times, to a more democratic way of life and move into the modern world their rulers, mostly despots going as Kings and what not, bring out archaic practises and rituals to hold on to their avaricious hold on power. They pay a few educated men in their fold to justify their aberrations. But this will not last. Egypt and Turkey, yearning for change and to secure a respectable place in the modern world will eventually triumph once they remove the cobwebs of bigotry, ignorance and zealotry controlling the vast majority in their societies.
“….no one dares take on with ground troops, even though the desire to extinguish it is universal…” Yet another shallow argument to support Gobal Islam. The USA, that leads the fight, for their own political sensitivities, do not want to commit ground troops. If they do, with the power of their sophisticated troops they will, in all likelihood, wipe out this ISIS menace swiftly. But with another US Presidential Election in the horizon the Democrats, naturally, will not agree to ground troops in appreciable numbers. Look at the opportunistic Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. He says he will commit ground troops if the others do. He has half a mind not to break outright with the Muslim extremists openly and the other not to prejudice his changes of his much dreamed of EU membership. That is, clearly, the degree of honesty and objectivity in that region.
Few deny Islam, from its own theological base, is not an entirely insidious religion. But, as many have written before, the more peaceful and philosophical features in the religion are inspired from the more ancient and evolving Judaism and Christianity. What has been at play from the time of Prophet Muhammad up to now, now in increased intensity globally, are those core features of conquering other non-Muslim people and forcing the religion down their throats. This is what Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Thailand and most of the world not only resist but will take all necessary steps to remove this harmful evil from their societies.
Will those like Izeth Hussain accept the reality if global Islam allows its own flock all over the world the right of free thinking in all main issues, the entire edifice will collapse within a short time.
The educated and peaceful and liberal Muslims in Sri Lanka will be one of the first to break away from the shackles of this growing menace.
Just like those many instances where we saw in Kattankudy and the EP in recent years, Islam we see and live with is no less a form from the Italian Mafiosi.
Backlash
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Janz / October 26, 2014
The educated and peaceful and liberal Muslims in Sri Lanka will be one of the first to break away from the shackles of this growing menace.
No Backlash, the more a Muslim gets educated the more he/she becomes extremist.
A generation ago they were a 100% illiterate lot. We Sinhalese and Tamils gave them education. We looked after their health. See how they talk now?
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Native Vedda / October 26, 2014
Janz
Here we go again.
Reincarnation of Nuisance, wathie, sach, Sarojini, Dawn Dale, thresha, …..
“A generation ago they were a 100% illiterate lot.”
Were they? It means in 1989 all Muslims were illiterates. I didn’t know this, where was I?
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Paul / October 25, 2014
Is this part one of the article? There is a lot of Islamic apologetics but where is ‘What is the explanation for the anti-Muslim campaign, and secondly, what should be done about it’?
Is that at crossroad number 23?
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Amarasiri / October 25, 2014
Paul
‘What is the explanation for the anti-Muslim campaign, and secondly, what should be done about it’?
Elephant in the room. Sinhala “Buddhist” Racism and Chuvanism, in Lanka, the Land of Native Veddah Aethho (People)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room
“Elephant in the room” or “Elephant in the living room” is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is either being ignored or going unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.[2]”
“It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to avoid dealing with the looming big issue.”
The Problem od Sinhala “Buddhist” Racism and Chauvinism is independent of the presence or absence of Muslims.
It was directed mostly to Tamil Hindus and Tamil Christians earlier.
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Walter / October 25, 2014
Thank you very much for the enlightening article on a subject vastly misunderstood by non-Muslims. I hope the racist elements will set their perceptions aside and try to understand facts.
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Amarasiri / October 25, 2014
Izeth Hussain –
RE: Beyond What The BBS And The Islamophobes Would Want Us To Believe..
This is called “Elephant in the room” -The Sinhala “Buddhist” Racism and Chauvinism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room
“Elephant in the room” or “Elephant in the living room” is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is either being ignored or going unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.[2]
“It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to avoid dealing with the looming big issue.”
The Elephant is Sinhala “Buddhist” (Theraveda) Racism and Chauvinism.
In this worldview of Sinhala “Buddhists” who gulp down every Pali word of Dipawansa and Mahawansa, everybody else is an alien in the Land of native Veddah Aethho(People) except the Sinhala “Buddhists”.
So, no Room for Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Tamils , Christians and Muslims,
So, “Elephant in the room” or “Elephant in the living room” is Sinhala “Buddhism”.
The Vedda Tribe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f89NuukY32U
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Amarasiri / October 25, 2014
Izeth Hussain –
RE: Beyond What The BBS And The Islamophobes Would Want Us To Believe
“The fundamental challenge facing the Islamic world today is to move from orthodox Islam to what might be called liberal Islam, in which connection the recalcitrance to change acquires particular importance.”
This challenge was faced by Islam during the first 500 years of Islam, when there was exchange of views between, Islamic scientists, Islamic philosophers and Islamic theologians. That was the Age of Reason in Islam, from 700 to 1250 C.E. when Islamic Science and philosophy thrived, until Revelation superseded Reason and Observation, to give primacy to the Theologians. ( Similar situation in Sri Lanka, primacy is given to Buddhist Monks).
Unless Muslims spend less than 10% of their time in Religion, they will not Progress, and give value to reason and scientific inquiry. The need to keep Religion and other sciences separate.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson – The Islamic Golden Age: Naming Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDAT98eEN5Q
Science in the medieval Islamic world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world
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sinhalese buddhist / October 25, 2014
I think that liberalizing islam is essential for world peace. Hopefully it is inevitable as Izzeth suggests. One huge challenge against this liberation of islam from fanatics is the racism and xenophobia of the internet.
Research on western islamic fundamentalism often identifies the internet as the main vehicle for nurturing violence among vulnerable minds, with a ready-made justification given ala islam (albeit distorted versions). Unfortunately sometimes even sites such as CT can be and has been used by some unscrupulous xenophobes to elevate violent, racist and xenophobic versions of islam.
It is the duty of the CT editors to practice extremely sensitive editorial judgement against fundamentalists hijacking the openness of the site to spout racism and xenophobia.
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bravo / October 25, 2014
Thalaivar , ur religion of peace website is a site run by jews..which spreads false informantion abt islam..it give wrong interpretation of quran.. for and example – People of mecca are known as kaffir (non believers) ..and dey broke the peace agreement with people of medina (people of medina are muslims) and started harming the ppl of medina , den prophet mohamed asks allah for the next step, den allah says in quaran ” go kill the kaffirs wherever u see them, but leave dre women and children (this was later recorded in the book quran – verses of quran wre the messages received from god in different occasions, recorded later as a book). The thing here is the term “kaffir” refers to the people of mecca not the current day non believers. But what happens nowadays is jews who are the enemy of muslims using this verse to frame muslims by presenting a wrong interpretation by saying that quran says to kill non believers. This is done by linking the term kaffir (non believer– who are the people of mecca ) with the modern day non believers !! if you read quran u will get wrong interpretation because it is written in the way of poetic literature – you need to study the situation, story and history behind it, therefore you need to read the tafsir (tafsir is the interpretation book) along with the quaran . But covering by this issue, the web site which you mentioned is using this to spread false information about islam !!
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Janz / October 26, 2014
Good to hear that. Now we too can aspire to go to paradise.
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Native Vedda / October 27, 2014
Janz
“Good to hear that. Now we too can aspire to go to paradise.”
Sri Lanka is the tropical island paradise according to Sinhala/Buddhists.
Where are planning to go in search of paradise?
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Jay Chambers / October 25, 2014
Moslems engage in Taqiyya (deceit and deception of non- believers) when that is the best way to get to the next stage of conquest of the non-believer; and Izzeth is full of that in this article. Dear reader, beware, the devil has an arm around your shoulder, soon he will go for your jugular.
There is one and only one solution to the Moslem crisis in Lanka: find the root causes and address them. At the root is Moslem fundamentalism, intolerance, greed, deception, overt in-your-face display of their religion to embarrass and demoralize the non-believer (the long, ugly, unkempt beards and ghost-like covering of the women, incredible levels of unhygienic, polluting practices that are meant to poison the landscape, import of lethal drugs for systematic distribution among non-believers and thereby degrade them, bring about depravity and dissolution of Sinhalese and Tamil families this making them soft targets for Moslem dominance and when required utter destruction and impoverishment, etc. etc. The list goes on and on.
Essentially, Taqiyya helps the Moslem to act like a devil while telling himself that it is all in the service of Allah and therefore absolutely justified. But Taqiyya is not needed for too long. Once the majority of the indigenous people of Lanka, the Sinhalese and Tamils are depraved, destitute and impoverished they become a pushover. Then starts AL JIHAD!! Time to quickly destroy the besieged people while paying their “leaders” bribes and keeping them quiet. This is already happening at a large scale in Lanka. Meanwhile, the heroic buck moslems and well as the old codgers are marrying the indigenous women in multiple numbers and every night they engage in battle – to produce as many children as possible so that Democracy itself will give them the easy win with the exponential growth of the Moslem population and with a 10-20 year plan the democratic process itself will lead to Moslem dominance. Once in majority Democracy will be thrown into the dustbin of history. The Islamic Republic of Lanka will be promulgated and all Buddhist and Hindu places of worship and every historical place will be converted into Moslem mosques. This is how the Babri mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Ram himself in India. Tens of thousands of Buddhist and Hindu temples were obliterated in India and Pakistan soon after the British left and in today’s Pakistan the process of obliteration of Buddhist and Hindu history is almost complete and the remaining Hindus are living is utter fear. Having conquered the Hindus now they fanatics are targeting the Christians and also the more tolerant Shia Moslems. Just check the news items using any browser and you can educate yourself easily of these facts.
So utter Moslem terrorism is sweeping over Lanka, its Sinhalese and Tamils leaders are mouthing platitudes and ignoring the coming disaster that will erase its traditional non-Moslem society. The crab is indeed enjoying the warm water that is bubbling over it, now knowing that it is set to boil soon. India has a moral obligation to do something to educate the poor Sinhalese and wake them up. The RSS and Shiv Sena MUST support the BBS. The Mossad MUST send the best technology to the Sinhalese and train them to develop strategies and skills to defeat the Moslem devils. The fast emerging Western forces that have finally recognized the danger of the religion of rape, murder, arson, pedophilia etc. should find ways to send funds and support the likes of BBS as soon as possible. The 969 and BBS alliance must be strengthened. More Buddhist countries should be drawn into this alliance, and also Hindu communities including India, Nepal etc. The Sinhalese must relentlessly attack the fanatics in every place they can find them, and the punishment for desecration of Buddhist or Hindu idols, places of worship should be death by shooting or old fashioned impaling or whatever. There should be sever punishments for trying to use Taqiyya and death sentence should be mandatory for that as well. Lanka must be put on alert and in par with Martial Law to handle the menace. The coming elections for the Parliament must see only patriots being elected to positions of power. Monks must get together with laymen and physically challenge any candidate and their supporters if they do not vouch to protect indigenous population and traditions. If indeed the Sinhalese have to adopt draconian acts to ward off the Moslem invasion and latent population bomb then there is no option but to do so.
Sinhalese and Tamil youth must be ready to shed their blood to defend the country from this earlier silent and now overt and loud invasion of the barbarians. They must tell themselves that if they have to have a bloodbath now then it is better than being roasted alive, humiliated and beheaded by the fanatics as they gain numerical superiority and power in the next 10 years. The time to act is right NOW!!!!
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Ansar / October 25, 2014
Empty Chambers,
You need Muslim blood now, not enough of drinking Tamil blood, a 100,000 plus human blood.Do not call them to share your bounty, they are not fools like you to get on board.
You are a cannibal, no point to talking to you.
The ideal place for you is the jungle, go there and reside with animals. But do not instil your psyche to them tho, they are a slightly better species than you, don’t spoil them.
Bon Voyage.
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Marwan / October 25, 2014
Thanks once again Izeth for this expose. It is true that all the negative fall-out against Islam, its teachings and against Muslims in general can be directly attributed to the many human rights violations purported to be happening in the name of Islam around the world. Whereas the truth is far from it. Islam is a peaceful religion and does not promote hatred towards non-Muslims, but is strict and persuasive in the observance of its principles to its own adherents, much more than any of the other religions out there. Islam can never be defeated because the followers have one thing which cannot be physically removed from them, and that is Faith in the existence of only one God – Almighty Allah, and further accept Prophet Muhammed (PBOH) as His last and final Messenger.
Those criminals who are carrying out such acts of injustice and aggression must be brought before the courts justice system, and made to face the full force of the law. Such judgments should be so effective that they prove to be sufficient as deterrents to any others contemplating such dastardly crimes in the name of Islam.
As for BBS, they are a farce unto themselves, who could be bought over for money and are materialistically inclined. They have proved it time and time again through their style of perverted Buddhism.
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Marwan / October 25, 2014
Jay Chambers you think you are a smart ass by trying to portray Muslims in demonic light. Your hate of Muslims is legendary. You must be shitting scared of getting decapitated like what IS is doing to western hostages in Iraq. The readers of CT are not that gullible to follow you like rats following the pied piper to their doom. There have been crack-pots and nuts like you in the past too, who rose up from time to time, from time immemorial specially during the life time of our Prophet. They tried their best to cause mischief in the land against Islam and Muslims. But they just got swept aside, reduced to dust and blown away into oblivion. They didn’t survive, but Islam did. See how far we have come in just 1432 years. Islam has now the second largest following in the world, next only to Christianity. This could never have been achieved if Muslims and Islam was as bad and nasty as you try to imply. You truly have a mischievous talent of injecting poisoned barbs about Islam and Muslims living in SL, filled with all that blood and gory that you garnish to relish your taste, purely with devilish intent to destroy the harmony and peaceful co-existence between Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslims living peacefully in this country. The country will only go deeper into the abys of no return, if your ploys to destroy Muslims living in SL is to be considered any seriously. Not enough you saw blood for 30 years of acrimonious war and now you are blood thirsty again and hoping to start another war to satisfy your insatiable cravings. Fortunately you don’t belong to the majority and therefore we as Muslims know you are all fart and no shit, will chose to ignore you and not want to touch you even with a barge pole. You are a scourge to all of mankind.
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RdeS / October 25, 2014
“You must be shitting scared of getting decapitated like what ISIS does to western hostages in Iraq” Whatever disingenuous words are uttered for public consumption (Taqiyya, I you like), the world knows most Muslims celebrate these stone-age beheading punishments accorded to those of other faiths by Islamic fanatics. It looks deeply rooted in their intolerant nature.
“See how far we have come in just 1432 years. Islam has now the second largest following in the world, next only to Christianity. This could never have been achieved if Muslims and Islam was as bad and nasty as you try to imply” It is universal knowledge Islam keeps its flock by duplicity, threat, coercion and intimidation. See what is happening to the Kurds (Muslims themselves BTW) in ISIS and for those poor Christians in Pakistan. Those were just two of many examples. There is no place in the long run in the civilised and modern world for such diabolic pressure on free-thinking people exposed to good education and learning. Islamists will break away from their chains, very likely, in this century. The medieval following will splinter to the force of, inter alia, global IT and increasing education in Islamic countries that allow plural thoughts. What we saw in Egypt and the rest of the Arab world during the Arab Spring uprisings is a mere harbinger.
RdeS
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Marwan / October 27, 2014
Keep dreaming. Count how many countries in the world are Muslim. Watch this to learn more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
At the rate Islam and Muslims keep increasing in world numbers, in spite of all the negative publicity generated by IS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda snd Taliban combined, carrying out atrocities in the name of Islam, we can only expect Islam and Muslims worldwide census to exceed the World Christian population very soon, Insha Allah. So how come you still believe ‘Islamists will break away from their chains’ by which you expect a reversal in their numbers and strength? You have either misunderstood Islam, or not understood it at all in its pure form, but formed your opinion about Muslims and Islam from what BBS and people like Jay Chambers propogates including what the Western Media (controlled by Jews) keep pumping out, and thus fall well short in your estimations. Try to learn from original teachings of Islam to understand what motivates so many to join. Watch the many debates on Youtube, and search for ‘Why I accepted Islam’ on those many social media websitea.
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RdeS / October 28, 2014
Who are you trying to fool? In Britain, France, Holland, Germany, much of EU, North America – where Islamic extremists made so much of noise and then Australasia, Thailand, Burma, India and even Sri Lanka Islam is exposed and on the run. That is not the whole list.
You blindly follow that Goebellesian nonsense the more and more you harp on a falsehood as truth, over a period of time some people may begin to believe this. In this case, it will not work, my friend. You will have to dig deeper into your bag of treachery and tricks to come out with something better to fool the Lankan public.
RdeS
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Goraka / October 25, 2014
What has the world come to!
We can argue a point without insulting or calling names or feeding into people’s prejudices.
Calling us civilised, makes me wonder!
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Ram / October 25, 2014
Absolutely right. Unfortunately civilisation passes by some without affecting them in the least, as evidenced here on this forum.
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Native Vedda / October 25, 2014
Ramu
I hate to agree with you. Here is the proof:
Watch Living Sinhala/Buddhis civilisation in this thrice blessed island.
Batticaloa Sumana Thero Attacks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2kkZfb5uM0
or
http://www.tamilwin.com/show-RUmszARYKXnv3.html
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Sylvia Haik / October 25, 2014
I take issue with your statement “There is for instance the ill-treatment, sometimes amounting to enslavement, of our housemaids in the Arab world. There could be some amount of exaggeration about that ill-treatment.” Even if there were only one innocent housemaid, with nails inserted in her body, or thrown off a balcony or beheaded etc., it is one ill treatment too many and that we cannot accept. These women are there due to circumstances beyond their control and it is criminal to expoloit them and sadly it appears to occur in rich Muslim countries mostly to fellow Muslim women. During the Kuwait liberation from Saddam Hussein’s invasion, one of the the ruling Sabah dynasty fled to UK with their Sri Lankan maid. This poor girls treatment was found to be most appalling in UK that the family was taken to court and fined a substantial sum to be paid as retribution to the maid. The Sri Lanka government is aware of these murderous treatments but does very little about it with one eye on these peoples remittances that fattens the Treasury coffers.
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Ram / October 25, 2014
Sylvia,
You are right. The ill-treated maids do far outnumber those who are treated as human beings. Yet, I am aware of one decent family, whose Sri Lankan maid was diagnosed with tuberculosis while in their employ, and the family (mother, father and children) visited her in hospital every single day and took her home for recuperation when she was no longer infective. She was a very lucky girl.
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Jim softy / October 26, 2014
some where I read, about 350 bodies of slain house maids in coffins come every year back to Sri lanka.
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bravo / October 26, 2014
jay chambers!! you taqia has nothing to do with sunni muslims…(who are living in srilanka) , but it belongs only to shia muslims..and also practiced only by shia muslims..but the majority of the srilankan muslims are sunni(more than 98%) not shia!! check this link for evidence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiyya
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Jim softy / October 26, 2014
Now, Izeth Hussein has forgotten how the Sinhala King gave thenm sace to Arab traders living in the eastern coast when they were slaughtered by Portugese Catholics0.
Izeth Husseain did not talk how in 1915, Muslims did not want buddhists to conduct their annual Mahanuwara procession and how they began a rebellion against that.
Izeth Hussein does not talk about how those muslims who went to arab countries came back as Wahabis and now are trying to make Sinhale a fundamentalist Muslim country.
Izeth Husseign does not talk how they destroyed ancient buddhist places and populated with mosques, meat stalls and muslims people.
There are how many mosques now there in comparuision to 100 years ago. Where do you get this from ?
Instead talk about how muslims are not doing well.
that is all Muslim – dishonesty. Muslim doe snot know how to live with the devotees of other religions. Muslim want only the domination. They lie for that.
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Native Vedda / October 26, 2014
Jim softy
“Izeth Hussein does not talk about how those muslims who went to arab countries came back as Wahabis”
Can we now talk about how those Muslim Arab countries continue to feed poor Sinhala/Buddhists who otherwise would have been starved to death by almost all Sri Laankan governments since 1970s?
If according you each year 350 dead bodies are being returned to island, what is this country doing to stop it? This is supposed to be sovereign country with duty to protect its citizen wherever they are.
Why couldn’t this government or any government stop these unnecessary deaths?
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Marwan / October 26, 2014
‘Izeth Hussein has forgotten how the Sinhala King gave thenm sace to Arab traders living in the eastern coast when they were slaughtered by Portugese Catholics’.
Some people refuse to accept that it was Muslims who came forward to save the Sinhalese King, and thereafter they were called ‘Ma-reka-ley’ to this day, meaning the King referred to the Muslims who fought against the invaders to save his life ‘the blood that saved my life’.
‘Izeth Husseain did not talk how in 1915, Muslims did not want buddhists to conduct their annual Mahanuwara procession and how they began a rebellion against that’.
Some think that we are all gullible fools not to know who or how the Aluthgama/Beruwela/Dharga Town attacks were instigated and carried out under full protection of Armed Forces and police, under cover of a one-sided curfew to boot. Cowards who could’t fight on equal terms. If anything, this must have been similar in many respects 100 years ago in 1915, although some try to distort facts to suit their features.
‘Izeth Hussein does not talk about how those muslims who went to arab countries came back as Wahabis and now are trying to make Sinhale a fundamentalist Muslim country’.
All hearsay and conjecture, nothing substantiated in numbers, which only proves wild accusations. Wahabism in Islam is like Mahayana to Buddhism. Muslem Ulamas may get scholarships to go and learn it and if it suits the people they will have a following. If the people reject it, then that’s the end of the road for them. No one likes to be burdened with new tenets of faith, which are either alien to our religion, or foreign to our culture. Any sane person will know that this statement ‘Sinhale country to convert to a fundamentalist Muslim country’ is all stupid crap. How in the world can 9.5% of Muslim population overhaul nearly 74% of Sinhala population? Are the Sinhalese people that naive and dumb? Puswedilla.
‘Izeth Hussein does not talk how they destroyed ancient buddhist places and populated with mosques, meat stalls and muslims people’.
Where were your own people doing when Muslims were putting up all these Masjids? Where will you buy your luscious meat cut if not from meat stalls run by Muslims? Just as much as Temples are necessary for you, Masjids are essential part of Muslim life. We all know how much everyone needs a home, a house, an apartment or an annex to live. It is in the same way, Muslims need a Masjid to pray. It is a bare necessity. They at least gather in large numbers on Fridays. whereas your Temples are empty at most times, with some Temples are earmarked to be closed due to absence of monks to serve in them. Only stray dogs and cattle gather in those places.
‘There are how many mosques now there in comparuision to 100 years ago. Where do you get this from ?’
These are our inalienable rights guaranteed to us through the country’s constitution which our forefathers helped formulate. Empty Masjids serve no purpose and therefore surely deserve to be shut down. But we all know that our Masjids are filled beyond capacity on every Friday of the week, and for festival prayers too, with the congregation spilling out onto the streets. What is the solution to this problem? Of course, build bigger and more Masjids. Those Masjids serve religious purposes only, not to manufacture bombs and weapons that kill and maim people, nor cause mischief in the land by arousing and propagating hatred towards other human beings. Why can’t you understand that?
‘Instead talk about how muslims are not doing well. that is all Muslim – dishonesty. Muslim doe snot know how to live with the devotees of other religions. Muslim want only the domination. They lie for that’.
This shows how much you know about Muslims living in SL. Of course they may be backward in education since most don’t take to education seriously enough. But what they fail in education, they make up in doing business. They are mostly sharp and have business acumen for them to succeed in trade and support their livelihood. A god given gift in talent, Masha Allah. Dishonesty is not a trait of Islam but a trait of the individual, be he a Sinhalese, Muslim or Tamil. Muslims do live perfectly well alongside devotees of all religions, as long as they can conduct their prayers and observe their customs and traditions in relative peace. We Muslims are a minority in SL and to think that such a small fraction of minority wants domination, must mean the majority are dumbos and so timid that Muslims can stomp all over them. As Muslims, we don’t lie for anything, but will always speak the truth, even if it means death for speaking the truth. This is what Islam has taught us and and instilled in us. Individuals may commit sin by lying, but as a general rule, Islam is way above all of that.
The word Thaqiya was unheard of in our Islamic vocabulary and in the Prophet’s original teachings, until very recently discovered to be a part of the Shia doctrine. For all intents and purposes, we are not Shia but Sunnis, so you will need to get a Shia to explain that aspect of their doctrine. So much for all the false claims and accusations.
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Jim softy / October 26, 2014
Marwan
Muslim always supported the majority sinhalese probably to gain the political advantage. In up country, they even supported the Tamil king against king’s sinhala -ministers (disawas). That is how muslim gained advantage always. It is well known that muslims were always opportunistic until 1915, in Mahanuwara, during which they thought that the British colonial govt would support the muslims over Sinhala people.
Unlike those days, now muslims are expanding fast with arab money and when BBS point out that what do you say ?
You muslims do not speak how you people burned Sinhala – houses and villages in Aluthgama. You tube clips are available for your reference. If forces were not there, you people would have burned the whole area of sinhala villages.
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RdeS / October 28, 2014
“it was Muslims who came forward to save the Sinhalese King, and thereafter they were called ‘Ma-reka-ley’ to this day, meaning the King referred to the Muslims who fought against the invaders to save his life ‘the blood that saved my life’…” Ingenuity on the reverse. This is an entirely new twist to them custom of local Muslims being called Marakalayas. I am sorry if this sounds derogatory. This coinage in Tamil for Mara-Kalam
is what those rudimentary wooden sailing Vessels were called in the South Indian Coast, from which most of our Muslims came about 200-300 years ago. But some of our friends on the other side are working day and night to create instant history. I was amused to read another commentator in the CT recently tracing his name, with a Sinhala vasagama to boot, claiming they were here 1,400 years ago???
RdeS
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Ponkoh Sivakumaran / October 26, 2014
I do not think that the majority of the people in Sri Lanka are opposed to conservative Islam or liberal islam.
They are opposed to Jihadi Wahabism that has taken over the Sri Lankan Muslims. In the picture in the article, the BBS extremist points his finger at a man dressed as an Arab. When did Muslims dress like that in the past? This is what causes anxiety. Jihadi Wahabism does not recognize other people and will have their throat slit with a minor prayer if at all. WIth such a low tolerance level among the Jihadis, how can they expect other to be tolerant towards them. Mr Hussein must stop being an apologist for global bestiality.
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bravo / October 26, 2014
Sivakumaran, the dress muslims wear is similar to the dress worn by prophets such as mohamed (PBUH) ..even jesus christ has worn the same type of dress (muslims believe jesus christ as their prophet too )If a person can wears like an actor or a singer simply because he a is fan of them,then why cant muslims wear like thier role model – prophets? even growing beard is because many prophets had long beard including jesus chirst (PBUH)..now you will ask me why muslims didn’t wear cloths like thier prophets 25 years ago? well those days off course internet was not their..and now many muslims are becoming devotees and dressing like prophets due to the knowledge gained from internet and media which preaches islam in an attractive way !! go check You Tube..even my non muslim friends are giving their likes to those videos whenever I share them in face book !! also 25 years ago only few people in sri lanka dressed like celebrities..and now due to media and internet more people are putting styles like celebrities..same applies for muslims too..
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Ponkoh Sivakumaran / October 27, 2014
Thanks Bravo. What a name for a Muslim. I belonged to gentler times when my Muslim friends were not so imitative of the Arabs.I do not see Christians imitating Christ even remotely. There seems to be a change which you want to deny, while at the same time criticizing other religions. There is a change no doubt in Buddhism in Sri Lanka, which has to be decried. The BBS is as monstrous. But, that is no excuse for Muslims to get back to the tolerant Islam which exist in Sri Lanka in the old days. We do not accept all the muck that is on internet.
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bravo / October 26, 2014
janz..muslims were illiterate decades ago because tamils and sinhalese converted to Christianity for receiving education. Even powerful people like JR Jyawardana and SWRD were once converts !! but muslims did not give away their religion for the sake of education !hence they were backward for sometime.. but later on they got the education and using their education look what they have done for eradicating the poverty in srilanka..biggest companies which provides jobs for hundred and thousands are owned by muslims !! companies such as brandix and hemas are examples..
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bravo / October 26, 2014
jim softy most of the houses destroyed in aluthgama belong to muslims..and everybody knows that it was done infront of the eyes of police and military who were given orders not to attack the looters !!even colombo telegraph published articles on this.
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Jim softy / October 26, 2014
Bravo:
CT published only one side of the story. GO and check youtube clips.
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nike / October 27, 2014
this izeth guy should stop being a complete moron for trying to white-wash muslim terrorism
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Nishantha De Silva / October 27, 2014
same old crap over and over again by this [Edited out]. it’s high time that CT should take some actions to keep this kind of rubbish out of this forum.
[Edited out]
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hikz / October 27, 2014
[Edited out]
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bravo / October 27, 2014
Jim softy, anybody can make videos with false information..i guess you didn’t see the video in which Minister Rajitha Senarathne stated his comments on aluthgama issue..he said since 1956 what sinhalese did is looting of shops !! he also stated that looters of aluthgama stoled things of shops before burning them !! the thing here is about sinhalese thugs ..not about sinhalese people..sinhalese people never loot other peoples properties neither will attend meeting with hate speech because they are not jobless !!! but sinhalese thugs are the ones who were paid to attend the meeting at aluthgama !! and they were protected by forces when they were looting !! also only few sinhalese houses were burnt ..that also was burned by sinhalese looters by mistake..200 muslim houses were burnt…and please answer why not a single looter was shot by police ? but they shot and killed 3 muslims who defended the mosque where their women and children who taking refuge during the incident..can you answer why? ..also the not a single looter is arrested during the incident.. but later on after 3 days some looters were arrested due to external pressure..the problem with this country is people like you who don’t get the point that same thugs will be used tommorow to attack the sinhalese people when they protest against the Govt’nt with dictatorship !!
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Wickramasiri / October 27, 2014
Izeth Hussain’s mammoth effort at defending Muslims has to be appreciated. Unfortunately Muslims like Buddhists, Christians, and Hindus are judged by their actions and this why they are so vehemently criticised. Even though there are violent groups in all religions, it is unlikely that such groups can take control of a country’s population, except in the case of those islamic fundamentalists like IS(ISIS). Izeth Hussains’s criticism, as well as those of other Muslim commentators is gentle and I sense fear. Therein lies the problem.
I remember the eyes of the JVP recruits in the 1980s when they were assigned to monitor movement of people. They were recognizable from the insolent stare they directed at us, virtually telling us ” wait till we get our hands on you”. You will notice this in the BBS thugs too. And now I glimpse it in the Muslim youth.
The poor relations between Muslims and Sinhalese, in my view is directly attributable to the attitudes born in the Madrasses. One may call it Wahabism, Salafism, or whatever, but there is a distinct exclusiveness, an arrogance that is inculcated that transforms Muslim youth in to a mindset that they are exceptional and the rest are heathens.
There was a time when Muslim traders were admired for their sales pitch, but look at the youth; they are different. The affable nature is now absent. Go to Unity Plaza and see how they treat customers with disdain. This is not much different in other communities but those communities had a hang up from time immemorial. In Wellawatte, Tamil shopkeepers are as rude as in Jaffna. The Sinhalese anywhere are too swollen headed to change.
Fundamentalist teachings must take in to account the rule that in Sri Lanka we live in a multi cultural, multi religious, multi ethnic society, and it is imperative that the sensitivities of each group must be respected. Have you noticed that evangelical Christians find it difficult to integrate with other religious denominations? To them the rest are servants of Satan!
So if Muslims and Buddhists must live amicably, the spirit of live and let live must prevail.
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