By Sharmila Seyyid –
Sharmila Seyyid
I believe it was 2002. An organisation so far unknown in our village began propaganda declaring that watching TV is Haram. They didn’t just stop with propaganda. They went from house to house and broke TV antennas, they warned shopkeepers who sell DVDs to not do so and they burnt shops.
Some businessmen brought black Abayas and long garments and declared those to be ‘Islamic attire’. They made women and children in the community believe that the land where our last Prophet Muhammad lived, this is what all the women wear and so this IS our ‘culture’. They created an image that this clothing was safe and respectable for women and brainwashed women themselves into propagating it. They distributed pamphlets at Friday prayers saying that girls and women going to schools and universities MUST compulsorily wear long black garments.
This didn’t just happen in our village but in most villages where Muslims resided in the majority.
These sudden growth of thoughts and ideas was translated into funding for our schools from Arab countries. The Qur’an that we learnt after giving donations of 200-300 rupees became 3000 rupees a month to learn. Religious education was declared to be essential. It became a business. By propagating ideas about the Khilafat youth were fed the illusion that this land must be ruled by Muslims. Maulvis we knew who took no salaries and sang the calls to prayer visited foreign countries and returned. Their friends from Pakistan and the Middle East began visiting and staying in their homes. They held lavish feasts for them complete with mutton and beef. The smell of Marijuana in their curries filled our senses and wafted through our winds.
No one was interested in asking how such changes in thought occurred.
I can see clearly in front of my eyes all those who shamelessly played and won the politics of arguing that if the Sinhalese ‘culture’ can change and they wear the seethai we can wear the abaya too. How come our ‘cultural’ practice is ‘terrorist’, they asked.
All those who didn’t notice such small extremisms taking root in our society and even those who spoke from a humanitarian perspective about Islamophobia in th post 9/11 world are all responsible for the political situation that Muslims in Sri Lanka are in today.
All those who branded everyone who spoke up against Islamist terrorism as being stooges of the west and those who remained silent as those who wrote and spoke the truth were choked and humiliated on social media and in real life are responsible for this current plight.
Now we are drowning in this flood. It is time to change the stage upon which this drama occurs.
Sri Lankan Muslim responses to the recent carnage can be divided into three kinds:
1. Escapism
2. Blaming
3. Fear for the future
All of us as Sri Lankan Muslims have begun crying hoarse about terrorism. This emerges from a escapist fear.
To say that those who perpetrated the violence are terrorist, they must be punished, aren’t Muslims at all and that Islam does not preach violence emerges from an emotional state of blaming and escapism.
Muslims have been forced to become those who adapt to the world and times around them and declare that all terrorists must be punished and that they have no religion.
Each one of you must ask yourselves if you have expressed your opinion against previous instances of terrorist thought and actions. Silence is complicity. All those who are speaking of inter-faith peace and unity now, irresponsibly ignored extremist Islamic thought on social media for years. They dismissed it as rants of some mad man. Today you want terrorists killed.
Although there were many opportunities to nip such thoughts in the bud, you did not do so. Now that the knife is at your throat you are crying hoarse that terrorism must be defeated and there is no room for violence in Islam. When more and more religious schools were established, abayas and other masks took root as default symbols of our ‘culture’ you recognised them as changes to our ‘culture’ and accepted them. Today those same people who brought these so-called changes to our ‘culture’ are fighting their war for deen and now you oppose them. Is that not hypocrisy. Imagine how much we can assuage and justify our actions and inactions by undertaking baseless investigations by ourselves and declaring that the government is responsible or that there is a foreign hand. Why are we afraid to honestly look at what made our youth the puppets of state and foreign influences?
I know many of your will not see this post as being one in good taste. I know you will pour out your helplessness, anger and frustration with the usual harangue about me being a traitor and stooge.
These truths are bitter like medicine. If we want to rid ourself of this illness commence treatment now. Identify our sickness and heal from it. You can either treat your sickness or walk the world as if you are well. The choice is yours.
rbh / April 29, 2019
Silence is complicity
This post should have been posted long before why was it silence to step up for corrective action, and to explore the environment
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Ethel Nanayakkara / April 29, 2019
But never too late! I applaud Sharmila Sayyid for her responsible writing and initiating a call to her Muslim brethren and sisters to rise up against practices which isolate you from the community in which we live. Religious practices are often man made. God is love. Love harms no one; is patient; is tolerant; is respectful of others and their beliefs and values; love is compassionate; is kind to others.
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Amarasiri / April 30, 2019
Dear Ms, Sharmila Seyyid,
RE: Easter Sunday Massacre: Reflection Of Long Time Silence
Thank you for your eye-witness reporting. Yes, there was silence from the general Muslim community, when the Wahhabi-Salafies were multiplying with Wahhabi Saudi money, to get the Muslims to follow the Satan, per Hadith of Najd.
Are the silent Sri Lankan Muslims happy now? Are the Authorities happy now?
There was silence when the Wahhabi Satanists attacked the Sufis, Shia and the Ahmadi Muslims. Lat week they attacked the Christians and the tourists.
Silence, Silence, Silence, ……..
Scholar from al-Azhar: Wahhabism is a Satanic Faith, the Horn of the Devil that Muhammad Predicted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UDy_apXW3E
“First they, Wahhabies, came for the Sufis, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Sufi,”
“Then they, Wahhabies, came for the Shia, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Shia,”
“Then they, Wahhabies, came for the Ahmedia , and I did not speak out—because I was not a Ahmedia,”
“Then they, Wahhabies, came for the Christians and there was no one left to speak for me”
Martin Niemöller
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Niemöller
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (German: [ˈniːmœlɐ]; 14 January 1892 – 6 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the 1930s and for his widely quoted poem “First they came …” The poem has many different versions, one of which begins “First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Communist,” and concludes, “Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
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Ahmad Nadvi / April 29, 2019
Dear Ms. Seyyid!
Simple and precise.
The ball is at our pitch. Play the game according to the common rules of the game. Or else you would, ( oh you are supposed to be very busy with your Virgins in the Paradise of your version) the innocent people may face the bitter consequences. However, I’m confident that the decent citizens of Sri Lanka are capable of differentiating the ordinary Muslims and these sick minded people of the (human)society.
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Amarasiri / April 29, 2019
Ahmed Nadavi,
The sick minded people, are those who broke the TVs, broke the TV antennas, introduced the Abayas, learn only the Quran, memorize the Quran , and they are called Wahhabi-Salafis? Who follow the Satan, per prescient Hadith of Najd.
They are the people who attack the Sufis, Shia and Ahmedia.
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ekelbroom / April 29, 2019
Part A
“Why are we afraid to honestly look at what made our youth the puppets of state and foreign influences?” Excellent question, sister.
When the anti-Muslim agitations began in or around 2012-13, the spontaneous reaction of the Muslims was to blame the then Government totally. Despite a handful of Muslims urging their brethren to ‘look at themselves in the mirror’, the community by and large could not tolerate the idea that they too may have inadvertently contributed to the deteriorating relations between themselves and the Buddhists.
You must have heard of the ancient Navajo proverb ‘You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep’. This means that people will act as if nothing is happening when they don’t want to face the reality of the situation by pretending to be unaware or unsure despite being presented with the evidence.
You have exposed the fact that the Muslim community chose to fall asleep rather than face up to reality as frightening as it may seem.
However, there is another group of key players who also chose to turn a blind eye to what was happening – the association of Islamic Scholars known as the ACJU. Ironically as the young (mainly) men of the Muslim community became more ‘radicalized’ since 2002, there was a concomitant growth in the religious conservatism and orthodoxy demonstrated by our Ulemas, who began arrogating to themselves the roles of ‘clerical leaders’ and ‘enforcers’ instead of confining themselves to their traditional role of being ‘advisors’ and ‘guides’ to the community.
With a network of over 135 branches Islandwide including 25 in the Eastern Province (the hotbed), it is extremely strange that the ACJU failed to pick up the signals of radicalization among the youth. Or it did so, but chose not to do anything about it.
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ekelbroom / April 29, 2019
Part B
On the 23rd of September 2016, the Chief of the ACJU at a Jummah sermon reminded the faithful that the Nikab is obligatory for females, something that even the Holy Quran or the Traditions does not mention. The ACJU had previously issued Fatwa No : 008/F/ACJU/2009 on this subject, which in conclusion stated “However, in the context of the present situation, where immorality is widespread; and the fact that the face of woman is the main cause of attraction, it will be incumbent upon women to cover the whole body, including the face and the wrists.” There was not a whimper of protest from the Muslim masses. This same Chief had to eat humble pie today Monday 29th April 2019.
If the ACJU claim that they were totally oblivious to the changes that were taking place among the youth of the community, then they have failed miserably to discharge their duties as responsible Ulemas.
Was the ACJU an integral part of the grand plan to ‘Arabise’ the Muslim community ? The writer claims that the first signs of radicalisation emerged around 2002. Did not the current Chief of the ACJU also assume office somewhere around this time and has stubbornly stuck to this post since then ?
It is time for a renaissance among Muslim Sri Lankans. We need fresh thinkers. We need lateral thinkers. We need to ensure that benefits accrue to our community by incorporating the knowledge, wisdom, skills and views of our Muslim sisters who constitute 50% of our intellectual capital. We need to be advised and guided by progressive scholars who are willing to take cognisance of the need to interpret Islamic laws in accordance with changing social, economic, technological and religious dimensions of a non-Muslim majority country.
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Rajan Hoole / April 29, 2019
Dear Sharmila,
I first visited your village in early 1991 as part of UTHR (J)’s effort to report on the massacre of Muslim civilians by the LTTE in August 1990 and the reprisal massacre of Tamils in Chenkalady and Eravur by Muslim Home Guards set up and backed by the Army. In addition to the two villages that were entwined with one another, it broke up what should have been one first rate university for the East into two universities endlessly struggling to find their feet. One felt that things would not be the same again. The isolation of Muslims in the East through the machinations of the State against the Tamils in the East from 1984 and those of a Tamil nationalism gone mad, are a forgotten aspect of the recent tragedy.
Dr. Rajani Thiranagama, who was killed too early for you to have known her, will be very proud of the stand you have taken personally. Such questions must be posed and answered not only by the Muslim community but by all the communities in this country that have allowed violent ideologies to take root within. If you do not know them, I am sure Rajani’s daughters Narmada and Sharika would be most happy to meet you.
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ramona therese fernando / April 29, 2019
The Islamic scriptures are impossible to interpret because Islam is of, for and by the Bedouin people. After the shock and horror of new cultures, the prophet tried to assimilate his religion with other environs and cultures. But coming from harsh desert culture, the fixated time of childhood and youth was impossible to overcome. The religion of peace in only a small circle in the Venn diagram of Islam; the Jihadi principal its core. And there’s no telling where the lines of heaven and hell are.
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edwin rodrigo / April 29, 2019
I consider all religions to be be bad. But Islam takes the cake for being the most backward, the most stuoid and the most intolerant religion in the world.
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SJ / May 1, 2019
Have you exhaustively studied all religions?
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SJ / May 1, 2019
What made the Muslim youth resort to this senseless violence is not very different from what led the Tamil youth to join militant groups, including the LTTE.
The leaders had lost all credibility.
Every Muslim political leader held fast to his post even after the community was repeatedly attacked and humiliated.
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Amarasiri / May 1, 2019
SJ,
What made the Tamil youth to take up arms and join the LTTE is because of Sinhala Buddhist discrimination, because the Sinhala Buddhists Didn’t follow the Pristine Buddhism., and it was confined Only to Sri Lanka, and not an ideology.
For the Wahhabi-Salafies, it is a Satanic Ideology, which many Muslims fell into. Just Google, Hadith of Najd, and read it.
The thrust of the Wahhab-Salafies is Monotheism, which, according to Islamic Theology, the Satan, Iblis also believes in. The Wahhabi -Salafies follow Satan, per Hadith of Najd.
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SJ / May 2, 2019
Amarasiri
The Tamil youth did not resort to arms until the FP (later TNA) lost all credibility.
There had been Tamil youth (not many) who dreamed of a Tamil state even before 1976.
1983 July was a turning point, when all Tamil leaders ran away.
*
The Muslims have been the target of communal attacks for very long.
There were a few incidents in the 1970s, but quickly controlled.
There is no denying the undercurrent of anti-Muslim feeling among the Sinhalese that grew since the 1970s but surged in this century.
*
Mawanella 2002 marked a fresh start. Then there was the spate of attacks om Muslim businesses, insulting Islam, name calling of Muslim men and women and bullying in public places.
Then came the fuss about ‘Halal’.
Aluthgama 2014 was a the most serious single incident and was followed by other attacks.
More recently things happened in Ampara and Kandy.
The government effectively sides with the culprits and what do Muslim politicians do? They side with the government to save their posts.
Can the Muslims trust their leaders?
*
Salafi-Whahabi agents initially targeted Muslim ‘deviants’ from the ‘true faith’. Kalmunai region was notorious. But the pressure existed elsewhere as well.
Attraction to senseless violence is the outcome of utter frustration.
The tragedy of the Muslim community is that it has no trustworthy leadership.
(Something not far different from that of the Tamil community in the 1970s.)
When it is all talk and no action by leaders.
Some resort to action without much thought. They are taken advantage of by mischief makers.
India did it in 1978-1987.
The ISIS (and perhaps a state that still sponsors it as well) has been doing it since early this Century.
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Lasantha Pethiyagoda / April 29, 2019
I can see the kind of thing the author is trying to drive at; however, failure at the level of ordinary citizens cannot be held against the people of Sri Lanka. The duty of protecting the people and ensuring that radicalisation and violence do not damage society and daily life is a core responsibility of government.
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Thanga / April 29, 2019
As Muslim scholar, JaafarSheikh claims “Secularism cannot be a solution for countries with a Muslim majority or even a sizeable minority, for it requires people to replace their God-given beliefs with an entirely different set of man-made beliefs. Separation of religion and state is not an option for Muslims because it requires us to abandon Allah’s decree for that of man.” Furthermore, as we have seen, Islam insists on territorial sovereignty and does not distinguish between theology and politics, political cult. Strictly speaking, Islam is not a religion, it is a political cult. Quran declares war on other religions by claiming “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the last Messenger.” With this declaration, Islam ditches the concept of secularism. That is, if you don’t believe in Allah then you are a kafit/infidel. That is why no country with a Muslim majority or even a sizeable minority practices secularism, for it requires people to replace their God-given beliefs with an entirely different set of man-made beliefs. Separation of religion and state is not an option for Muslims because it requires abandoning Allah’s decree for that of man. What we see at Katankudi is that propensity to violence is not an aberration but an intrinsic element of the Islamic faith. Islam promises paradise for martyrs and jihadis killed in battle (Koran 3: 157), thus within 700 years of Muslim occupation of India Hindus were converted to Islam largely by the sword. As a result, we now have not one but two majority Islamic states carved out of India. The word Muslim Means “one who has submitted him/her to the will to Allah, but in practice, we don’t see that. Islam is intolerant of other faiths.
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CaliphateCyst / April 29, 2019
Sad to read this. It seems like the days of the JVP Sinhala extremist terror which forbade TV or short skirts or even in places like Galagedera where they were very active, forbidding the lifting of a coffin above knee level. There was a lot of class envy in that I think.
The start was the attacks on the moderate Sufi churches too. People ignored it by saying it was “an internal matter” . There were reports of clashes between mosques in other places. Definitely in Kattankudy Arabification was rapid, long before 2015. But How the radical terrorist extremists got such a lot of funding without questions being asked is astounding. How did a tin shack of the NJT become a sprawlin huge mosque in 2 years?
I think politically correct liberal people ignored it lest they be accused of being racists. Politicians ignored it or wooed it for VOTES. Other politicians covered up for them or possibly has terrorist links. These people need to be wiped out;erased because their muslim ideology hates and wants to kill everyone who is not like them. So no wasting time bringing them to a civil western law bases court system. No amount of reasoning will work. MP Wijedasa Rajapakse was accused of breaking “sanhindiyaawa/reconciliation” and being a bigot when he spoke intelligence information base facts. Managala Samaraweera and Mujibur Rahman accused him. Now we know those were data driven FACTS. Wipe them out and blow up their properties.
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Real Revolutionist / April 29, 2019
Sharmila Seyyid
Appreciate your bravery.
Brain washed Muslims, especially men must be rehabilitated.
An office to help Muslim women to free from male dominance must be set up.
HRCSL is an almost non functional body under its present head, who is dancing to the beat of discriminative Muslim men & may be to politicians’ too.
It’s good to teach languages like Hindi, Japanese, French, German in addition to Sinhala, Tamil & English in our schools instead of Arabic.
Teaching martial arts for Muslim girls (& other girls as well) will be helpful to develop their resisting power against discriminative requests from religion & males.
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Pygmalion / April 29, 2019
Edwin.
You have said a mouthful;
Can I BUY YOU SOMETHING?
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Rajan Hoole / April 29, 2019
I take up the points made by ekel broom above, which merit careful reading. Sources on whom I have placed reliance for many years are convinced that a large part of the problem of extremism stems from Sri Lanka not being a secular state, where with varying degrees of severity religious clerics not just offer, but try to enforce their gratuitous advice on women, on how they must dress and behave. They point their finger at ACJU for not just promoting the ideology of extremism, but also of knowing the extremists well and what they intended. Muslim politicians (like their Tamil counterparts) are reluctant to cross the extremists for fear of loss of votes, threats or other inconveniences, and some leading politicians, as CT for example has pointed out, have associated closely with them.
Ordinary Muslims had sent several urgent messages to the Government about the impending danger but, they say, leading Muslim politicians persuaded the Government not to act by playing down the extent of the threat.
These sources point out that the way to control a community is through controlling the women, and that is what the ACJU does. They pointed out the similarity to the LTTE, which when it was useful, used women as suicide bombers and otherwise regarded them as mere breeders of fighters.
They blame the Government for reinforcing the extremist stranglehold by treating the self-imposed, male-monopolised ACJU as the principal Muslim representatives and ignoring those like Sharmila whom they persecute – rather like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.
They contend that unlike Tamil leaders who were treated severely in such circumstances, there is evidently no investigation into the bank accounts, expenses or movements of Muslim politicians named in connection with extremist activity.
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Socrates / April 30, 2019
The civilizational responsibility of unbelievers, non believers and non Muslims on whom the Muslims depend like parasites for their existence is to phase out Islam with least physical damage to the brainwashed. This latter requirement is a serious constraint that will prolong the processes into a couple of centuries. However it is imperative that we stick to our ethical standards in this long drawn out struggle. The brainwashed should not be hated but deserve our kind consideration while of course safeguarding our life and limb.
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Qadri Ismail / April 30, 2019
ms sayyid:
your arguments displays the intelligence, nuance and, most of all, courage that our male intellectuals lack overwhelmingly.
more power to you!
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Real Revolutionist / April 30, 2019
Qadry Ismail
Wonder whether sb is kissing the hands that can’t be cut.
Well, take it easy & let me say that intellectuals aren’t fond of religions as they have their own strong thoughts undeterred by any religion.
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sinhalese buddhist / April 30, 2019
Thank you Ms. Sayyed. If a relative of the prophet says this, I hope others will listen.
I hope the various civil society groups that blame the Sinhalese Buddhists for all that is wrong with our society will also reflect and recognize their own complicity in silencing some of the voices that were trying to bring attention to the militarizing of the muslims.
All of us are partly responsible for the militarizing of muslims and Tamils. However the muslims still have the opportunity to prevent further militarization of muslims – unlike the Tamils who failed – thanks to India and an ignorant West. These 2 got hoodwinked by the early Tamil LTTE supporters, who helped kill off moderate Tamils and buy over and intimidate the Tamil intellectuals.
Don’t go down the path that Tamils have gone. Take this catastrophe as a call to action to wrest back the control of the muslim community and children’s education from Arab militants.
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Lankan 9 / April 30, 2019
Western weapons factories need to produce weapons to do business. otherwise, they will lost jobs and money.. As long as people in third world countries fight for tribe, religion, lands, and for any other political power, these companies will be happy and they will create experts of extremism.. one by one we will see trouble in many third world countries. so, do not blame them but blame people of third world countries. This is nothing but a fake drama. ISIS is creation of some agent in the world. humanity will see the outcome soon.
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kali / April 30, 2019
Sharmila
These truths are bitter like medicine. If we want to rid ourself of this illness commence treatment now. Identify our sickness and heal from it. You can either treat your sickness or walk the world as if you are well. The choice is yours..
*** I agree prevention is better than cure. There may be an illness but there is no treatment and all that is on offer is amputation . It is the mind playing up and in an environment of hatred and dismembering by the Majority where are you going to find treatment. No where and I am afraid more of the same. I know this from experience and Bagdadi is speaking direct to Sri Lankan Muslims and you all know that when you are radicalised you will kill even with a knife as happens here in the UK. MR & Gotha will make it worse . Sinkalams are the cause of Mothere of all evils in Lanka .
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Pradeep K. / April 30, 2019
Ms Syed,
Hats offs for your candid views ,insight , as CT readers welcome your post.
Believe and practice of one ‘s religion it should lead to moral and spiritual development.
long beards or dress code denoting religious beliefs does not go to prove anything !! that one is a better human than the other. No one has received a certificate of good conduct from Heaven.
Lets hope wisdom and common sense will prevail leading to peace , tolerance and progress.
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Peace lover / April 30, 2019
A few years back I heard one Sharmila Syed, poet from eastern province, fled from Srilanka due to threats she faced from some religious extremists. Now I am delighted to see that she is safe and happy.
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whywhy / April 30, 2019
The day is not too distant that all Muslims who go to Mosque five times a day
will be all called Extremists ! That is exactly where all fingers will one day point
at ! Normally Jews gather one day that is Saturday , Christians Sunday and
Srilankan Buddhists rarely Sundays and Poya Days ! I won’t wonder when that
happens because it is from this point onward that the journey to all other
directions start . Tablighi Jamath is one clear example of catching its followers
from the Mosque goers . What’s Tablighi mission ? Wikepedia explains it , how
they see Tablighi ! My assumption is , it is Tablighi that introduced Abhaya for
women and Tablighi men started with knee length largely loose khameze and
Sarong above the ankle , about two inches above , exhibiting that they are
dedicated men of the organization ! All were welcome but dedicated men stand
out with this dress code . And some men even went to the extent of Arab white robe !
Most rich men and professionals of all sorts joined or persuaded to join this or that
club of organizations to show off their level of piety towards the religion . But in
real life none of them were truly pious and this created a space for a more radical
outfit . Tablighi from India , Jamaat-e-Islami from Pakistan and finally in the name of
Tawheed Jamat possibly from Arab funding through India or direct ! They all were
directly or indirectly involved in pressurizing ordinary Muslims to come in line with
Arab culture in order to be a PERFECT Muslim , a mission even prophet Mohamed
couldn’t achieve in his lifetime ! And also it must be said that whatever was happening
in the Muslim community , it had been purely inside the community until Easter attack.
Wealthy men involved in religious matters date back to the beginning of Tablighi and it
is nothing new .
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chiv / May 1, 2019
Politics and religion together has been converted to WMD.They both supposedly had a purpose until last few decades or so. But gradually criminal minded politicians started exploiting religion for their own purposes. Same with religion too. The so called scholars who are bed partners of politicians came up with extremism and intolerance, which were forcibly shoved into followers. What was norm,accepted and practiced for years were gradually labeled as sins.The so called scholars and religious heads are absolute hypocrites who do not even practice what they force on others.The churches where children were abused, Buddhist monks who incited violence, Muslims who preached hatred and violence, Temples where cast/class discrimination is actively promoted and finances abused , and all this in the name of religion.Now the criminals (politicians and religious heads) have found suitable partners in each other they are exploiting the public together as a team..Just see in Lanka, politicians are seen more often seen in religious/worship places and religious heads are found more often with politicians and neither have time for public other than preaching SHIT . Politicians visiting religious sites more than public, election canvasses initiated in religious sites, in US churches are actively campaigning for politicians during elections, politicians needing blessings to conduct criminal activities, violence and hatred preached in mosques, illegal money being transfered between both entitites—–etc. To make things worse at least people in other countries do tend to question irrationality and certain abuses where in Lanka either people are in DENIAL or ignorant, many are enablers and proxies for either party and that why we have been F- – — D thrice. (not blessed JVP,LTTE and ISIS.)World is concerned of Nuclear arms and Environment without realizing, this mess/WMD has already destroyed many countries.
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chiv / May 1, 2019
Politics and religion together has been converted to WMD.They both supposedly had a purpose until last few decades or so. But gradually criminal minded politicians started exploiting religion for their own purposes. Same with religion too. The so called scholars who are bed partners of politicians came up with extremism and intolerance, which were forcibly shoved into followers. What was norm,accepted and practiced for years were gradually labeled as sins.The so called scholars and religious heads are absolute hypocrites who do not even practice what they force on others.The churches where children were abused, Buddhist monks who incited violence, Muslims who preached hatred and violence, Temples where cast/class discrimination is actively promoted and finances abused , and all this in the name of religion.Now the criminals (politicians and religious heads) have found suitable partners in each other they are exploiting the public together as a team..Just see in Lanka, politicians are seen more often seen in religious/worship places and religious heads are found more often with politicians and neither have time for public other than preaching SHIT . Politicians visiting religious sites more than public, election canvasses initiated in religious sites, in US churches are actively campaigning for politicians during elections, politicians needing blessings to conduct criminal activities, violence and hatred preached in mosques, illegal money being transferred between both entities—–etc. To make things worse at least people in other countries do tend to question irrationality and certain abuses where in Lanka either people are in DENIAL or ignorant, many are enablers and proxies for either party and that why we have been F- – — D thrice. (not blessed JVP, LTTE and ISIS.)World is concerned of Nuclear arms and Environment without realizing, this mess/WMD has already destroyed many countries.Wake Up retards.
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K.Pillai / May 1, 2019
Thank you Sharmila Seyyid for the thought provoking article. The ‘Reflection Of Long Time Silence’ starts from 2002.
One must look further down the tract. In the mid forties the seed of language-divide was sown. It grew into the language/religion-divide. The ACJU used the MMDA1950 to garner power/hold. ACJU is in a position to influence Lankan Muslim leaders and businesses. The writing on the wall was ignored.
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As to responsibility for the 2019 Easter Sunday, successive GoSL must share the blame.
The dire need is ‘reconciliation’ and soul searching.
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Plato. / May 2, 2019
With no personal animosity to the essayist, I am afraid that Islamic Terror could outlive the LTTE Terror, not withstanding those who genuinely or otherwise hold a brief against it.
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