By Hilmy Ahamed –
Hilmy Ahamed
The death of a Sri Lankan in Syria, fighting with the IS (Islamic State or Caliphate) also known as ISIS has opened up a new front for extremist elements to target the Muslim community as terrorists or sympathizers of terrorism. Islam forbids taking of innocent lives, and the violence perpetrated by terrorists in the name of Islam is neither Islamic nor humane. Thus the irresponsible action of an individual should not be a reflection of a whole community, as Muslims have been a peaceful and patriotic community in Sri Lanka during their 1200-year history in the country.
Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, the General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, the Bodu Janatha Peramuna (BJP) and candidate for the Kalutara District, has launched his political campaign by once again attacking and branding every Muslim as a terrorist. His clarion call for the Sinhalese to “wake up”, his ominous augury “Abasaranai” to the Muslims in Aluthgama and the hate speech on 15th of June 2014 that led to the riots against the Aluthgama Muslims destroyed the peace that existed between the two communities. Now, his verbal diatribe and racism meant to help him to step in to Parliament, seem to get more vicious and venomous as the symbol for his new party, the cobra. He has now condemned every Muslim Civil, Religious and Political organisation as sponsors of terrorism in Sri Lanka. The media reports of the death of a Sri Lankan following a twisted ideology while fighting with IS (ISIS) has given him the ammunition to call every Muslim a terrorist or sponsor of terrorism. Little does he realize that he is the one who has been unleashing terror against the Muslims and other minorities in Sri Lanka, making him a terrorist as per the definition provided in Wikipedia –Terrorism is commonly defined as violent acts (or the threat of violent acts) intended to create fear (terror), perpetrated for an economic,religious, political, or ideological goal, and which deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (e.g., neutral military personnel or civilians).
His attempts to lay blame on IS or other Muslim extremist groups for the Aluthgama riots clearly exposes his complicity in the Aluthgama violence on June 15th 2014. His detestable oration was a provocative speech full of racist venom in which he asserted that the Police and military were Sinhala and that no Muslim or Tamil or anyone else could harm a Sinhalese and get away with it. “This country still has a Sinhalese Police, this country still has a Sinhalese Army. It will be the end of all if someone at least lays a finger on a Sinhalese”. And now he claims that extremist terrorists from abroad, including IS were behind the destruction of lives and livelihood in Aluthgama and Beruwela.
The IS is a group of terrorists and is a creation of non-Islamic states to destabilize the Middle East and its economy. Elimination of strong Muslim leaders such as Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and the attempted removal of Assad from office are considered the precursor to their dreadful agenda. The IS is a serious threat to Islam and the group violates both Sharia law and humanitarian law. Islam is a religion of mercy, peace and tolerance that totally forbids taking of innocent lives. There is no theological basis for any crime to be committed through terrorism or violence.
The Muslims of Sri Lanka as well as Islamic scholars and Muslim leaders around the world have condemned without any reservation the IS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for failing to respect key tenets of Islam.
The IS has attracted many volunteer fighters, both men and women from all over the world including the USA, Europe, Australia etc. They have joined the IS based on misguided ideology or as mercenaries for monetary and political incentives as large oil reserves in the Middle East are now in the control of the IS. Some of these fanatics have joined IS as part of their fighting force while others have joined humanitarian efforts to assist victims of war.
The Sri Lankan’s death adds another country to the list of nationalities joining this dreaded terrorist organisation. Regretfully, media reports of the first Sri Lankan killed in Syria has afforded the opportunity for racist elements like Ven. Ganansara Thero to rekindle the fear factor on Sri Lankans of a possible threat of terrorism again.
The BBS and Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnansara Thero are considered as the main reason for the defeat of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the January 2015 presidential elections. Now, he seems to unleash the same brand of racism to incite racial tensions amongst the different ethnic communities. Their entrance to Sri Lankan politics needs a platform slogan; the death of a Sri Lankan IS combatant has given him the opportunity to fire from all angles. Little does he realize that the majority of the Sinhala Buddhists did not fall for his racist rhetoric during the last presidential election. A repeat is expected on the 17th of August, 2015.
tinpotjihadi / July 24, 2015
Hilmy, your honest thoughts on following excerpts will be appreciated.
Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight are called ‘hypocrites’ and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.
Unlike nearly all of the Old Testament verses of violence, the verses of violence in the Quran are mostly open-ended, meaning that they are not restrained by the historical context of the surrounding text. They are part of the eternal, unchanging word of Allah, and just as relevant or subjective as anything else in the Quran.
The context of violent passages is more ambiguous than might be expected of a perfect book from a loving God, however this can work both ways. Most of today’s Muslims exercise a personal choice to interpret their holy book’s call to arms according to their own moral preconceptions about justifiable violence. Apologists cater to their preferences with tenuous arguments that gloss over historical fact and generally do not stand up to scrutiny. Still, it is important to note that the problem is not bad people, but bad ideology.
Unfortunately, there are very few verses of tolerance and peace to abrogate or even balance out the many that call for nonbelievers to be fought and subdued until they either accept humiliation, convert to Islam, or are killed. Muhammad’s own martial legacy – and that of his companions – along with the remarkable stress on violence found in the Quran have produced a trail of blood and tears across world history.
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thondamannar / July 24, 2015
“His clarion call for the Sinhalese to “wake up”, his ominous augury “Abasaranai” to the Muslims in Aluthgama and the hate speech on 15th of June 2014 that led to the riots against the Aluthgama Muslims destroyed the peace that existed between the two communities”
THANKS TO EXTERNAL SCANDINAVIAN HAND WHO ARE PUSHING THE TAMIL SPEAKING MUSLIMS TOWARDS THE TAMILS WITH A VIEW TO AMALGAMATE THE NORTH AND THE EAST AND CHASING RAJAPAKSHE OUT PRESIDENT SEAT.
THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED TO EVICT RAJAPAKSHE ON JANUARY 08.
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tinpotjihadi / July 24, 2015
Why do you hate Jews so much when Jews are far more accomplished and intellectually superior in all manners and modern science and medicine have all benefited far greater from aJews than from Arabs?
Quran (9:29) – “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” “People of the Book” refers to Christians and Jews. This was one of the final “revelations” from Allah and it set in motion the tenacious military expansion, in which Muhammad’s companions managed to conquer two-thirds of the Christian world in just the next 100 years. Islam is intended to dominate all other people and faiths.
Quran (9:30) – “And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!”
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xlntgson / July 24, 2015
Are @baludeen and @elakolla both same or different? How many times they are edited out? What is the message they convey? If one person entered like Wijaya from Kalinga and stayed here for 6 yrs will not he get naturalized? What would happen to the children of Kuveni, still they are boat people to be deported to Odisha?
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xlntgson / July 24, 2015
@tinpotjihadi, you are quoting verses usually vomited by Islamophobes or in your parlance tinpotzionists. In any war enemies and traitors are eliminated the compassion of a religion is not applied there. Strong adherents of buddhism waged war against ‘tigers’ who are saiviites pacifists, shall I quote or misquote from tripitaka and bhagvat gita?
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Saman / July 25, 2015
Nanasara or Modasara hatred will return like a cobra. Cobras are not scary to those who know the image and how to control the cobra. It is high time these cobras should be taken to Zoo because there are many empty cages in the zoo.His religion is hatred and not Buddhism. Then why is robe. That is the coverage to depict that he is a Buddhist. Now the world knows who this person is? He had to return 3 Defender Jeeps provided by Gota just before 8th January. Now he is supported by several racists companies and a an FM media.
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Justice & Fairplay / July 25, 2015
Muslims hating Gnanasara?
Boy every decent human being whether it is muslim, Sinhalese, tamil or burgher, hates this thug. However unwittingly he did much to unseat the Rajapakses. By aligning himself strongly with the Rajapakses. he indirectly implicated them in his mad forays of violence which by the way went completely unpunished – another pointer as to whose sympathy he enjoyed.
This country must learn not to respect a yellow cloth merely for the sake it is yellow but seek who is draped within. This country must grow up and mete out the Law equally. Now it is not. This Gnanasara thug once warned the police not to lay a finger on him as he was a ‘buddhaputra’. And the police complied, probably fearing political reprisals.
My suggestion is that for the indirect services rendered to the Sirisena camp by supporting Rajapakses, a statue be erected of this thug outside Welikada and thereafter he be made a lifetime occupant of the premises within, with hard labour thrown in to keep him in shape.
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Sylvia Haik / July 25, 2015
Hate mongers like Gandasara Thera might fool some of the people some of the time but never the ordinary Sri Lankan. He might contest under another name for his party, but the people will vote him out just like they did his sponsors, the Rajapakses. I cannot understand why he has not been arrested for inciting religious hatred, now that he has no safety net provided by the Rajapakses.
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Sinhala Trinitian / July 25, 2015
This terrorist bastard (I am ashamed) is a Trinitian. Hilmy is also a Trinitian. Both are from Kandy. Both are Muslim fanatics. They are probably related. Does Hilmy know or knew about this terrorist before he died? Why did Hilmy and The Muslims keep quite. ARREST them first
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xlntgson / July 26, 2015
@sihala trinitian, that was the previous news, this is about muslims why hate rabid monks! Are you sober?
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Asiff / July 25, 2015
It’s absurd to say that the Qur’an calls for violence against non-believers when it clearly says:
Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error. Whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks (Surah Al Baqarah. Verse 256)
Obey God, and obey the Messenger. But if ye turn away, the duty placed on him is on him and the duty placed upon you on you. If ye obey him, ye shall have guidance. To preach clearly only is the Messenger’s duty(Surah Al Nur. Verse 54)
Supporting these verses is the way Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)treated those of other faiths, like when he entered into a covenant with the Christians of Najran. When the delegation arrived at Medina, the Prophet lodged them in his mosque and even let them pray there and gave them the following accord:
The people of Najran and their dependents shall remain under the protection of God, and Muhammad the Prophet, the Messenger of God. Their persons, their religion, their lands, their possessions and their churches shall remain safe. This treaty holds good for all people of Najran, whether present or not. No bishop shall be removed from his bishopric, no monk from his monasticism and no devotee from his devotions.
His father-in-law and second Caliph of Islam Umar entered into
the following covenant with the Christians of Jerusalem following the capitulation of the city:
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. This is the security which Umar, the servant of God, the commander of the faithful, grants to the people of Aelia (Jerusalem). He grants to all, whether sick or sound, security for their lives, their possessions, their churches and their crosses, and all that concerns their religion. Their churches shall not be changed into dwelling places, nor destroyed. Neither shall they or their appurtenances be in any way diminished.
This is also supported by the fact that there still exist Christian communities living amongst Muslims in the Arab world, in countries like Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. In contrast, one could not find a single Muslim community living in Europe before the French Revolution, for the simple reason that they were not allowed to exist. The fate of the Muslims that followed in the wake of the Spanish inquisition speaks much for the kind of tolerance mediaeval Europe extended to those of other faiths. This never happened, and could never happen under Islamdom.
Just because a few misled Muslims like ISIS are persecuting those of other faiths, this does not mean that the entire Muslim world or Islam should take the blame for it. What these terrorists are doing was unknown to the Prophet or his successors, but established practice among the crusaders of old who killed innocent men, women and children in spite of the beautiful teachings of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him).
Do you find people blaming Jesus for the atrocities of the crusaders? Certainly not. Likewise it is only fair that Islam should not be blamed for the acts of these misled extremists.
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Dr. MYM Siddeek / July 25, 2015
In many cases the Holy Quran is quoted out of context. Even the Muslims mis-quote and misinterpret unknowingly. The same Quran teaches how to treat the non-Muslims respectfully and encourages helping them economically and other ways, not killing them. Islam is a peace religion. It never advocates violence on innocent people and killing of innocent people. Who created ISIS terrorist movement is a myth. Was it created by Muslims or non-Muslims? What ISIS is doing is not Islamic. It is barbaric.
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Off The Wall / July 26, 2015
Hey Doc
How about throwing the Quran into the dustbin and starting all over? As you know, since you’re a doc, it’s only a book and it hasn’t done much good to humanity. It has only created more misery – spreading hatred, subjugating women and children, cutting off pieces of male and female genitals. And this should apply to all other vile books too: like the Mahavamsa, Bible, Torah, Talmud, Bhagavad-gita etc. etc. Why do we have to depend on someone interpreting “correctly” some stupid book in order for us to do the right thing in our day to day lives? Are we some kind of moral robots? Are our hearts devoid of any feelings towards our fellow humans? Are we dead already?
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fazeel Hussain / July 26, 2015
Off the wall, you should be thrown off the streets in to the garbage dump. Don’t blaspheme our holy quran. That is for eternity and cannot be changed
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Jango / July 26, 2015
Religion is the greatest hoax perpetrated on mankind!
The ‘religious’ leaders/philosophers tried to spread their thoughts about decency and proper codes of conduct (The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, The Ten Commandments, etc.), but those craving for power twisted their teachings to create the flock, or herd mentality, to threaten them with Hell-fire and Brimstone, should they stray from the ‘path’. They also encouraged them to fight ‘disbelievers’, creating wars and other causes of suffering. Genital mutilation and other unspeakably horrific acts are also results of this ‘religious’ fervor.
The Buddha said it best with his simple but profound philosophy – The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path, if followed, will lead to liberation from the gross bullshit that is spread in the guise of being religious. Forget about poojas, worshiping priests and all that other extraneous crap.
Just take a look around to see where I’m coming from!
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gigurawa / July 26, 2015
Misquoted or not, muslims are the only pople who live , breathe by the holy book. For all other faiths religion is only for individual spiritual upliftment; no sinahalese or Tamil, and no Hindu identifies them by his/ her religion. Ethnicity ? yes. Ancestry? yes. Cultural heritage? yes. Not by religion. This writer should address this basic, fundamental issue . His article again is an attempt to divide the country on religious differences.
He should extoll the muslim community of the values of every decent society , that is integration and assimilation in the main social stream.
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gigurawa / July 25, 2015
Buddhism is the oldest religion in sri lanka and for us budhists it is not a reliog as such. Buddhism gives us the cultural and historical identity by virtue of the fact that our economic and social revival was followed by renaissance of the faith, not the other way round. Our ancient kings strived economic prosperity and unity of the country first and they supported the religious establishment for spiritual and moral upliftment of the people; not the other way round as been preached by muslims for whom (as it appears to the people of other faiths in the country) that religion comes first and it and that their social attitudes are governed by their religion and their prime loyalty is to the religion anther than the society at large.
In every democratic country in the world muslims are perceived as unpatriotic and self centred. The same sentiments agaist jews persisted during second world war and still persist in the west for the same reasons.
It is for the educated muslims to strive to persuade the ordinary muslims to identify themselves as loyal Sri Lankans first . The loyalty to the country should come first.
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Waltzing Matilda / July 26, 2015
Hey Gigu Pala, great quote of yours: ” Our ancient kings strived (for?) economic prosperity and unity of the country first and they supported the religious establishment for spiritual and moral upliftment of the people; not the other way round …”
So how come you keep defending your “great king” when he was doing this “the other way round” and filling his and his families coffers at the expense of the country and encouraging the bashing of other religions and ethnic groups through his Gnanasara goon types and Grease Yakkas?
Try to be consistent at least, if you expect to be taken seriouly.
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gigurawa / July 27, 2015
You either do not understand English or you the substance of my argument. What I mean is that for Buddhists the religion is interlinked with our history and civilisation. The people even today benefit from the benevolence of the great kings. The tanks Thissa weva, Nuwara weva, Parakrama Samudraya, Kantale weva are a few examples. No rulers in any other part of the world have bequeathed such a legacy for the fore bearers. .The religious monuments and icons are relics of the spirituala nd cultural renaissance that went hand in hand with the economic development.History shows that muslims when they invaded other’s land, they conqured c and destroyed the indigenous cultures by Islamic religious dictat. These are facts- be in Afganistan, Malaysia, Indonesia. Syria or mesapotamia, now known as Iraq.
The Christians and minority Islamic sects are persecutes and massacred at an alarming rate in Syria, Iraq and even Pakistan today in the name of Islam.
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Samuel Jayaweera / July 26, 2015
This is wrong- In sl, the oldest regliion is Hinduism.
Srilanken budhism is fallen to the level that the many would use it to grab the attetion. Like on the west, the respect and dignity towards the reglions has long lost in the island. Even if they go on their way to kill someone – many of them are used to say ” Budusarnaai”. See, those most abusive ministers of previous regime – Mervin silva did so many things abusing the religion. MR still does it to gap up the lost attention. These political men abuse the religion for their benefit only. In the name of being intoxicated, they travel to Anruapurasrimaha bodhiya, kelaniya temple and several other place across the country. But none of these men is aware the harm they make towards the regliion. Besides, today, young generations dont even respect their elderly people. This I experience even within our family circles.
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xlntgson / July 25, 2015
@ela ela the entire world minus 1.6 billion, how you arrived that calculation and on what basis? If you love why they hate you and if you hate how they will love you? Without prejudice and open mind think aloud if you are obsessed with fanatics you will also end up a fanatic! ‘Hatred never ceases by hatred but by love’
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Prassana Ranasinghe / July 26, 2015
Today’s (28/7) Ceylon Today says that the Muslim leadership knew about this Bast…rd joining ISIS. Then Hilmy too knew about it. If ISIS is not Islamic as Hilmy claims, why didn’t they inform the government.
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gigurawa / July 27, 2015
Hilmy Ahamed
It is the case of Muslims hating every body else, Budhists, Hindus, Christians or rationalists and atheists. Muslims consider all others as non-believers and should be eliminated or converted.The word tolerance is no where in koranic verses.
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kushini / December 4, 2016
To the imbecile gigurawa:
Of course the word ‘tolerance’is not in the koran because you idiot, the koran is in arabic. it has no english word. not even peace. only the translation has those words. and plenty of them.
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