28 March, 2024

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Media Coverage Of Easter Sunday Carnage: Inflamed Hatred & Contributed To Attacks On Muslims

By Latheef Farook

Latheef Farook

Sri Lanka’s mainstream media has traditionally been indifferent towards Muslim issues.On international affairs the local mainstream media has been depending on the western media which remains integral part of US-European and Israeli war machines destroying Muslim countries.

Thus the local media has been brainwashed to think on the lines of western media propaganda. This was clearly demonstrated in the coverage of Easter Sunday bombings and massacres.

The coverage blatantly provoked non-Muslims against the Muslim community. Country is passing through the worst ever political and economic crisis and in the midst came the Easter Sunday carnage due to the failure of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the intelligence agents to prevent it for reasons better known to the three.

Therefore this is the time that the island’s mainstream media need to make its contribution to help bring the chaotic situation under control. Instead, mainstream media went into full swing demonizing Islam and describing every Muslim a terrorist inflaming hatred towards Muslims.

The island’s Muslim and Christian communities were living in peace and harmony. There was no conflict between them. However the two communities, both minorities, were subjected to periodic violent attacks on them by Sinhala racists, for no valid reason, often with government patronage.

This was the reason why, even today, no Muslim could understand why these lunatics who call themselves Muslims bombed churches, hotels and killed innocent people. 

Meanwhile many speculate that it is highly unlikely that these few bombers got the capacity to commit such a sophisticated attack within 20 minutes. The carnage began at 8.45 and was completed at 9.05. Thus within 20 minutes everything changed in the country

Leader of the House Minister Lakshman Kiriella said this cannot be done without foreign involvement.  

Many suspect that the carnage has all the hallmarks of US intelligence CIA and Israeli’s killing machine Mossad’s hand as it happened in the case of the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York. Though Al Qaeda was accused of bombing WTC, later it was proved that it was the joint work of US intelligence and Mossad to justify the invasion and destruction of Afghanistan.

This disaster was exploited by US-Europe and Israel to associate violence with Islam and started using the slogan Islamic terrorism. Western media went to town selling this deceptive slogan.

According to The Island newspaper on Wednesday 15 May 2019 Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith had said that the Easter Sunday attacks were the work some misguided local youths used by an international group to carry out multiple attacks. He also said ISIS is part of US war program.  He explained, how united States manipulate and create wars only to sell weapons, destabilize and loot countries

Here in the island too many suspect that Easter Sunday bombings were the work of United States and Israel as destabilizing the island is of great benefit to them in the context of the rivalry between China and the US European-Israel -Indian axis. 

The slogan Islamic terrorism was exploited by the local media mercenaries. They brought this slogan in full swing in the wake of Easter Sunday massacre to sow hatred towards Muslims in the island 

As part of this conspiracy mainstream media started accusing ISIS of involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks not realizing that the ISIS is a US-Israeli creation to justify their wars on Muslim countries.

I wrote an article on 3 January 2015, explaining in detail how US equipped, Mossed trained and Saudi funded ISIS was established during the destruction of Syria to demonize Islam and divide Middle East into small states to ensure Israel’s supremacy in the region.

I sent the article to local media. However none published it. Today this very same ISIS is accused of involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.  

President Sirisena could have acted swiftly to curtail this hate campaign in the media against Muslims. However he had failed to do so. After all it was under his watchful eyes Muslims were attacked in Gintota, Ampara, Digana, Akurana and the surrounding areas in March 2018 and the perpetrators taken to custody are yet to be brought to book.

Studying the coverage of the Easter Sunday massacre one was compelled to conclude that the island’s media was briefed and prepared in advance by powerful forces which were behind the carnage to demonize Muslims as violent people. 

Meanwhile the Easter Sunday massacre was reported to have been committed by a handful of people. The question is what the entire community has got to do with these individuals. Why bring their religion Islam into this carnage? Why unleash violence against Muslim community which has already suffered immense due to racist politics since independence in 1948. 

However no local media raised any such question. This was expected from the time former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the present President Sirisena wide opened the country for Israel after which violent attacks on Muslims began on a hitherto unknown scale.

This is the sickening state of affairs under Maithri-Ranil government which ended up as disaster for the country in general and Muslim in particular.

Shameful state of affairs of the media coverage made The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) and the Free Media Movement (FMM) to organize a panel discussion on “Reporting Sensitive Incidents” on Friday May 3.

A press release from the SLPI stated that the speakers shared their views on the need for responsible journalism during the prevailing situation in the country and emphasized on the importance of balanced and ethical reporting, and the need to avoid a competitive attitude to release news, while reporting accurately. It was noted that this was very sensitive a time   as there are communities which are impacted, victimized and made vulnerable by the recent events  

However today the media had done tremendous damage to sow hatred towards Muslims. For three long weeks after the carnage Muslim houses and business establishments were emptied of their even kitchen knives under search operations using emergency regulations. Once Muslims were disarmed   organized racist thugs unleashed violence against Muslims since Monday 13 May. According to unconfirmed reports around 35 Muslim villages were destroyed in the Kurunegala district.

Gangsters set fire to houses, mosques, business establishments, factories and other such places aimed at crippling Muslim economy during curfew hours. This was done under the watchful eyes and the cooperation of security forces.

 They started attacking from Chilaw and North Western province before spreading to Gampaha and Kurunegala districts. This is the Holy Month of Ramadan and the fasting Muslims were forced to flee to nearby jungles and paddy fields to protect themselves. Muslims all over the island were collecting food aid to meet the immediate demands of these victims.

However the shameful state of affairs was such that the media which continued to highlight the findings of even kitchen knives from Muslim houses for three to four days failed to produce pictures of burning mosques, Muslim houses, business establishments and the like. Even pictures of mob and police dragging a battered Muslim man in the street and burning Muslim villages, were of no news value to the bankrupt local media.  

The irony is that these shameful crimes were reported to have committed under the watchful eyes of security forces during curfew hours in the country. This was the disgraceful and disgusting state of affairs of the island’s mainstream media which has sold its soul to local racists, regional and western war mongers.

Knowing very well the security situation and the plight of the unarmed and innocent Muslim community, President Sirisena left the island to China on the same day to attend the Asian Civilization dialogue Conference in Beijing. Violence against Muslims began the day President left to China.

Will the country be same again? 

Will the traditionally peaceful Muslims who have lost faith in the government and the forces will be peaceful again? However Sri Lanka will not be the same country as it was on 20 April 2019.

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Latest comments

  • 1
    6

    Shame…shame…shame… to be a Sinhalese Buddhist in this thrice visited land of Lord Buddha. There is no genuine Buddhism in this country anymore… The God’s above are watching, helplessly.
    Lets see what action the tough talking Commander of the Army is going to take against the willful default of his men…

    • 11
      1

      Latif Farook,
      You do a great dis-service to your own community and more ammunition to ghouls like “Jay Chambers” when you trot out fanciful theories, blaming the CIA, Israel and all else but Muslims for the Easter Sunday terror. You seem to operate on the same level as those “Sinhala Buddhists” who are currently accusing Muslims of organising attacks on themselves.
      It is perfectly true that the West radicalizd Muslims by creating Israel on Arab land, and the US took it to another level by creating the (then ) “heroic” mujahideen in Afghanistan. One of whom happened to to be Osama bin Laden. It is also true that Western media is blatantly one sided, like ours.
      But the fact is that the bombers WERE Muslims. It could be that they were radicalized by Western actions in Syria, Libya, etc. but that does not change the fact that they were local.
      Therefore it is the responsibility of seniors in your community, like yourself, not to indulge in buck-passing. You ought instead to look inward and question why the community has become increasingly conservative and fundamentalist, and intolerant to even other Islamic sects. Ok, maybe the West makes it worse by stupid murderous actions, but does growing long beards ,wearing Arab robes, covering women in black do anything other than isolate Muslims from the other communities?
      I am not accusing all Muslims of being terrorists. But why go around dressed like terrorists? You will only fall prey to the Sinhala Buddhist terrorists who are currently on a roll.

      • 4
        0

        It must be the first time in the history of the world that the US and Israeli intelligence services have used suicide bombers. the despicable Muslims who blew themselves up to kill innocent Christians must the the most stupid people in the solar system to do it on behalf of their enemies. Please come out with some more convincing theory.

      • 6
        0

        Muslim propaganda machine is at full swing to cover up the truth, blaming each and every one other than Muslims for this carnage. For a very long time Pakistan intelligence agency had been with Muslims in eastern province fomenting hatred towards Tamils. Sinhala politicians ignored this as they wanted to give trouble to Tamils. To say that US/European/Israel agents are the cause is far from the truth. Several Muslim extremist groups were funded by government to harass Tamils. Despite several complains about clandestine activity by Muslims no action was taken and police was asked not to entertain complains. Hate preachers form abroad were allowed to come in to work in mosques and madarasas. As long as all these are taking place in Tamil areas, it was OK for the government. Even now if the churches in north and east were bombed killing Tamils government would have been silent. Unfortunately Muslim terrorists were cocky and had other ideas and have got into trouble by killing Sinhalese and damaging the economy. There are several Muslim politicians, businessmen and professionals who had actively been a part of these terror groups and have not been arrested due to interference of politicians from both government and opposition. So please stop accusing others.

      • 7
        0

        In Sri Lanka the spread of wahabbism is proof that the Muslim community over all has an agenda to take over the island. If they were truly patriotic and tolerant of diversity. They would never have allowed that Saudi culture to gain a foothold on the island. Nothing more needs to be said. The proof is right there to see

    • 1
      0

      Aisha, go back to playing with your dolls instead of criticizing other religions.

    • 1
      0

      Kalu nangi you are probably standing on your tail!
      Even the author seems intent on diverting the blame on some one else(media) rather than accept the facts.
      For nearly three weeks there was no violent reaction from any body to the Easter attacks except for the disgust expressed for the callous neglect and inaction of the officials and the politicians.
      What happened during the past week was, as usual, are of political design to divert attention for which many seems to have fallen including “Kalu nangi”

  • 5
    3

    With the usual nonsensical arguments, another Ph.D. holder from the Moslem Fanatics University of Taqqia (deception) has written mumbo jumbo about inflaming hatred. After seeing the gore and hell of Easter Sunday, the Lankan non -Moslems and especially the Catholics and Christians should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the exemplary restraint they mustered. And now Moslem zealots, holding doctorates in Taqqia Deception are coming out of the woodworks to talk about hatred.

    No human can be blamed for hating the Jihadi Moslem fanatics of Easter Sunday and the hundreds of thousands of other Moslems who secretly celebrated in their homes watching on TV the gore and the blood like cannibals salivating after human flesh and praising the heavens.

    Lankans, do not be deterred by their deception. They are the same ones who engineered the holocaust of the Jewish people by advising Germans to resort to the mass killing tactics and killed 6 million Jews by proxy. Beware of this Satan, he has touched your land, your flesh. And the Satan is still hungry. More feastings will happen, they may have nerve gas stockpiles in Eastern Lanka that can kill by the tens of thousands. Beware but also be brave too. Fight to the last if you have to, for you are fighting the Devil himself.

    • 0
      3

      Believe me, Chambers, the stink of the mindless hatred that comes out of your rear end is even worse than nerve gas.

    • 1
      2

      Chamberpot
      Haven’t you been able to get any Musl children yet?

  • 6
    0

    Latiff Farook

    Rights To Information or RTI, as popularly known in Sri Lanka, media coverage is vital for people to know what’s happening.

    So we must be thankful for media for giving full coverage for the massacre & exposing Muslim madness to the world.

    Why do Muslims expect non-Muslims, not to cultivate hatred after committing such a carnage when it’s a common practice for Muslims to promote rivalry according to their religion.

    How can Muslims be called unarmed innocents when loads of weapons found in their religious places as well.

    Muslims must be thankful for non Muslims for not acting violently against Muslims after carrying out such a crime & it is observed that recent attack on Muslims has come through a politically motivated group to strengthen the false charge on innocent Sri Lankans who are unfairly labelled as racist.

    It’s good for Muslim people to find ways to make alterations to their lifestyle, to be compatible with other communities without writing nonsense to media.

  • 5
    0

    “Media Coverage Of Easter Sunday Carnage: Inflamed Hatred & Contributed To Attacks On Muslims”.
    [
    VERY GOOD!

  • 0
    4

    Jay Chambers,
    From what chamber did your mother drop you into this world? Was it a drop during late night while she sat on a king’s throne? “More feastings will happen” when we flush out you worthless shit like you from this planet.

    • 0
      0

      Chambers was not born. He was produced in a test tube by a Lesbian mother with input from a Muslim donor. That’s why he’s so bitter.

  • 4
    0

    It is a very normal, human reaction to take revenge. what is exceptional is when people turn the other cheek. The Muslim terrorists are the ones who played with the lives of the other Muslims. Blame them not the Sinhalese.

    • 0
      0

      Leslie,
      “It is a very normal, human reaction to take revenge. what is exceptional is when people turn the other cheek.”
      Most of the people killed were Tamils. Three weeks later, mobs of Sinhala Buddhists take revenge on behalf of Tamil Christians. Do you think that is normal or human?

  • 2
    0

    Why blame the Media for letting the truth open to public? Closing one’s will not make the world vanish in thin air. Take some guts and blame those behind the perpetrators of these most heinous crimes and distance them from public supporting them at elections. Cowards can never dare to speak for truth and fight for the rights. The 72 years of Independent Lanka has brought forward cowards who have no Political will and courage to do nly the right.

    When Drug peddlers and butterfly businessmen rule this country, what else can one expect?

  • 3
    0

    Mr. Latheef Farook,

    If the Muslim community genuinely want to integrate with the wider perspective of Sri Lankan society , they need to start dialogue within their circle and shall stop practising at least publicly of the following:

    1) Separate clothes and specifically full body cover using ghost colour of Black, Niqab, Burkha etc.
    2) Separate food type such as Halal forcing up on others.
    3) Separate Sharia Law.
    4) Separate Madrasas.
    5) Loudspeakers for call to prayers.
    6) Considering all others faiths are infidels and Islam is superior.
    7) Stop practising Wahabism, Sufism rather must alienate with Majority Sri Lankan values
    8) Stop showing solidarity with Arabian Peninsula.

    Muslim society must have dialogue as self-criticism to stop all the above practises which are seriously antagonize the majority for over many years.

    As long as you do not give up those practises, your community will continue to antagonize the majority and this problem of looking at your community differently will never stop and problem will remain and most likely scenarion is erupting time and again.

    Therefore, do not try to blame others as almost all the problems are created within your society and hope your society will recognize those honestly and become Sri Lankans after all.

  • 1
    0

    NIMAL!
    Is Buddhism superior to other religion, despite the fact Lord Buddha was to born to Hindu parents?.. Is Buddhism a religion or philosophy? Did Buddha preach a new religion or follow any religion at all? Why was it necessary to Give Buddhism a FORE MOST place in our Constitution? Is it because of the inferiority complex in the Minds of the government or a boru show to the masses?.

    While most of what you say about the Muslim practices may be right, you may also advice the Muslims in the Eastern province not to take mean advantage over the Tamils, just because their leaders are flirting with the government and their Arbian money power/arrogance
    Nimal, you must also advice the government to treat all citizens alike without pin pricks.
    All religious folks must have a process of self criticism ..

  • 2
    1

    Everything you write is always claimed to be fact. ISIS may have been allowed into Syria by the US, but their evil fanaricism is something you FAILED TO CONDEMN. You never event called these Wahabists islamic jihadists but you seem to never be afraid of blaming others for the Arabification/Arabization of Kattankudy and it’s spread. You sir, are a hypocrite

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