In March 2018, four Assistant teachers of Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College, Trincomalee lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) that the Principal and the School Board of Management prohibited them from wearing the Abaya at school. The school justified the prohibition on the basis that historically the school, which was founded by a Hindu, has followed Hindu traditions, and wearing the Abaya was not in line with the customs of the school.
Dr. Deepika Udagama – Chairperson – HRCSL
HRCSL in its recommendation states that national schools are bound by the Constitution and cannot violate the absolute right to religious freedom under Article 10. The denial of the right of the complainants to wear their traditional dress as well as the arbitrary nature of the transfers to other schools were done on the basis the religion of the complainants. Hence, the rights to which the complainants are entitled as per Article 12 (1) and 12 (2) of the Constitution have been violated. The Commission further states that although the manifestation of religion, under Article 14 (1) (e), can be restricted in order to recognize and respect the rights and freedoms of others, ensuring another person’s religious freedom does not require barring the wearing of the Abaya at school.
The Commission reiterates the need for respect for diversity and pluralism in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country such as Sri Lanka, and calls upon the Ministry of Education and the Zonal Education Director to conduct awareness raising programmes on diversity and pluralism for school principals, teachers, students and parents.
The Commission also notes with deep concern that the use of social media, such as Facebook, to share information related to the case in the public domain without any regard for the confidentiality of the proceedings and without the permission of the parties concerned or the Commission is a breach of ethical responsibilities. In this case, such acts only served to incite religious and ethnic hatred and intolerance within the community and led to the harassment and intimidation of the complainants and respondents. Since such acts can even lead to inter community violence, the Commission calls upon all citizens to be mindful of the misuse of social media as weapons in campaigns to incite religious and ethnic hatred and violence and use social media responsibly as a tool to promote inter-ethnic and inter-religious understanding and harmony.
To read HRCSL recommendation in full, click here
Richard / April 3, 2019
People can dress as they please as far as I am concerned. However, in my view, with the current global threat by extremists elements, a country’s security must be a foremost. In this sense a country’s law must override any other rights/freedoms including religious, to safeguard ALL PERSONS of every ethnic and religious group.
My question (below) to the HRC and those harping on wearing a specific dress code citing religious freedoms, please respond;
If I were to start today a religious organisation, where the dress code is, (a). No Clothes in public (b) Wear ‘only’ a Full-Face Helmet when going out.
(Q-1) HRC – How will you decide in allowing my followers to keep to the dress code?
(Q-2) Those determined to dress according to religious/customs by covering up of face, despite this sort of dress imposes a security risk to everyone ; what is your opinion? Are you OK with my NEW religious dress code?
/
Fathima / April 3, 2019
Richard:
–
“covering up of face” – is not required. Wearing Abaya doesn’t mean that should cover the face. Can’t you see many women wearing Abaya without covering their faces? That is what these teachers also did, and the school’s Tamil administration didn’t want the teachers to wear Abaya even without covering face. This is not a security or cultural issue, this is pure discrimination, and HRC took the correct decision.
–
Plus, a few staff members of a national school cannot decide what is allowed or not allowed in their school. If the Govt entertains this, tomorrow they will change History subject from SL History to Indian History or anything that suits their agenda.
/
ghk / April 4, 2019
Why Muslims and Sinhalese didn’t ask Tamil teachers in the south not to wear Pottus that frightened not just students but all civilians back in those days since Pottus were symbol of death, destruction or a suicide bomb?
/
Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 4, 2019
Tamil are indigenous to the island and their culture is also indigenous. They have lived in the north and east from time immemorial , and have ruled these lands and most of the Sinhalese lands, as many of the so called Sinhalese monarchs and aristocracy were Tamils. Muslims are not , they are recent immigrants from South Indian now pretending to be Arab but either way , they area immigrants. Trying to compare the indigenous Hindu Tamil culture with an immigrant culture that only arrived fairly recently in the island is stupid and foolish. You will not dare do this with the Sinhalese , as you will reap the consequences. No one has the right to protest against the Tamil Hindu culture or dress norms ,not even the Sinhalese , whose culture, language and heritage appeared in the island much later. Definitely not fake Arab Dravidian South Indian Muslims like you. Diva
/
ghk / April 4, 2019
Siva Sankaran Sharma:
–
“Tamil are indigenous to the island and their culture is also indigenous”
–
Brother you have written pages to prove something, efforts appreciated. But I just need a few lines to say the truth. When Dutch colonized SL, they brought people as slaves from south India (Malabar or Kerala + TN mostly Tanjawur) to water their tobacco plants since the Dutch found that Sinhalese farmers in the north didn’t have the irrigation expertise that was found among south Indians those days.
–
So these slaves had to be put up somewhere? They forcefully grabbed the lands from Sinhala farmers, and registered those lands to these newly brought slave laborers. There could be a few real Vellarlar in the lot since they are farmers basically, but mostly consisted low caste Keralites and Tamils. Dutch didn’t stop at that; they even created the laws to protect these lands don’t go back to the original owners. Thanks to Dutch, all south Indian slave laborers regardless of original caste difference, call themselves, “Vellarlar”.
–
Needless to say Mr. Siva Sankaran Sharma, your forefathers were these people! Dutch period is not that immemorial. “indigenous”? :-(
/
Cholan / April 4, 2019
@ ghK
My toes are laughing about your historical knowledge.
Where the hell you read about Dutch brought Tamils here joker.?
During Friday Prayer?
In your COLY BUK?
now it is the time to rewrite the history of the cursed SL by scholars like you and other Mowlavies all are living in 4th century.
Can you explain how on earth you Musulims in this country talk Tamil at home ?
Tamil speaking Arabs landed here from Mecca after deported criminal Vijaya ?
“A person who speaks Tamil at home is a TAMIL.”
Better from today speak with your mother In Arabic the language of your God (???) OK?
Cheers
Cheers
/
ghk / April 4, 2019
Cholan:
–
“Where the hell you read about Dutch brought Tamils here joker.?” – If you don’t learn the SL history, you don’t have a chance to know it.
–
Have you ever question yourself why the self-claiming “indigenous Tamils” with 2500 years of history in the land is still mere 13% of population? And how come for 2500 years, you have not created anything to say that it is your own? Instead you have borrowed everything from Tamil Nadu.
–
Vellarlar caste is found only in Tamil Nadu, Keral and Jaffna in the world. Notably the Dutch brought Vellarlars + other low caste people from south India into Sri Lanka for helping their plantation in the north
–
Think of these points, learn a bit about SL history (unfaked version please), and inform your toes about this, they will also stop regularly laughing, brother.
/
EmAG / April 5, 2019
ghk,
The canard of the Dutch that brought Tamils to Ceylon was created by one Nalin de Silva writing, using Goebbels (of Nazi) technique of repeating the the lies so that they would end up as truth, in the anti-Tamil English broadsheet – The Island, which has many Islamic people in it’s number as journalists and even few as deputy and assistant editors. The Dutch never colonized any part of India but only had trading posts there just for bartering things. They never had any control over any kind of ethnic people in India. This is the unassailable fact.
The reason Tamils became minority is visible in front our own eyes because of the ethnic cleansing by ethnic-dilution of them by Sinhala governments as seen in Puttalam, Negombo and Chilaw areas where Tamils have become Sinhalese. Real Tamil names like Thevaraperuma, Thennakoon, Illangakoon (Koon in Tamil means King- you being Tamil Muslim would definitely must be knowing this, I’m sure!) but don”t exist among Tamils are another proof Anthropologists say there were two kind of people- the Yakas and the Nagas. Yakas are the present day Sinhalese and Nagas, the Tamils. Sinhalese even now use the word “Yakko” among themselves in certain circumstances. In the historic fictional story, Makavamsam, every other king has Tamil name.
It is the divide and rule policy of Sinhala government that posted Islamic people to Hindu schools to stir up trouble. If Allah is really Akbar (great) he would have put them in an islamic school and not among non-believers.
But, Rupee is Akbar.
EmAG
/
ghk / April 5, 2019
EmAG:
–
I love the way how you’re trying to sugar-coat the same what that mad riff-raff, Siva Sankaran Sharma & Cholan are crying to prove :-) A good narration overall, fantastic try.
–
In summary what you say is,
—
1. Dutch never brought Tamils & Malayalis from India
—
2. You guys existed for over 2500 years but many of you did “mega conversion” to other religions to make your count just 13%
—
3. “The reason Tamils became minority is visible in front our own eyes because of the ethnic cleansing by ethnic-dilution of them by Sinhala governments ” – So you hint that until the independence Tamils were majority? (No, I don’t laugh)
—
4. Then all the way you go centuries back, trying to confuse, if not yourself is confused.
–
Do you really expect a response from me on this? Okay, here it is… Ha..ha…ha… OK?
–
The Dutch ruled all the Tamil provinces and brought Tanjore Tamil slaves to work in the cinnamon gardens in the Western Province and tobacco farms in Jaffna.
-Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Ceylon
/
EmAG / April 10, 2019
ghk,
There is no sugar-coating or fantastic try involved in my reply to you , but only unassailable facts. And you displayed your intellectual dishonesty.
I repeat Dutch never colonized any single part of India any time except tor the trading posts; but it was Nalin de Silva in “The Island” who started this canard as I stated earlier that you opportunistic Tamil- Muslims parroting now!
The wikipedia link you gave above leads to “Dutch Ceylon” and not at all about Tamils or tobacco cultivation by the Dutch. How pathetic o your part.
Why Muslim women wants to teach at institutions of infidels and non-believers. …..The answer is because only Rupee is Akbar.
EmAG
/
cholan / April 5, 2019
@ghk
You can tell among your people this story …even Dutch will laugh about your discovery Joker.
He He He single handed you have change the history, super.
When you are going to write the the history book ?
You talk about 2500 years ..he he he atleast do you know what was the geography of this Indian Sub Continent then ? Check your COLY BOOK .
I have already answered for your questions how come Tamils became minority here …today the so called Eastern areas where Mususlims live today belongs to Tamils ..our grandfathers welcomed the mususlim traders and allow them to settle here.
Atleast do you know the history of Indian land mass?
There was no Kerala or Malayalam few centuries ago ..it was a Tamil speaking Chera Kingdom later isolated and allowed North Indian to migrate there thus came Malayalam and Kerala ,this is how SL Tamil population deminished everywhere.
BTW what is the history of you? Moors? who are they? What is their tradition and mother tongue?Why they dress like Tamils ? why they talk Tamil at home?
If you analise the DNA of your bruders it will match people in South India today certainly including yours converted Hindu Tamils.
Cheers
/
cholan / April 5, 2019
@ Ghk
Atl least do you know the name of the coastal place Dutch landed in SL?
Do you know this place even today called as “DUTCH BAR” in Eastern Province.?
The first people who met the Dutch were Tamils .This is in Dutch record.
Eastern province has got many Dutch related churches,and people even today.
He He He you Tahmbies talk about Tamils came for Tobacco plantation super joke of this year.
Cheers
/
Eagle Eye / April 5, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
/
Eagle Eye / April 5, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
/
Eagle Eye / April 5, 2019
Siva Sankaran Sharma,
“Tamil are indigenous to the island and their culture is also indigenous.”
———–
There is nothing indigenous in Demala culture in Sri Lanka. What you have is all your Dravidian ancestors brought from Hindusthan when they were dragged by Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial pigs and dumped them illegally in Sinhale.
/
Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 5, 2019
We do not want racist comments from a part Malay part Sinhalese mixture , now living the good life in Australia , thanks to his Tamil wife’s relatives. Wants to be treated well in Australia and receives it but spews venom and hatred towards the island’s Tamils and encourages their marginalisation with all sorts of concocted lies
/
Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 4, 2019
Contd: The Abaya belongs to the middle east and is alien to the land , the local Muslim culture and dress for women reflected their South Indian origin and heritage , The saree with the end covering the head. This is acceptable and no one will protest against this dress as it is part of the local cultural dress norms and this teacher was dressing in this manner for months, why did she suddenly switch over to the foreign middle east Abaya , that is closely associated with Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in a Hindu school? No one objected to her teaching or her religion when she behaved in a secular manner and accepted and welcomed her. Someone deliberately put her up to this or she did this deliberately, once she established herself within the school , to provoke the Hindu Tamil students and staff. She or some had planned all this , why did she not come dressed in an Abaya from day one? This is incident is one of many done by the now radicalised Wahhabi Muslims of the east , who now emboldened by the defeat of the Tamils , and funds from certain Gulf countries and Porkistan , to provoke the native Hindu Tamils , destroy their culture and steal their lands and Islamise their ancient Hindu lands. They steal and destroy Hindu temples and lands , ethnically cleanse Tamil Hindu villages and are rewarded by the Sinhalese government with high positions , like governor , chief minister. Now they are wearing foreign dresses that have nothing to do with the local Muslim culture or dress norms , in Hindu schools government or private and area taunting the Hindu Tamils who are the real owners of the east , as they feel they can get away with this.
/
Abdul Kader. J / April 4, 2019
“The Abaya belongs to the middle east and is alien to the land” – Come on, in the north, an entire community from TN & Malabar claims indigene status. Abaya is just a dress…
/
Lanka Perera / April 4, 2019
To all Islamic fanatics, will you allow non Muslim workers to eat pork inside Muslim institutions. Are the non Muslims in Islamic workplaces given freedom to practice their faith. To prevent unfortunate incidents government should not appoint any Muslim who is refusing to obey the code of conduct of schools and offices belonging to other religions. Wearing of Abhaya and Burkha by women and wearing of Arabic dress and growing of beard by men are signs of radicalism which needs to be wiped out, and Muslims told where to get off.
/
Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 5, 2019
Unlike the Muslims of Sri Lanka who claim an Arab/Moor descent, the Muslims of Tamil Nadu and Kerala claim to be Tamil and Malayalam and are proud of this heritage, despite of few of them having Arab and other western Asian origin. This is why they are accepted and are not considered a threat , as they support the local language, culture and heritage. They can wear the Abaya or Nikkab or Purdah or Saree , no one feels threated as they are considered part their community. However Sri Lankan Muslims keep on denying their actual Tamil Hindu origin and heritage , claim a fake Arab origin, join with the Sinhalese and others to destroy their own Tamil language , culture and heritage, now even their own 1000 year old very tolerant Tamil Sufi Islam , that they brought from their South Indian homeland. Of course how do you expect the Tamils to react to this treachery, especially when alien forms of dress , customs are now forcibly introduced in the name of Islam , this fake Arab origin and Wahhabism.
/
Muhandiram / April 5, 2019
“SSS
However Sri Lankan Muslims keep on denying their actual Tamil Hindu origin and heritage.”
Who will want to be part of YOUR Tamil Hindu origin and heritage after reading your Extremely Narrow minded, Weird Wicked, Evil and Diabolical comments? No Decent Tamil Hindus will want to be anywhere near with you.
/
Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
Abdul Kader,
Yes, Abaya is just a dress. so is Salva Kameez, worm by the Pakistani Muslim Women.
Abaya is black, and originated from Devil following, per Hadith of Najd, Wahhabi-Salafi Saudi Arabia, and as such Wahhabi-Salafi cultural imperialism, just like the Western pants worn by men, instead of the Sarong, saree by women etc.
Sometime ago, in Sri Lanka, women wearing pants were referred to as Paiya Nethi Mahhaturu, Cockless Gentlemen. Not any more, because too many of them, and it has become the norm now.
So, the Islamists and the Orthodoxy want the Black Abaya to be the cultural norm for the women, based part on religious interpretation of decency, and Arabian cultural norm.
Why not the colorful Salva Kameez or the Saree?
Is the Earth spread out like a carpet, the Sun follows it’s appointed course and sets in muddy waters, and Man was created by Intelligent design like the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Orthodoxy asserts?
/
Muhandiram / April 4, 2019
SSS
Siva, Siva, what a lot of Crap from you. Of course, that is your specialty, no doubt. You wrote:
“The Abaya belongs to the middle east and is alien to the land.”
Now, what do you wear to your work place? Don’t you wear Troucer and Shirt? Is that not alien to Sri Lanka? If you are holding a senior post, you may be wearing a Tie also to office. Isn’t that also alien?
I have assumed you are working in an Office and I may be wrong. Going by the Crap you dish out here, it is Unlikely that you can last in any office for long unless it is an Anti-Muslim Propaganda Office.
Now, if it is alright for all males in Sri lanka to wear Troucers which is alien, what is wrong with Muslim females wearing Abaya? For that matter, are the female attire of non-Muslim women in Sri Lanka like body hugging Jeans, Frock, Skirt and Blouse, of Sri Lankan Origin?
You are so Full of Hatred for Islam and Muslims, that you are Full of Crap. Get Real, man.
/
Goraka / April 4, 2019
Siva Sankaran Sharma: “The Abaya belongs to the middle east”
Siva, do you wear a verti or sarong to office? Do you wear pants and shirts and tie like Britishers do? What is goose for the gander…….
What a stupid idiot.
/
Rohan / April 4, 2019
Silly person the basic culture of the island is Tamil Hindu and Dravidian, even the so called Sinhalese Buddhist culture is. Muslim culture is alien and imported , who the hell are you to challenge our culture. South Indian immigrant.
/
Abdul Kader. J / April 4, 2019
Rohan:
–
What is funny here is this part, “basic culture of the island is Tamil Hindu and Dravidian”. So the self-claiming indigenous Tamils created this culture and give it free to TN to use it there? He..he.
–
Unintelligent and not so creative lot, couldn’t compose a nice Tamil song for yourself and say you are indigenous in the island for 2500 years? All borrowed culture from TN, including literature and arts. As far as I can remember, only invention you have made was a “female suicide bomber” nothing else.
–
Be thankful to Dutch for transporting you here, giving you a job to water their tobacco plants and offer some lands!
/
Native Vedda / April 4, 2019
Abdul Kader
–
“Be thankful to Dutch for transporting you here, giving you a job to water their tobacco plants and offer some lands!”
–
Is H L D M sitting on your head?
/
cholan / April 4, 2019
@ Ghk
In Tamil Nadu and Bangladesh even Muslims women wear POTTU symbol of death ,destruction and suicide bomb ?
No Fatwa from Fanatic Mullahs?
Today Musulims all over the world are branded as terrorists .
These ungrateful Musulims recently described as Sub Humans and uncivilized by an Australian Senator will cry for political asylum ,then demand Halal food ,prayer room then go out and kill the feeding hands saying All Hoo Akbar.
Cheers
/
ghk / April 4, 2019
Cholan,
–
Locally Muslims don’t have any experienced being called terrorists. Can you share something from your own experience please?
/
Lanka Perera / April 5, 2019
GHK the Islamic racist, terrorism is not just what is done by violence alone. What Muslims do to force non Muslims to abide by their customs makes them also as terrorists. Why should you demand halal when majority do not subscribe to this inhuman way of slaughter Why should Muslims force others to accept barbaric practices like Islamic dress when majority consider it as unnecessary. Very soon action will be taken to eradicate this Islamic terrorism.
/
cholan / April 5, 2019
@ Ghk
This poor guy still believe EARTH IS FLAT ….4 WOMEN EQUAL TO ONE MAN…
NO CONTAMINATED DISEASE IN THIS WORLD. ( the science and scientists are are fools ).
We only believe Gods Word came from sky ,not science .
How can you expect real facts from these 6 times praying people ?
Cheers
/
cholan / April 5, 2019
@ Ghk
But no one to day trust your Mususlims .
What about the news 8 Musulims form here went to Syria to became “warrior of God”?
BTW who is terrorist according your COLY BUK ? Love to hear.
Britsih called Veera Puran Appu as Terroists ..British called Subash Chandra Boss Terroists.
Nelson Mandela was called Terroists by Boer government?
Big Nose JR invented this “Terrorist” word but failed to apply to JVP.
At least do you know the name of a Asian country ruled by Dutch ?
If not check your COLY BUK please.
Cheers
/
Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
You are ignorant. Learn about Christianity before you preach, because Islam is a daughter religion of it and keeps almost all its rituals, including female, male circumcision. That part of the culture of applying sand or ash is coming from Middle East. Christians have their Ash Wednesday too. Dravidian comes from their Middle Easters days.
“Ash Wednesday derives its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants to either the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”[9] The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations.”
/
cholan / April 5, 2019
@ghk
Tell your Musulim Minister not to send Tamils to Mususlim schools.
Bring teachers from Bedouin Saudi Arabia much suitable for you.
These schools were named as Mususlim Maha Vidyalayam by Badi Nanaa ( who destroyed the wordl class education in SL) before all Tamil schools in SL were called TAMIL MAHA VIDYALAYAM .
Then and now contribution of Tamil teachers to Musulim education is very high.
Cheers
/
babanpunchi / April 3, 2019
If UK politicians have the right to wear turban, if German doctors (turkish) wear the scarves, why not srilankens muslims wear them.
:
It is true that we are a predominantly buddhist country. That means not that non-buddhists should not have the right to wear what they prefer so long the dress is within civlized frames.
:
Anyways, I would not give my agreement if anyone would be allowed to wear a body cover with an exception eye area.
:
/
SJ / April 3, 2019
Richard
“If I were to start today a religious organisation, where the dress code is, (a). No Clothes in public (b) Wear ‘only’ a Full-Face Helmet when going out.”
*
You can apply for a license to establish a nudist colony. It could be a money spinner.
/
Mallaiyuran / April 3, 2019
SJ,
you read the most import part of Richard’s comment and have solved his problems. Bravo!
Long live UOJ erudition guidance for the humanity’s freedom !
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
Mallung
Silly comments, like nearly all of yours, deserve no more than ridicule.
*
More seriously, now that I have sorted out Richard’s problems, can I do anything to help you?
Or perhaps, you are among those needing help from a specialist.
/
Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
SJ,
Poor Soul, longing for long to edit and manage CT, another dream of VC Jaffna!
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
I Say Mallung
Sorry that I forgot about your addiction.
So, you have secretly got back to the Diazepam habit?
Kick the habit sooner than later.
/
Mallaiyuran / April 5, 2019
” Sorry that I forgot about your addiction “.
SJ you have become olden days scratched gramophone record.
It is not the memory, but your lack of imagination or natural intelligence is not your fault. It is the parents who send you to UK to through the standardization PhD scholarship. You are suffering for their mistake. Sorry man!
/
Native Vedda / April 3, 2019
SJ
–
No need for a nudist colony.
If you get the urge to be naked please organise a nudist protest march, just like the ones organised by the Israelis, Brits (two days ago) the French, Americans, New Zealanders, …. ….. against anything, TNA, Neo Colonialism, Hindia, ………………….. UNP, ………….. and in support of SLFP, China, Maoism, ……… Pol Pot’s fascism, ……………..
/
Mallaiyuran / April 3, 2019
Richard,
CT duped us all by putting a Middle Eastern (Iran?) photo on the front and making us all think that is how those teachers went to school. If that is the case, even I would go to that school to study (…. joke). Then can somebody explain what happened to the Sharia law of women should look like ghosts to men so that they can go and knock on the door of the heaven, otherwise the beautiful women should go be cursed to go hell.
Isn’t that Allah sounds like a lousy creator, crating beautiful women like in the CT’s picture and leaving the hormones in man’s body?
Here some excerpts from Kanathasan’s rating of what a sin maker the Shiva is: “
How many of those colorful women he created!
And poisoned all men’s eyes with lust too
Bring him down to this earth of hell,
Let him float on the torture of sexual fantasy,
Curse him ‘You suffer, you suffer forever! ”
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
Mallung
Is not Shiva the destroyer?
Creation is another’s department!
/
Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
Shiva is the VC over there, like you are at UoJ. That means he is Jack of all Trades, like you. There is no more Brahma in Hinduism. With advent of Vendetta, Brama died.
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
Now you are revising Hindu texts.
It is not you but an overdose of “Diazepam” that is talking.
*
BTW,
With advent of ‘Vendetta’? Whose vendetta?
/
Mallaiyuran / April 5, 2019
Grow up and read the 2nd, 3rd grade Hindu religion books before struggling to keep away diaspora in the hope Deva helping you to get to chairs of Jaffna VC.
/
Abdul Kader. J / April 3, 2019
Come on, Tamils don’t want Sinhala only speaking Policemen in the north of a Sinhala Buddhist country. Tamils don’t want to learn majority’s language. Tamils want National Anthem sung in their language. Tamils don’t want Sinhalese or Muslims in the north. Tamils want foreign judges to hear their HR cases. Tamils in the north don’t want to even donate their blood to the blood bank (fearing it will get mixed in the bodies of low caste people). Tamils want the names of villages and streets sound Tamil….and the list is endless.
:
But the Tamil teachers in the south can wear pottus in any schools or offices, have any number of kovils and their kovil functions and processions like “adi vel”
disrupting general public and the roads for hours, if not half a day…
:
Yet these people are not satisfied. Complain, complain and complain…just imagine what will happen to non-Vellarlar Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese people if Tamils rule the north.
/
Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 4, 2019
Please post all this racist in your actual Sinhalese Buddhist Fascist identity and not deliberately use a Muslim identity in order to create a further rift between the Tamils and Muslim Tamils. Any idiot reading through your comments can see that you are not Muslim but a Sinhalese Buddhist Fascist. Deliberately trying to create more trouble, so Sinhalese Buddhist Fascists like you can benefit.
/
Hard Truth / April 4, 2019
Abdul Kader,
I am glad that these teachers are now allowed to wear Abhaya, as it does not in any way effect the studies of students at school. I am sure not all Tamils opposed it, only some for whatever reason. Leave it there.
There is no need for your racist diatribe against Tamils, in which you have included many lies. Stick to the issue at hand. There are many Tamils who support Muslim women’s right to wear Abhaya, including those who actually sit at the HRC.
/
Abdul Kader. J / April 4, 2019
Hard Truth,
–
“There is no need for your racist diatribe against Tamils, in which you have included many lies” – Lies? Not at all.
/
cholan / April 4, 2019
@ Abdul Kader
Nana FYI National Anthem was sung in Tamil from the Independence day ever heard?
Till Murderpakse rule this was followed do you know?
He He He we all know your LOVE for this country…..
During Pakistan-SL cricket match can you tell why all Thambies support to Pakistan ?
What is your relationship with Pakistan no such country existed before 1948.
Cheers
/
gamini / April 4, 2019
Let all Sinhalese women dress up like the Apsaras at Sigiriya frescoes. Any complaints?
/
Native Vedda / April 4, 2019
gamini
–
Is it tempting?
/
gamini / April 4, 2019
If all the Sinhalese women want to dress up like the Apsaras at Sigiriya frescoes, will the HRCSL allow the same as they have done in this case?
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
g
Are you sure that they are Apsaras?
Shed your inhibitions.
Women those days were not under compulsion to cover the upper part of the body.
/
Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
Gamini,
Woman is pretty in the eyes of the man. That is a scientific fact. But that is destroying man going to heaven. He is son of that woman. She, who brought him down, is standing in his path to heaven. Why could the Shiva or Allah, Jesus whoever created man couldn’t have done this in a better way than this complex situation?
Why couldn’t the man be the son of an animal or ghost or tree? Then we don’t need women.
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
Dear Vendetta you say “Woman is pretty in the eyes of the man.”
Perhaps.
Where does science come in?
/
Mallaiyuran / April 6, 2019
Savasegaram, (That is how you call yourself)
You yet get to hear from your standardisation PhD, what does it means by evolution.
Deva help the god to get a VC Post!
/
Amarasiri / April 6, 2019
Mallaiyuran,
Men and women evolved by evolution, and then invented Religion and God to meet his needs.
Muslim men think, based on the teaching and interpretation of the Ulama, women are distractions, are chattel and worth half as much, and require this coverage, to prevent the men going astray.
So, it is best to keep the women at home. If they have to go out, cover them up.
/
Amarasiri / April 4, 2019
HRC,
Yes, you are correct, the constitution allows for the free practice of religion, and dress according to their religious beliefs. While there is no independent verification as to the validity of the theology and beliefs of the religions, attire has got intertwined with religion.
That was a Hindu college. If a Christian nun, a Buddhist nun or priest were to teach, they would be wearing their attire. Similarly, the Muslim women teachers can wear the Abahya or even the Salva Kameez.
Years ago, before the Muslims teachers wore the saree. It was the introduction of the Devil following, per Hadith of Najd, Wahhabi—Salafies, their Desert culture, wrapped in religion, that has caused theses issues. These are symptoms of Wahhabi However, since Wahhabi-Salafism is also a religion, and they claim it to be religion, they should have the constitutional freedom to the The attire of their choice.
/
Real Revolutionist / April 3, 2019
Not schools, It’s some foolish men force wives/daughters/sisters/mothers/grand mothers to wear abaya.
Schools are right to ban abaya for teachers & it must be extended to girls as well.
HRCSL must save women from such men.
It must set up an office with effective branch network staffed with non-Muslims for women to make complaints against aggressive men & draw a masterplan to deal with religion inspired HR violations.
Unless this HRCSL is impotent & should be dismantled.
/
Mohamed / April 3, 2019
Real Revolutionist,
–
“Not schools, It’s some foolish men force wives/daughters/sisters/mothers/grand mothers to wear abaya”
–
It is foolish to decide that Muslim men force their women to wear Abaya when you know very little about another community. First, you need to study the subject before come in public and say some stupid thing without any evidence or study done. Islam or Muslim men say to dress decent and cover, then it is the choice of women what to wear – Not Islam or men can enforce that. According to Islam, men cannot force their women on anything, but can only advise to stick to religious principles.
–
Will you accept if a Muslim comes and says that Sinhalese men force their wives to work or to go abroad as maids when it is not true as we know? Think rationally please.
/
Mallaiyuran / April 3, 2019
“ Not Islam or men can enforce that. According to Islam, men cannot force their women on anything,…………………Will you accept if a Muslim comes and says that Sinhalese men force their wives to work or to go abroad as maids “ .
Rosana killed by SA is not a Sinhala woman. She was a Muslim under age Child, you rotten!
You are story telling liar. In this particular case, media reported: During the vacation one woman’s husband organized this protest. He had meeting at his home and provided transportation to other women, as they going out alone to meeting is illegal against Sharia. He was instrumental the other women too going to school in protest uniform. He even entered into the school and tried make the principal obey him as she is a female. At last the neighboring population, in support to principal, went on counter protest against this secret blackmailing protest. That is how the matter came to media.
What you are saying is not the one happened. All what you saying is only cover up
/
Mohamed / April 3, 2019
Mallaiyuran,
–
I have no reason to cover up this incident on which I don’t have full knowledge. I was replying to RR’s comment in general.
–
“Rosana killed by SA is not a Sinhala woman. She was a Muslim under age Child, you rotten!” – What has that got to do with this incident or my reply to RR? Sounds dumb or drunk !
/
Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
Mohamed,
“ I don’t have full knowledge. I was replying……… What has that got to do with this incident?
Did you try SJ? A PhD professor at UoJ. Dumps like Me, Richard or like ones, his (GfN) consultation is free of charge.
/
SJ / April 4, 2019
Mallung
“Dumps like Me”
Did it take you so long to realize?
In fairness, it could have taken longer. Good show. Keep it up.
/
Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
SJ,
Don’t struggle too much to point yourself with three fingers with the same efficiency.
/
SJ / April 5, 2019
Mallung
It is your finger that points all the time.
I only cited you.
Kick the habit and your comments may improve.
/
Mohamed / April 4, 2019
Mallaiyuran – I said you are a dumb and you said you’re dump. What are you? When you are a dumb, quite naturally in the dumps as well.
/
Real Revolutionist / April 3, 2019
Mohamad
Literally force & advise are 2 different things but practically they may be the same.
Sometimes the problem for women is that, when force comes in the guise of advice they become helpless because force can be resisted & advice, difficult to resist.
Not only for women but also for men like you & me.
You’re perfectly right brother, it’s common for Sinhala & Tamil & may be even some Muslim men advise their women in their sonorous voices to have an economic leap through a short term slaving in the ME & might drag it to make discriminative life long slavery.
How unfortunate they are to receive somebody else’s advice on their way of dressing & living; especially from their opposite sex?
/
Amarasiri / April 4, 2019
Mohamed,
What happens is that the Ulama, Imams and Mullahs, based on their learnings from the Quran, Hadith and their teachers, tells the men and women, what to do, what to wear, how to behave, and basically women are chattel.
Just look at the MMDA and the debates on it.
Read up on the Chapter women, Al Nisa, on the Quran, and search the word women in the Bukhara Hadiths. You will know the Rights men have over women, which the Ulama preach.
/
K.Anaga / April 3, 2019
How if girls go to school Wearing short shorts and bikini like dress? and the boys go with suspenders?
/
Fathima / April 3, 2019
K. Anaga,
–
“How if girls go to school Wearing short shorts and bikini like dress?”
–
You have a point there, that is not acceptable as per SL standards, and it will also take away the attention of other students from studies. Best is to go wearing some decent dress covering, and if the girls want to be more conservative, Abaya can also be a good choice without face covering. I guess, HRC won’t come in help to support bikinis in schools.
/
Real Revolutionist / April 4, 2019
Fathima
Decency must be in minds, not in attire.
If you’re so fond of god/s why don’t you respect his idea of creating you & the fellow human beings naked. ( Naked Ape-Desmond Morris)
The difference between animals & people; animals have weak brain & a dress (fur) to hide the body.
Contrary to that people have good brain & no fur (not to hide the body).
So have moderate idea about dressing; try your best to expose more of your body & respect the god unless it’s a sin.
All the Muslim men are against the god.
/
Fathima / April 4, 2019
RR,
–
First you said, “Literally force & advise are 2 different things but practically they may be the same”, and now say, “The difference between animals & people; animals have weak brain & a dress (fur) to hide the body”
–
Even now, I am half naked and replying your comment. Want my measurements or c2c? Ha..ha
/
Amarasiri / April 6, 2019
Real Revolutionist,
“All Muslim men are against the God”
This is an incorrect statement.
All Muslim men and women are guided and brainwashed by the Ulama and Mullahs, the religious orthodoxy, based on their interpretation of the Quran, Hadith and the Prophet’s Sunnah, traditions, with very little room for independent thinking and reason, as revelation is above reason, and revelation comes directly from God.
This is the problem Muslim scientists, free thinkers and philosophers ran into with the Ulama. Read up on Ibn Rushd,aka Averroes, in the 12th Century and many others.
Christianity, with the Enlightenment and the Age off Reason, was able to grow of the foothold of the religious orthodoxy.
The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason, has not come to the Muslims, yet, and still:
– The Earth is spread out like a carpet
-The Sun runs its appointed course, around the Earth, and sets in murky waters
– Man was created, and did not evolve, as the Theory of Evolution with all the supporting data shows, because the creation story was in the Bible, around 1,500 BCE and in the Quran , 630 CE.
/
K.Anaga / April 4, 2019
Fathima!
I am not against any bod’s dress as long as it is Decent. But decency differs from country to country and religion to religion. Its rather confusing. May be schools should have a uniform dress which will not be of distraction.
While I feel sorry for those wearing abhaya in Srilanka in to-day’s weather, I also would say the dress should not cover their eyes even with nets as it prevents identification. Further the school children should be able to see the expression in their teachers’ face- part of a body language’ If there are private religious schools teachers’ dress should not appear to be offensive to the said religion by being too long or too short.
Finally my contention is religion is not necessary for man to live but man is necessary for religion to exist.
/
Fathima / April 4, 2019
K. Anaga,
–
“Further the school children should be able to see the expression in their teachers’ face- part of a body language’ If there are private religious schools teachers’ dress should not appear to be offensive to the said religion by being too long or too short”
–
This shows that you just commented on an article without fully understanding the issue there. Even in Muslim mixed schools teachers never teach faces covered. Have some logical sense to what you say please. Even your previous comment about students wearing bikini was empty-headed, thought I personally took it fun reading.
–
/
Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
K Anaga,
Furthermore, they lack exposure to the Sunlight and lose out on the ability to produce Vit D and it’s variants by the skin. Just Google Vitamin D Deficiency.
/
M. Jabir / April 4, 2019
@ Anaga
In South African schools promiscuity is so widespread, as a result teenage pregnancy is at an alarming rate, girls as young as 15 years have become mothers, in most cases the students’ parents accept this as normal. Some NGOs are supporting so that kids “born out of wedlock” are not neglected but brought up properly. Their dress code is decent like that of our Lankan girls going to convent & other national schools.
I haven’t seen a statue or picture of mother Mary without a modest veil over her head, so are Christian Nuns around the world, they too appear with their modest head gear. Let’s encourage modesty in the dress codes at schools, work places & other public areas.
/
K.Anaga / April 4, 2019
It is not the question of MOTTAKU, but covering the full face that matters. I studied in a Muslim school too, fortunately I was not asked to undergo circumcision- not that circumcision is bad or unhealthy.
As I stated earlier I am not a religious person and consider religion is the cause of many a murder and mayhem. Not withstanding, if religious schools are allowed to exist, it is but fair that their culture and practice should not be disturbed, just because students of other religions too study there. Similarly in a Hindu school, children belonging to other religions should not be asked to apply holy ash on their foreheads or catholic schools to apply Ash on Ash Wednesdays.
Whether we like it a no,t numerous schools have been established by religious leaders which carry the name of their religion. It is best that they are not pin pricked by Catholics, Hindus, or Muslims or even by Buddhists, just because Buddhism has been given the foremost place in the constitution. This goes for Temples, Churches and,Mosques as well,as it seems to be the trend.
/
Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
K Anaga,
So you were not asked to be circumcised?
So, from where did this circumcision tradition come from?
Ancient Egypt?
Picked up by Moses, followed Joshua (Old Testament, Book of Joshua), picked up by the Muslims? Was Prophet Mohamed circumcised?
Was ProphetAbraham circumcised?
Religion and culture mixed up and intertwined?
/
cholan / April 5, 2019
@ M Jabir
Nanaa why go far to South Africa.
Look at Malaysia where Musulim chicks close head to toe But:
1.Highest number of unmarried child birth ..they dump babies in dust bin and toilet.
2,Father rape daughter ,Brother rape Sister.
3. Even 9 months Baby was sexually assaulted and died .
4. Highest number of drug users are Malay boys and girls.
Why Why Why Isulam failed in this country whether there is even a Religious Police to monitor hotels and houses.
Also in nearest Maldives Drug parties are common in Islands and private houses where Mususlim chicks take drugs and drink Alcohol and surrender for rape.
May be becaues of juicy SEX MESSAGES in COLY BUK.
Cheers
/
Sinhala_Man / April 3, 2019
Please God, I pray that I should not be forced to waste too much time on what to be a non-issue.
.
Thanks, Dr. Deepika Udagama and the rest of the HRCSL to show tolerance and respect towards the Muslim community by making this ruling. When writing this I see just two comments, one by “Richard” and another by “Real Revolutionist”. I’m in broad agreement with the first comment, and I feel that even the second by RR incorporates a good deal of sense. None of us is a racist or an Islamophobe.
.
I, too, fear “operation creep” here. What happens if they want a full face veil, or even this costume:
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa
.
I’m sure that many Muslim women submit to the tyrannus demands of their husbands, and willingly get into such costumes. I’m sorry that they have been brought up to be masochists and I hope that this will be less the case in the future. However, we’d better not go into such things.
.
However, I’m sure that most Muslim men force their women into such clothes. I wish the Muslim men voluntarily would change their ways, and allow their women to lead proper lives. The article is such, and the initial comments (including mine) that what we see here may not bring forth comments from the worst Muslim MCPs.
.
However, when will these Muslim men stop provoking the rest of the World? When will you ask yourselves why YOU are so obdurate. Take the Christchurch killings: we share I’m sure that we are all with
Jacinda Ardern on this issue. It is upto the Muslim community to work out a more lasting solution.
.
When are Muslim men going to do the decent thing by reforming MMDA. Even Muslim majority countries don’t have provisions as ridiculous as these. If the non-Muslim MPs have the balls to get this legislation through, let them even force this legislation through Parliament.
/
Old codger / April 3, 2019
Dear SM,
You say ” we share I’m sure that we are all with
Jacinda Ardern on this issue. It is upto the Muslim community to work out a more lasting solution.”
I do hope the above does not mean you are blaming the Muslims for being different.
You must remember, SM, that not very long ago, Australia /NZ used to insist on a genealogical certificate from all immigrants , to keep out non-white heathens like YOU AND ME. Please do not fall for the insidious propaganda being spread by social media that Muslims are a “threat” of some sort. Look up your history. Were there Muslim refugees in these countries before Australia and the rest bombed the hell out of Iraq , Afghanistan, Syria etc ? I know you are more intelligent than that. And before you ask, NO I am not a Muslim.
/
Sinhala_Man / April 3, 2019
Dear Old codger,
.
Let me state, Old codger, quite unambiguously that I’m not against Muslims.
.
I think that I have already said that.
.
All religions have fanatics. Donald Trump comes up with statements that indicate that he thinks himself a fanatical Christians. Few other persons with more than basic literacy would consider The Donald to be Christians at all.
.
Unfortunately, more than in the case of other religions, there are people who claim to be Muslims, who give a fanatical interpretation to Islam. And some of their actions are horrendous.
.
On the other hand, there are people like that Christchurch killer who call themselves Christians and do things as bad.
.
There’s no point arguing about this until the cows come home. Let’s build trust and friendship among people of all communities.
How do we counter those who promote violence in the name of their religion? It’s a huge question to which I have no answer, and I don’t want to get bogged down in such a discussion. Quite simply no time at this moment.
.
Old codger, I’m glad it was you who asked such a question. If, after submitting this I find others asking me similar questions, I’ll just not answer them.
/
Native Vedda / April 4, 2019
Old codger
–
“Please do not fall for the insidious propaganda being spread by social media that Muslims are a “threat” of some sort. “
–
Don’t you think the Islamists are a threat to Muslims all over the world including this island, Modi’s saffron Madmen are to the Hindus, Saffron clad Buddhist fascists are to the Sinhalese and Buddhists, and the Zionists are to the Jews, Christian Belt Christians right are to the Christians worldwide, …………….. ?
/
Old codger / April 4, 2019
Native,
“Don’t you think the Islamists are a threat to Muslims all over the world including this island, “
Yes they are. But we must remember that those who made the Islamists into heroes in the 70’s are the same ones complaining loudly now.
/
Native Vedda / April 4, 2019
Old codger
–
“But we must remember that those who made the Islamists into heroes in the 70’s are the same ones complaining loudly now.”
–
That was then and it is different now, according to the apologists and the west.
–
How is Modi doing after making deals with Amma’s party? Then again the corrupted do not have the moral authority to go against the ruling saffron party. Modi BJP has caught Edappadi by his b***s. Does he have any choice?
/
ghk / April 3, 2019
Sinhala_Man:
–
“I’m sure that many Muslim women submit to the tyrannus demands of their husbands, and willingly get into such costumes” – Are you eavesdropping the discussions of Muslim husbands wives to spend your spare time like the ancient kings? If that is not the case, you should put forward some proofs, surveys or any other studies done on the subject to support your argument like a decent men. I think you are rational enough among other in this forum to agree on my side?
/
Hard Truth / April 4, 2019
Sinhala Man,
The Abhaya issue is a classical conundrum for liberals the world over. Some oppose it, on the basis that it is forced on muslim women by their men. Others support it, on the basis that Muslim minority is forced by majorities the world over to take it off. I am sure both views have some merit. But I tend to agree with the second view for the following reason.
When gender differences are pitted against ethnic differences, people tend to give priority to ethnic difference. Because men and women can never be the ‘hated other’ – they live in the same areas, same villages, same homes. No mother can hate her son because of the gender difference, the same way a Sinhalese/Tamil can blindly hate a Tamil / Sinhalese. So on the whole, I think it is true that muslim women, feeling under pressure by their men to wear it and by the ‘majority communities’ in non-muslim countries to take it off, would side with their husbands voluntarily. So it is best for a liberal to respect their right to choose to wear them.
when a Sinhalese worries about muslim women suppressed by their men, it looks exactly like when a Sinhalese worries about a non-Vellala Tamil being suppressed by Vellala Tamil. In both cases, the concern does not appear genuine.
/
Sinhala_Man / April 4, 2019
Yes, it is a complex issue, and I’m so sorry that I have come across as rather a bigot.
.
I have indeed moved around quite a bit with Muslims, both in Sri Lanka, and in the only two other countries in which I have worked.
.
I’ve written about the first country I ever visited. I liked it so well that after working in Oman, I got back to the Maldives again. My daughter came across to be with me for my final two weeks there in 1994. She was thrilled with the sea, obviously, but also liked some other Maldivian kids there. She’s going there next week, with four school friends, two days after the elections – but it’s to a resort where they’ll know nothing of the politics. I do know the politics!
.
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-maldivian-parliamentary-elections-2019-where-a-happy-result-can-be-predicted/
.
And my daughter was for many years in Malaysia. Got her children in Sinhala medium classes now. Last year she insisted that I spend a fortnight with her in Kuala Lumpur. So, all in all, we do mix with Muslims a good deal.
.
I’m not sure what further conclusions you will draw about me from all that!
.
I think we need desperately to stress what we have in common – not the differences.
/
Tambiya / April 4, 2019
Sinhala_Man:
–
“I’m sure that many Muslim women submit to the tyrannus demands of their husbands, and willingly get into such costumes. I’m sorry that they have been brought up to be masochists and I hope that this will be less the case in the future. However, we’d better not go into such things”
–
Aren’t you a clever among other dumbs to repeat on something without proper knowledge on the matter? Go mix with Muslims, study the religion briefly and come back to comment – Good luck
/
MsMaralathoni / April 4, 2019
I am afraid, current comment from you SM, sounds no typical to you.
–
Else, I always respect your thoughts and minds since most of them almost common to any health mind set.
:
Why you then stay as if you are fed with clay, going by the saying ” like kirimaeti gilapu kimbula”
, whenever today’s buddhist monks wear/do what they just consider would have been fine ? You and I have seen buddhist monks being violent today as they are no different to any violent lay people. Today, most of the buddhist monks in the country have no difference with those of their lay adherents.I happened to obeserve the way how some monks flirted the young girlsin the presmises of the most sacred temple -KELANIYA.?
.
And I myself was caught by some indecent verbal attacks thrown on me by few monks, that happened to wait few more minutes for the DANAYA Ceremony. There I was very unhappy about our van driver being few minutes late on that day. Since then, I thought, I would not respect those monks just because of my relatives would blindly kneel down before them. I am not sorta a person to nodd my head to any kind of prechings being given by monks. Most today sound to be no different to public gossipy mongers. I have no doubt, buddhists down there behave as if they are made to do so. Why should we respect indecent monks and their behaviours, just because my fellas do so ?
–
I think so long ABHAYA or AMUDAYA would not give wearers indecent looks, why SHOULD anyone stand against them?
:
. I also have seen some police heads in UK, wearing turban; medical docs and nurses wearing ABHYA in german and swiss hospitals.
–
Further to this, I am glad to see some developments by holding dislay boards in touristic areas, warning that those tourists should not wear bikinis in public places: That should be commendable ..really.
/
Sinhala_Man / April 5, 2019
Dear MsMaralathoni,
.
I’m sorry to have disappointed you! However, let me stress that my real objection was to there being a creep towards the “burqa”. That will bring with it problems of security. I don’t think that I’m allowed to go into an ATM with even a helmet on. It may not even be a woman at all inside the burqa.
.
As “ghk” has bluntly pointed out, above, it’s a bit of a delicate problem a man talking about the relationship of some other woman with her husband! It is the social manifestations of these problems that I’m concerned about, plus the basic Human Rights of any child.
.
I think that “ekelbroom”, who has commented below, is a decent Muslim man who wants fair play for women, and would like MMDA revised. There’s absolutely no age limit for Muslim marriages, and the woman doesn’t sign the marriage certificate. I’m sure that these abuses are most uncommon. If so, let’s remove the special law, and have one law for all citizens. Remember it was the D.S. Senanyake government that introduced this, and there are two other of his introductions that I’m critical of. The anti-plantation Tamil Citizenship Act, and government-organized Colonization.
.
See how much some Sinhalese are angry that there are no Sinhalese in the North. They keep harping on it. I also wish there were non-Tamils in the North – but not through people forcing their way in. The Sinhalese must go there as friends, and only if welcomed by residents there. It is bogus security claims there, but you don’t seem to sense the security risks inherent in the “burqa”. Change in some areas has to be cautious.
/
Old codger / April 5, 2019
Dear SM,
This “security” argument is also based on media hype. NONE of the Tiger suicide bombers wore a burqa. There are plenty of burqas in Saudi or UAE, but those countries are even safer than the West!
Also remember we are talking about abayas here
/
Sinhala_Man / April 5, 2019
Dear Old codger,
.
Thanks for enabling clarification by making your reservations explicit.
.
There are closed circuit T.V. cameras in ATMs. It’s no longer suicide bombers that the concerns are about. It’s various kinds of theft. There is a need to identify persons even after a crime has been committed. That, as I understand it, is the reasons why helmets are not allowed.
.
Even while riding a bike, the Police sometimes object to full-face helmets, the reason being that it should be possible to identify the rider.
.
Perhaps I’m coming across as overly solicitous of other people’s security. But there is also the question of how we can prevent hate attacks on Muslims. As NV has pointed out, the activities of those who go overboard in proclaiming their allegiance to Islam, or their piety, are placing other Muslims who are trying to live quieter, less controversial lives, at risk. I think that it’s good, under any circumstances, to be as unobtrusive as possible, until one decides to make a consciously thought out statement. Then the important thing that you’re saying gets noticed. Like using bold lettering.
.
Talking about which, it may be that there is something very important for all of us in my article on the Maldivian elections tomorrow. Embedded in it is the uniquely independent report by Jeevan Hoole and Raskia Peiris on the attempted rigging of the Maldivian Presidential Election. That attempt was unsuccessful but had it been successful, and had the incumbent got away with it, our Sri Lankan Commissioners would have testified to what they saw.
.
Telling the truth is a non-negotiable quality. When the confidence of Sri Lankans in our own institutions is restored, we may stand a chance of restoring trust in the social order.
/
Sinhala_Man / April 5, 2019
PART TWO
.
Tambiya has asked me to “find out” about Islam. No. I have read through the Koran in English once – that is enough. He may not have realised that I have read it. Fortunately, it is a compact book that can be so read. I’m not a particularly “religious” guy. I have read Philosophy. Why can’t I decide what interests me?
.
I’m a guy with my own imperfections and idiosyncrasies. You may find me more tolerant on ethnic issues than on religious. However, I grant this: Sri Lankan Muslims see their identity more as bound up with their religion that with language or with genes. I accept that, but I can’t put up with the moving of goalposts. And at this moment our concerns must be getting rid of corrupt politicians, not these debates.
.
Last night I was wasting time on these religious comments when I wanted to be writing about the Maldives Elections. I have inserted there Prof. Jeevan Hoole’s courageous report on the Presidential Elections. It is very important that Sri Lankans have a man who will not tolerate cheating in elections. I have obviously not written that article effectively. Please look at it. It is very significant. He may verge on unfairly criticising Hindus, but see how truthful he is.
.
We all have faults. At least we don’t turn vicious.
/
Shyama perera / April 3, 2019
You are wrong. Men never compel women. In fact the younger generation is insisting the elders. Specially the daughters are making their mothers to change to abaya. You would notice that mostly girls are in abaya not elderly women.. kids are reading.
/
Sinhala_Man / April 3, 2019
Typical. Keep asserting what cannot be proved.
.
I grant that I also seem to be doing the same.
.
When did any religion ever listen to Common Sense? Not much point giving examples. The stubborn zealots will just refuse to understand.
.
I want all humans treated alike, throughout the world. I don’t want to see special schools for certain social groups (that includes “International Schools – a -la Sri Lanka” for the affluent) Special holidays, and special Muslim Marriage Laws.
.
However, these are complex issues.
.
O Muslim Teachers: you have won your battle for non-discrimination! Now, please help us all by dressing so that from afar you are indistinguishable from other Sri Lankan teachers.
/
Fathima / April 3, 2019
Sinhala_Man,
–
“When did any religion ever listen to Common Sense?”
–
What is Common Sense to you, is not necessarily Common Sense to others. If you try to enforce your version of Common Sense to others, you are violating their freedom. Remember, Common Sense is NOT common.
–
Country, culture, region, age, ability, social status etc, all play a role directly or indirectly in it.
/
Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
Sinhala Man,
“When did Religion ever listen to common sense” and reason?
I also would like to ask , when did common sense and observations and illusions listen to data and correct interpretations
? ( Geocentric vs. Heliocentric model, flat earth vs spherical Earth)
The problem with religion and the Orthodoxy is that the believers have to accept All in their scriptures and traditions, and cannot use reason, common sense or data that points to the actual truth, because it is in conflict with the scriptures.
So we have:
– Flat Earth spread out like a carpet
-Sun follows it’s appointed course, and sets in muddy waters
-Joshua stopping the Sun for 24 hours, Old Testament
-Man was created by God, did not evolve as the Theory of Evolution indicates with all the supporting data, both fossil based and molecular biology based.
-The Earth is less than 10,000 years old etc.
So, when somebody is brainwashed in belief, Reason, Observations and Data do not matter.
/
Old codger / April 3, 2019
RR,
Why not also set up an office staffed by non- Buddhists to protect the rights of children kidnapped /abandoned into temples? Surely they have rights like the Muslim women you are so concerned about?
/
Real Revolutionist / April 3, 2019
Old codger
Anybody, whether Muslim or non-Muslim has a right to raise that question, if underaged are compelled to become monks & their childhood is grabbed it’s a serious HR violation.
Non -Muslims, especially Sinhala Buddhists never bother about it but they’d love it.
But generally children aren’t kidnapped or abandoned into temples.
Poor &/or parentless child might be ordained as a monk with a view of providing @ least his basic requirements & education but they have a right to de-ordain @ any time if there’s a protector.
After 18 they can leave the temple without the guidance of anybody thanking the temple & people for the basics & education provided.
& had they been subject to any bad treatment, the culprits can be prosecuted without any difficulty.
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Mohamed / April 4, 2019
Real Revolutionist,
–
Sorry to jump in. So you have a justification when it comes to your community and religion. Why are you lacking the wisdom to think the other communities and religions also have the similar justifications and reasons for their sides?
–
” had they been subject to any bad treatment, the culprits can be prosecuted without any difficulty” – Ha..ha….
/
Real Revolutionist / April 4, 2019
Mohamad
sorry, you’ve misunderstood
pls re-read my one
I’m against anybody forcing in the guise of giving advice, whether Sinhalese or Tamils or Muslims.
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Mahesh S. / April 3, 2019
I think everyone should watch this TV show of Derana, ‘Talk With Chatura’ to clarify or criticize the doubts surrounding Abaya and other stuff related to Islam and Muslims of Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NXEgOISnzA&t=10s
:
Very interesting.
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Sammy / April 3, 2019
The reason given why the school has refused to allow Muslim lady teachers to wear Abaya is absurd. The fact that they have been recruited to the staff is good enough reason why they should be allowed to wear their traditional attire. So should a Tamil teacher recruited to teach in a Muslim or Buddhist school be allowed to sport a pottu if she so desires.
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Sinhala_Man / April 3, 2019
This is not “their traditional attire”.
.
When we were kids we were not “provoked” by Muslim women in this way!
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Tambiya / April 4, 2019
Sinhala_Man,
–
“When we were kids we were not “provoked” by Muslim women in this way!” – If you are provoked by someone’s dressing, you should blame your own weakness, not the others who have the freedom to wear what they prefer.
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Hard Truth / April 4, 2019
“When we were kids we were not “provoked” by Muslim women in this way!”
Exactly. Have you ever wondered why it is happening now?
Do you think this is because Muslim men have become more tyrannical towards their women overnight? Or the verses of Koran have now changed to include more bloodthirsty, radical ideas?
Or, could it be because, any community, when it feels threatened, is more likely to respond by aggressively asserting their identity?
Every action has equal and opposite reaction. If you want to get rid of Abhaya, come out of middle east (I don’t mean you or Sinhalese, but the western powers), stop forcing Muslim women to take it off, and stop labeling Muslim community as terrorists, and Abhaya will die a slow death. Unfortunately you are doing the opposite, and you are likely to be ‘rewarded’ by seeing a sea of Abhayas in future.
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Old codger / April 4, 2019
Dear SM
This was in fact their traditional attire. Look up “purdah” on Google.
Please note that even Hindus had similar practices. The majority of SL Muslim females do NOT cover their faces even today.
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ekelbroom / April 4, 2019
“This is not ‘their traditional attire’. When we were kids we were not “provoked” by Muslim women in this way!”
Sinhala_Man, during the time period between your childhood and today, there has been a tremendous upsurge in the awareness and knowledge of Islam, it’s rules and it’s practices among the members of the Muslim community itself. The religiosity of the community grew by leaps and bounds during this period. A classic case-in-point is the pressure being exerted by educated, knowledgeable (mainly) Muslim females for suitable amendments to the archaic MMDA. During your days as a kid there was no such demands from the females, was there ?
Muslim females are now more aware of the religious requirement for them to dress modestly, especially in public. Most of them have responded by opting for the black abaya. Unfortunately, the black abaya has it’s origin in Saudi Arabia and is therefore strongly (and wrongly) associated with ‘Saudi extremism’ as propagated by the Western media.
So what provokes you is NOT the sight of a black-abaya-wearing-Muslim-female, but the sight of the black abaya itself, which in the minds of the average non-Muslim signifies ‘Islamic extremism’. Any perceived indication that the local Muslims are becoming more extreme and radicalised is sufficient to cause concern, apprehension and even fear in the minds of all Sri Lankans – based on the horror stories about Al Qaeda, ISIS and other such terror groups.
The idea that the local, peaceful Muslim community was becoming more extreme in their outlook is a misconception and is the direct result of the failure on the part of Muslims to make their non-Muslim brothers and sisters aware of the reasons for the perceived ‘change’ in their dress and general conduct.
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Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
Ekelbroom,
A generation or two ago, there were no Islamist terrorist groups such as Al-Queda, ISIS, Boko Haram etc., and no Sri Sri Lankan Muslims joined such groups. Recently there was one case of a Sri Lankan Muslim man joining ISIs and getting killed, and at Mawanella, the Buddha statues were damaged, just like in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
Do you mean to say that Muslims are now becoming aware of what Islam is about, or are they being misled by the Wahhabi-Salafi Saudis, who follow the Satan per the prescient Hadith of Najd?
Have the women read the Chapter Al Nisa, women, in the Quran and in the Hadith, and absorbed the meanings, where the women are equated to half that of a man?
If the Muslims, as you say, now understand Islam better, and that is why they want to wear the black Abaya, of the Wahhabi Saudis, perhaps you need to ask if the Muslims read the Quran and Hadith with open eyes.
-Earth spread out like a carpet
-Sun follows it’s appointed path, and sets in muddy waters
-Man was created, in the Quran and Hadith, and is in conflict the proven Theory of Evolution, with supporting data
-Direction of prayer, initially Jerusalem and later Mecca required a spread out, i.e. flat earth.
-Fasting, Sunrise to Sunset requires a spread out, I.e.flat earth, as those within the Arctic and Antarctic circles cannot follow the fasting rules,.
Are the Muslims now more aware of the religion? Do they still consider Revelation to be Above Reason? If the Muslim women used reason, they would have selected a
Colors other than Wahhabi black.
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ekelbroom / April 7, 2019
Amarasiri,
A generation or two ago, the local Muslim community was in what could be aptly described as a state of relative ‘Jahiliyyah’ (or ignorance) with regard to Islam and it’s rules and practices in Sri Lanka. Many such ‘Islamic’ customs and practices that prevailed at that time were in fact blind imitations of Buddhist and Hindu religious practices.
The local Muslims have over the past few decades definitely become more aware of Islam and it’s practices through the processes of ‘un-learning’ and ‘re-learning’.
UNFORTUNATELY, the persons / groups responsible for leading the community out of this state of Jahilliya took the opportunity to impose their own brand of ‘fundamentalist Islam’ for this purpose.
I am unable to comment on whether or not Muslim females have read and understood the Quran and the Hadith.
However, I reiterate that Muslim females (and males) now understand and interpret Islam better. This is illustrated clearly in the formidable arguments that the females have made in support of amending the MMDA for example.
But it is not correct to conclude that their better understanding of Islam has made them “..want to wear the black abaya .. “. It has however made them conscious of the religious requirement to dress modestly in public.
UNFORTUNATELY, the fundamentalists have successfully convinced the community that ‘Modesty in female dress = Wearing the Black Abaya’.
Opting to wear the black abaya cannot be construed as an inability on the part of Muslim females to ‘use reason’. Not if they have been brain-washed into believing that modesty means wearing the black abaya and not some other color and also not if they have been the recipients of free black abayas which were donated by the container load by some ‘kind-hearted’ Muslims from the Middle East for distribution locally.
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Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
ekelbroom,
Tanks for your considered comment.
Why did those who distributed free Black Abahayas to the Muslim women do that? Why not green Abaya, the Islamic colour? Women not worth the green, as they are worth half as men, two women witnesses equal to one man witness, as in the Quran and Hadith?
Why not the Pakistani Salva Kameez? This is. Devil following Wahhabi-Salafism, per prescient Hadith of Najd, originating from Arabia, called Arabian cultural imperialism.
The average IQ of Sri Lankan’s, including Muslims is 79. But practically speaking, the Muslims have lower IQs, because of Religion, Revelation is above reason brainwashing.
So, the Earth is spread out like a carpet, the sun followed its course and sets in murky waters, man came from Adam by creation, not evolution, etc. which the non-Thinking Muslims accept, as preached by the Ulama, because it is revelation and in the Hadith.
The direction of prayer to Jerusalem and later to Mecca, as well as the fasting from Sunrise to Sunset requires a Flat Earth, spread out like a carpet model of the world, as it falls apart in a spherical model.
Do the Muslim women, as well as the men understand this?
One Sri Lankan women, who was wearing the saree earlier, was saying that their Imams told them that the women who wore the saree will go to hell, and to wear the Black Abhaya. Wonder, if he got a kickback from the Devil Following Saudi Wahhabis.
The Saudi graduates scored the lowest scores in the GMAT, In the world. The Wahhabi Saudis simply can’t reason and think.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 5, 2019
The traditional attire for the local Muslim women is the saree with the end covering the head or the saree with a head scarf not some Abaya or Nikab that belongs to the Middle East or western Asia and closely associated with Islamic fundamentalism. Now local Wahhabis are forcing their women to wear these alien uncomfortable garments not suited to the tropical Sri Lankan weather, and say these are traditional attire. These are not traditional attire and they do not belong . They belong to Saudi Arabia or to Iran . They have not only forced their women to wear this but are now trying to impost and make others accept them as traditional Muslim attires. Tamil culture is indigenous in fact more indigenous to the land than the Sinhalese culture , which is in reality a reflection of the Tamil culture and no one has a right to tell a Tamil not to wear their traditional attire or the Pottu. Do not try to misinterpret. Muslims are immigrants from South India but Sri Lankan Tamils are living in their own land and who the hell are the Sinhalese or Muslims to tell them not to follow their own culture in their own land. Muslims in France cannot demand the French not to follow their own culture , just because the Hijab is banned in France, as the French are living in their own land and the Muslims are recent immigrants. It is the same with the Tamils. These Muslims only arrived in the ancient Tamil east as refugees a few centuries ago but now are trying to assert themselves and take over the east form its Tamil owners , as they feel the Tamils are weak , they will never behave in this manner in Sinhalese areas or Sinhalese schools as they know the consequences of this type of behaviour.
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jehan / April 3, 2019
Abaya is not the one with the face covered. the guy who wrote he wants to start going naked. goto angoda with your kind. you will be free.
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K.Anaga / April 5, 2019
Nakedness is the most ‘Natural Dress’ a man can wear. But with the passage of time it may ‘wear off’ and change to some sort of artificial dress.
Please also note that only women wear most revealing dresses.
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Wachi Ilukkumbura / April 3, 2019
Will the human rights council rule that non Muslim children can wear their clothes of choice while attending Muslim schools?
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ghk / April 3, 2019
Wachi Ilukkumbura,
–
“Will the human rights council rule that non Muslim children can wear their clothes of choice while attending Muslim schools?”
–
FYI, no need of HRC involvement here. As it is non-Muslim children are allowed to wear what they wish.
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Muhandiram / April 4, 2019
Wachi Ilukkumbura
No School, regardless of whether it is Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu or any other will Tolerate Children wearing any dress OTHER THAN the. School Uniform while they are in the School. Don’t Forget that.
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Mallaiyuran / April 3, 2019
This is not a verdict; this is another comedy. People died in Digana city riots. HRCSL did nothing stop that repeating. It did not take one culprit to court, have found guilty of creating communal violence. We want HRCSL to investigate and reverse the Kali Kovil land Hezbollah forcefully occupied to build Mosque. That is real human right violation. HRCSL is a government propaganda unit. HRCSL stayed out well getting involved in having implemented Saleem commission recommendation regarding MMDA. The activists have cited many painful experiences of poor Muslim women are suffering in the males only Quasi Court. HRCSL giving publicity for this political issue is notorious action of divide and rule.
Dressing is not like wearing a religious symbol like Buddhist girls wearing flower or Tamil Hindu-Christians women wearing Pottu. Dress is a matter regulated by law whether those acts violating the human right or not. “Uniform” is an accepted dressing practice for work place, over and above the religious practices, all over the world. Even in New York City like advanced places, a Varanasi Sanyasi cannot walk nude claiming that he doesn’t wear according his religious believes in Varanasi. Sikhs have faced problem joining military or Police, which their first preference, in the countries they live. Europeans countries, birth place of Human Right Principles, banned wearing face covering dresses. But still they have most freedom to practice religions, while most of them being secular. Ceylon Muslims cultural dress is Sari. Not all Muslim men wear Arabian Kitchen towel over their head, like Yasser Arafat. Instead almost all Muslim men wear, Sinhala –Tamil National dress, Western pants & shirts, or Tamil-Sinhala Sarong. In reality, Women forced to wear facial cover by men is the Human Right violation. But, HRCSL is explaining this male dominance Islamic oppression as the protection of human right.
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Mohamed / April 3, 2019
Mallaiyuran,
.
All I see is, it hurts you so much that HRC giving a decision against Tamil school administration’s whims. It is a typical “diaspora” syndrome that tarnishes the name of Sri Lanka abroad – Seek medication please.
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Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
Mohamed,
Where can I start?
When I lost for Badiyudeen’s standardization it was hurting. When leaving everything behind & running in 1977 it was hurting. When repeated that exercise in July 1983 it was hurting. When leaving the country with only one extra pants, it was hurting all the in the plane…… wait wait I started far too back I won’t’ ably to finish the list. .
Lets fast forward a little bit. When 2013 Justice Minister Hakeem went to American Embassy to explain why CJ SB had to be fired The HRCSL was sleeping. When Hakeem made entire TNA to wait outside and went into Temple Tree House to form EPC government it with rejected parties, HRCSL was sleeping. When Mohan Peiris said in Niramalaruban’s case that Tamils don’t have fundamental rights under PTA HRCSL was sleeping. When newly attained Vibhusika was suffering in Rapist Police-Army’s prison HRCSL was sleeping. When the two Tamil University boys were shot to dead in Jaffna HRCSL was sleeping. When Two polices were shot dead by Appe Aanduwa in Vaharai Bridge, HRCSL was sleeping. When Appe Aanduwa fooled everybody on Mannar Mass grave, HRCSL was sleeping. When the Muslim girl was flogged inside mosque in Chilow for walking with her boyfriend, HRCSL was still sleeping. …….No point man……. For 60 years entire country’s Muslim Women are suffering under MMDA. The Aanduwas’ propagandist coolies at HRCSL are sleeping. But they woke up when a teacher’s husband couldn’t have his Law implemented in a school where a woman is principle, HRCSL woke up.
You have no idea of what is going in Lanakwe. That is why it is hurting!
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Mohamed / April 5, 2019
Mallaiyuran,
–
“But they woke up when a teacher’s husband couldn’t have his Law implemented in a school where a woman is principle, HRCSL woke up”
–
Let’s talk on this particular issue; it is not question of whether the principal is a man or women. It is not a question whether the victimized teacher herself or her husband wanted HRCSL’s involvement. Real question is whether the school is right or wrong in this instance in accordance with the country’s constitution or the laws.
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If HRCSL was sleeping on other instances (as per you), does it mean that they should continue to sleep?
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Mallaiyuran / April 5, 2019
Mohamed,
That School was private property, established by a Hindu Philanthropist. When there were Christian, Buddhist, Muslim Organization were having their schools to promote their religion, this gentleman had his own private school. Appe Aanduwa nationalized, without paying. It gave the promise to allow the school to stay in its culture. Uneducated, Aanduwa’s spin coolie HRCSL members now issue their verdict something they can’t understand. Here is an issue among the Education department, which is not holding to its promise, the administration trying to have the promise honored and the private parties trying to infiltrate into the school with bogus claim of “Government School”. There is no Human Right issue involved there HRCSL to get involved. Aanduwa has re-written all the agreement it signed with Tamils, but still keeping Buddhist, Muslim and Christian school as the way they were.
There is no question the man went in to the school thinking the female principal bund to listen to him. Otherwise no private citizen can enter into a school property. He provided transportation to other teachers as they should not travel on buses themselves.
Go back and read the media reports.
There is no Hindu authority to build any Hindu schools now. There are no Rich Hindu men like those who built all those schools. The Hindu ministers like Deva or Mano Ganesan get those jobs because thier promise that they will be agreeable to Buddhist only constitution. So it is time Aanduwa to return all Hindu schools to Hindu Trustee boards so they can run it as they were.
Remember, we are not against Muslims running the school as the way they want, though we have objection to cover face by any citizen in public places. Of cause then can hide the face in mosque. Wear a hat almost all over everywhere. Hat is not a dress, but can be part of gear.
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Muhandiram / April 4, 2019
“Kali Kovil land Hezbollah forcefully occupied to build Mosque.”
What a DIABOLICAL LIE. You guys keep Repeating the LIE hoping that it will become a fact in the minds of the people.
Fact is, all what Hisbollah did was to take over a LAND belonging to a Temple and built a Super Market in the Land. He NEVER, Repeat NEVER, “occupied” any temple ‘to build a Mosque”.
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Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
In that case, you have to tell Hezbollah to recall the Interview he gave to media. Why are you talking against what Hezbollah want to say? Are you going stand against him in the election?
Then tell something about what Hezbollah said that if for solution to Tamils if North and East are merged, Blood River will flow there.
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Muhandiram / April 4, 2019
“In that case, you have to tell Hezbollah to recall the Interview he gave to media.”
Can you give SPECIFIC Details of the so-called interview with date/s and name/s of the media?
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Mallaiyuran / April 3, 2019
Schools consist of two types of people. Students are the clients. Teachers are the agents. They are special government’s service units. Human right freedom is only to the clients. But the government’s agents must follow the area customs. This is not Sinhala Rapist Police speaking only Sinhala in Tamil North East.
We are not against wearing religious symbols in schaool. Scarf of an Islamic woman is an adorable colorful addition. We believe forcing women to wear backward, corny sacks as Allah’s fashion design industry’s output is not a religious symbol.
When schools were nationalized, it was agreed to allow some schools to maintain their ID. This agreement was made with the knowledge of Vaisakha and other influential Sinhala schools will be practicing their traditions. If that agreement cannot be maintained by Appe Aanduwa only for Tamils, Tamil schools must be returned to the original Philanthropists. After nationalization of schools, only Tamil Hindu School lost their growth. Even standardization was brought against Tamil School. In the recent O/L teat not one Tamil student was able to come within the first 10. But all other schools, with funding of Sinhala Chauvinists Aanduwa, grew.
Allowing a school to maintain its 110 years tradition is not violating any human right, provided it is not interfering with the practice of other’s religions. Shanmuga School is not interfering practicing Islam in government schools.
Sampanthar said to maintain the balance that stayed without violence within the communities for more than 100 years. Government funding to its NGOs to break the balance is the one brings unrest within communities.
Tamils’ position is until a political solution satisfactory to communities reached Sinhala Chauvinists cannot take money from their New Colonial masters and issue verdict after verdict against Tamils. Political solution is the immediate need to bring peace in Eastern Tamil Eelam. That is the only way to stop Aanduwa setting up both communities.
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Noor Nizam / April 3, 2019
Muslims in Sri Lanka have started to act on their own to get their RIGHTS. The so-called Muslim politicians, Muslim political parties and it’s leaders have been ONLY DECEPTIVE and HOODWINKED the Muslims since 1981. This is one of the beginnings of a “News Political Force” within the Muslim community and may God AllMighty Allah bless the happening of that New Political Force at the earliest, Insha Allah.
Noor Nizam – Convener “The Muslim Voice”.
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Rizvi / April 3, 2019
An item at last to break CT’s reader/writer enforced dry spell!
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IS THE END NEAR?
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Kugan / April 3, 2019
It’s not faced covered just a scarf what the fussy about the school should do more and make a environment where all communities live side by side and gives respect to the others even the pupil from that school also learn.
We are not talking about army soldiers in battle field and arguing for helmets
The war may won militarily but we as a community got long battle in small corners to bring peace to this lovely land
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Mallaiyuran / April 3, 2019
” It’s not faced covered just a scarf what the fussy about the school ”
You are not right. School allow scarfs. I understand that earlier teachers have taught like that too. But the new teachers want to changed that to full dress.
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ghk / April 4, 2019
“But the new teachers want to changed that to full dress.” – So what is wrong? When the Pottus / Wibuthis were symbol of death, destruction, cyanide or suicide bomb back in south, our kids still were happy to learn from Tamil teachers wearing Pottus.
=
We never asked Tamil teachers to attend classes without wearing Pottus or Vibuthis since it frightened the Muslim and Sinhalese students – Obviously.
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WalaGembaRaja / April 3, 2019
Good for HRCSL to intervene because no other excuse like this Hindu school merits anyone’s civil liberties or constitutional right on the freedom of religion to be violated. According to Buddhist teachings, a women’s modesty in her dress code shows the world her purity and self-respect. Most women either are ignorant of this fact or careless although they claim to be devout Buddhist. According to the Buddhist dress code, women cannot where the Saree, “Hattaya” (jacket) , low skirts and frocks, dresses with deep and wide slits, and also introducing cuts to dresses to expose a woman’s body. The “Hattaya” cannot expose the upper breasted area of skin, their bosoms and cleavage as in low-neck-cuts. According to Buddhist teachings, a woman’s Saree or robe should not be draped so that the stomach or the navel area (“pekaniya”) is exposed. No short gowns, maxi, skirts or frocks are allowed because the rule is four inches from the ankle and up. Anther four inches from the top, beginning at the neck and down her chest. This four inch rule is also called the “viyatha”. The sleeves of a jacket cannot be sleeveless to expose any body part like arm pits or the upper body. The Buddhist clergy is an exception and allowed six inch exposure from the top and bottom. The greater exposure at the bottom is to respect and protect the robe from normal wear and tear, and also to avoid the monks from tripping on their robes while journeying through hostile terrain. If one would witness how girls, lady teachers and parents are dressed in front of Buddhist girls schools or boys schools, one wonders if these women came out of a catwalk from some fashion show. What a disgrace to call ourselves Buddhists.
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Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
Man do you say the Hindu Sanyasi Siddhartha Nirvani was going for cats walk in desert Runways with fully covered Mohamed?
Man this is the Niyama Redda-Hette. ( Is she an actress? )
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/60/77/59607720c9bb3517257bc388f66bca74.jpg
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Nosey Parker / April 4, 2019
Wala Gemba
You are obviously a bigot who takes ever opportunity to have a cheap shot at Buddhists. Trust you are happy with your efforts.
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Socrates / April 4, 2019
The civilizational responsibility of unbelievers, and other non Muslims is to phase out Islam with least physical harm to the innocent brainwashed. It is a slow process and at this stage dress of brainwashed innocent women must be tolerated.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 4, 2019
Traditional attire of the Sri Lankan Muslim women is the saree with the Muthanai covering the head and for young women it was the Pavadai/Thavani or the Shalwar Kameez. If anyone objects to this they are in the wrong , however not these recently introduced middle eastern Arab Wahhabi or Iranian Shia black Abhayas ETC that are alien to the island’s indigenous Buddhist/Hindu culture, that now being introduced by brain washed local Muslim Wahhabi/Salafists , with their women being forced to wear these uncomfortable sack clothes in the hot tropical heat. These dresses only state only one thing ,loudly not piety, modesty or chastity but extremism and intolerance . You can be, chaste, modest , and pious by wearing a saree with the edge covering the head or scarf , reflecting the local culture that they had done for centuries. Why wearing a recently introduced black sack cloth that is completely alien not only to the island’s culture but even to the island’s traditional Tamil Sufi Islamic culture , especially in Hindu school , is only inviting trouble. When Muslim men are forcing to abandon their traditional Islamic dresses that conform with the island’s culture and force them to wear alien forms of dresses that reflect an extremist form of Islam , it is a worry , as it only shows, that these men have become extremist and intolerant and are not only making their women confirm to this by their dresses but are now forcing this on others , like the Hindu school and trying make them accept this too. The concerned lady was wearing a saree for a long time and then one day appeared in this Black Abbaya dress , creating all this disturbance and anxiety. Why? Who made her change her dress ( Not a secular dress ) and for what reason. Militant Saudi brand Wahhabi Islam is on the rise in the east and the indigenous Tamil Hindus , their lands, institutions and places of worship are the target.
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Bodin / April 4, 2019
[edited out]
This is one of the rare cases when their ulterior-minded actions happened to be good. The Tamil zealots want to control everybody and they think the Muslims are some kind of low-caste people
that they can kid round, drive out of the North, or massacre at will when it suites them.
When they tried to impose their rules on the Muslim teachers, it was only a show of Hinduthva power. The Hindu zealots want many of the low caste women to not to even cover their breasts, leave aside the head. They want to show that they can undress our Muslim women.
When Wigneswaran claims that ALL the governments of Sri Lanka since 1948 have committed Genocide against the Tamils, and if that man was selected and elected by the Tamils, you can see what a bunch of nuts they are.
They are not only nuts, they are collectively dangerous and medieval minded. Cankilli who massacred nearly 1000 fellow Tamils on Christmas day in 1954 CE was no different from Parbhakaran, or Karikala Cholan some centuries earlier, and the various LTTE political mouth piece like the TNA. It is that attitude that we see exercised against Muslims by these Tamil Teachers who attempted to force their zealotry on the Muslim teachers.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 4, 2019
Your comments , lies and misinformation posted on this forum against the island’s Tamils only prove that it is you who is the Zealot. Just read your comments oozing with anti Tamil hatred. Funny as the Sri Lankan Muslims are Tamil by ethnicity but hate their own Tamil ethnicity, language, culture and origin and will join anyone in the name of Islam and a fake imagined Arab/Moor heritage that they do not have or only a few of them partially have. This sort of behaviour is only found amongst the Sri Lankan Muslims and not amongst other Muslim people. They may be proudly Muslim but they are also equally proud of their own language , culture and heritage. They say converts , especially the low caste ones become very Zealous and in the name of their new religion and newly acquired culture, want to destroy their original religion , culture and heritage. This has been proven true in the case of the Sri Lankan Muslims. So much hatred for their Tamil Dravidian Hindu origin and will do anything to deny this truth and destroy it whilst shamelessly running behind everything Arab , including the sack cloth Abaya that is seen by everyone as a symbol of Islamic fundamentalism and intolerance. Like the ISIS they re trying to desperately trying to create some sort of pan Islamic identity , as they think this will benefit their low caste converted community and will hide their true origins. Like the ISIS they will fail, as Muslims like every other major religious group divides itself on the basis of race , ethnicity, linguistic groups, origin and sects
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gal banda / April 4, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
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Mayan / April 4, 2019
These teachers in dispute were wearing saree without abaya to the said school all those years before they suddenly turned into abaya. Does it mean they were committing sin previously?
Dr Deepika Udagama, Can a lady teacher, irrespective of her religious belief, wear shorts and deep neck dress to the school in view of extreme hot weather that prevails now. I belief this falls within her fundamental rights to maintain her health and comfort, and specially when schools don’t have fans or air conditioned rooms. Of course she will be back to normal dress when hot weather changes. Don’t you think that she could teach better if she uses her right to avoid a sticky itchy and irritating dress. Please reply.
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PandiKutti / April 4, 2019
Abaya endral Abayam ( meaning Abaya means danger) this why the Thamil Hindu students and staff screeched and ran away , as they know this once saree wearing teacher, one day strangely appeared covered in a black sack cloth looking frightening to the little children, wearing something closely associated with Islamic extremism and fundamentalism to their Hindu school. What was she all of a sudden trying to convey to them? ” Beware of the black sack cloth and all that it means” ?
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ghk / April 4, 2019
PandiKutty,
–
When Pottus have done real destruction in SL, even killing a PM of India wearing a Pottu in India – Yet, no Muslim or Sinhal children ran away when seeing a Tamil teacher wearing a Pottu. So your weakness is being fear for nothing? It is a good point and probably SLA capitalized on that weakness?
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Pandi Kutti / April 5, 2019
Thullukan, the Pottu is indigenous to the island and the Tamil culture and has been part of the island’s Thamil culture for thousands of years even Muslim women in Thamil Nadu including your Thamil Muslim grand mother wear/wore the Pottu . Who are you to tell the Thamil who are indigenous to the island not to follow their culture. You Thullkans are recent immigrants from South India, who arrived in the island a few centuries ago, either as traders or refugees and are now trying to impose an alien extremist Middle Eastern form of Islam and Islamic culture upon the local Thamils. Get lost Immigrant Thullukan
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ghk / April 5, 2019
Pandi Kutti,
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Tamils, indigenous to the island? Read more below:
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You guys are part of slave laborers brought by Dutch to irrigate their tobacco plantation from Tamil Nadu. Your own greed for Eelam, you created that “indigenous” story.
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Even funnier, your case is like Columbus discovering India and landing in America. You guys started fighting for homeland, accidentally saw that getting settled in EU or AU as refugee is more lucrative than fighting in SL, so later parts of your fighting was to create refugees or maintaining your refugee statuses back in EU/AU.
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Though your forefathers might be from India, please have some dignity to the land where you were born. Do not add shame and insults to SL by illegally landing in EU/AU countries on fishing boats telling cooked up stories about others ill-treating you back home, also the world is coming to know that you are economic migrants with high greed for money make you do that.
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Pandi Kutti / April 5, 2019
Thullukan we all know that you Sri Lankan Thullukans are descended largely from Indian Thamizh low castes who converted to Islam and migrated to the island a few centuries ago , into the Thamizh north west coast and later to the Thamizh east as refugees , when the Portuguese started to kill and attack you Thullukans. We are also know that you are an ungrateful bunch , that can never be trusted. Creating all sorts of myths about your origin , to hide your actual low caste Thamizh converted ancestry . Then joined with the Chingkallams to commit genocide and war crimes on the island’s Thamizh in the name of Allah . Now flushed with funds from certain western Asian nations want to steal our lands , with the help of the Chingkallams. The Chingkallams will be very foolish if they ever help you lying ungrateful bunch , as you will ultimately plot against them too.
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ghk / April 13, 2019
Pandi Kutti – If you check your “real” history, you know that you were part of low caste south Indian laborers brought by Dutch who grabbed the lands from Sinhalese and registered for your lot. So you are the low caste, your lands are stolen ones from original owners.
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Also it is your hero, Prabakaran who kept you promising Home Lands, but he worked for Sinhala president’s bribe and stopped you practicing your own voting rights, you weren’t intelligent enough to understand that. Then, his motive was to make sure the war was ongoing, funded by diaspora, you ignorants couldn’t realize it. Then by mid of May 2009, few of you might have worried they could have joined Muslims when Prabakaran expelled Muslims from Jaffna, because that is the time they realized that Prabakaran kept them to use as shields from Army attacks.
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Prabakaran, Karuna and all other LTTE leaders whom you trusted left you in the lurch, and you say Muslims can’t be trusted now – Did Muslims promise you Home Land, and broke the promise?
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Fred / April 4, 2019
One cannot but ask if this matter should have had to be referred to the Human Rights Council, in the first instance. Could it not have been sorted out with a bit of goodwill and good sense? I suppose it is a sign of the times that the matter was made the subject of legal intervention. I can understand if the question was about wearing a dress covering the whole face but what is only a head covering should have posed no problem.
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David / April 4, 2019
When Muslims are in the minority they are very concerned with minority rights, when they are in the majority there are no minority rights. I wonder if any of the muslim schools and madrasas in Ceylon employ non-muslim lecturers/teachers, and even if they do, if they are allowed to wear religious symbols in accordance with their religion.
My philosophy is simple – If you are concerned with following your religion to the letter, do not join another religious institute. It is unfair to ask the Hindu College (it’s in the name, for crying out loud!) to bend down to your religious rights, just as it is for a Hindu to join Zahira College, and request to wear a dot on one’s forehead.
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Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera / April 4, 2019
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Cholan / April 4, 2019
When these Musulims are minority they bark a lot.
Soon these Musulims teachers will demand prayer room ,separate dinning room etc.,
(In Malaysia non Muslims students are not allowed to shake hand , eat, play with Musulims saying if they do they will not go to heaven )
Many European countries have banned this face covering, it is easy to dress and go to a crowded bus / place then blast the bomb saying Allahoo Akbar..
From this week many European airports banned Musulims ground handlers at Airports.
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ghk / April 4, 2019
“it is easy to dress and go to a crowded bus / place then blast the bomb saying Allahoo Akbar..”
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You guys are the champions in it that you don’t need a face covered lady. You just need a lady and you know the tricks to transform her into a bomb instantly. I guess even some of your “bomb women” pretended to be pregnant at later stages?
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Ahmad Nadvi / April 4, 2019
Dear Siva Shankar and (Talim) Rohan!
When did both of you start wearing European long Trousers?. what about both of you returning to your so called indigenous dress code. You are the sort of people the commission warned .against. Get educated men.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 5, 2019
The European dress is now considered secular, universal and comfortable and worn by everyone , including Islamic fundamentalist Wahhabis like you , who will wear the European dress but are now forcing your women to wear uncomfortable black sack cloths , that are closely associated with Islamic extremism and the Arab Middle east. Stop being stupid and still and giving lame excuses to justify your Islamic fundamentalism , that is now being funded by certain Gulf nations . Sri Lankan Muslims a generation ago never provoked anyone , as they were following the Tamil Sufi Islam ,. the Tamil culture and dress. Now that they have become pathetic carbon copies of the Gulf Arabs and follow their extremist intolerant forms of Islam , they have become very aggressive and are provoking everyone.
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cholan / April 4, 2019
So-called Isulam was introduced in Arabian sand by Scientist to correct the uncivilized Arabs who lived like savages.
Scientist himself was a womanizer fearing even his own wife would have been raped on the streets by other Arab savages he wanted her to cover her head and face.
Only here these jokers make noise, let these fanatics go and see their Muslims chicks in Kuwait,Bahrain, Tunisia, Morroco ( ruled by the direct descendent of the Scientist) scientist),Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakistan, Kirikistan where Musulims chicks do not cover head and expose 60% of their bodies .
In Indonesia Musulims chicks naked pictures are in PLAYBOY basha indonesia edition.
Worlds best Blue videos are being produced in Tunisia and Morrocco.
The biggest brothel in Asia is in Bangladesh even there is a separate school for the b*****d children of these women ,run by an infidel.
In Cairo streets if you see a Musulim chick fully covered her body you can safely ask her RATE.
No Fatwa? No Shame ? No disgrace?
This is not 4th-century world is changing except these followers who love to be remain in 4th century .
Cheers
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Mallaiyuran / April 4, 2019
How HRCSL going to give its judgement on this:
The recent trend is Aanduwa to use female police to in Colombo to disperse protest matches. So yesterday Punnakku GMOA was chased away by female police. Where were Muslim doctors in that protest?
Did they demanded the police has to cover fully or men have to come to remove them or stayed out of the match?
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Good Sense / April 4, 2019
The whole thing is centered around what is an Abaya? Is it the dress in which cover face sides, as seen in Bangladesh, Pakistan or Malaysia? Is it the dress covering one’s whole body, especially in black, with the exception of two slits near the eye enabling sight, as seen in Middle East countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia? Talking about the constitution, one talks of equality where our judges have already describe equality as the equality among equals. A school recruits teachers to teach. In primary and secondary education in particular the eye contact between the teacher and the pupil is essential for the impart of knowledge and understanding. In that context wearing an Abaya of the type in Bangladesh or Malaysia does not impede the process of effective teaching thus making that teacher equal with the others who don not wear an Abaya and it is therefore absurd for the school authority to make a fuss out of it . When the school authority talks about a tradition it is trying to dominate one culture as opposed to the other. It is this kind of attitude that became fertile ground for ethnic cleansing by the LTTE when it annihilated and drove away Muslims in the North and the Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. On the other hand a dress worn by women of Saudi Arabia does impede the process of teaching. In fairness to Saudi Arabia it must be stated that covering garb is not worn in a gathering consisting entirely of women. Clearly then if there is a lady teacher who wears a dress of the Saudi Arabian type, it is legitimate for the education authorities to specify that at least the front of the face must be visible to the students while teaching.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / April 5, 2019
The Abaya is traditionally worn by Muslim women over their normal clothes , just like an overcoat , they usually wear it when they are outside , however once they enter their homes, home s of friends or relatives, offices and other places of work, they remove the Abaya , just like the way we remove our coats and walk around in their normal clothes and don it back again when they are going out. When I was working in the Arabian Gulf this what the local Muslim women did. I cannot understand why this teacher was still wearing this black Abaya inside the classroom , where she was teaching small children, instead of removing it and wearing it back again when she went out. This would have caused no concern or alarm. What was her motive on insisting on still wearing the Abaya inside the classroom full of small children, instead of removing it . you mean to say she did not wear anything under the Abaya? I have feeling this was a setup , to provoke the Tamil Hindu population, either by her but most probably by some fundamentalist male member of her family, as she came to work dressed in the traditional saree for years and then all of a sudden appeared in the Black Abaya and refused to remove this once inside , as is the norm , especially in a class full of small children. It is now noted that Muslims in eastern Sri Lankan have , now become very aggressive towards the eastern Tamils and are using all every method to steal their lands, homes and even Hindu temple lands and temples. Their politicians are in the forefront , as recently seen on a video. They seem to be flushed with funds , which most people suspect is from the Arabian Gulf. If this was a lone incident Tamils would have ignored this but this in one of many incidents , that are deliberately done to provoke the Tamils.
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Cholan / April 4, 2019
Better ask these Musulim women not to wear Saree but wear Arab dress..and metal cover for face.
Saree belongs to Dravidian Tamils not to Tamil speaking Musulims.
Also they can wear helmet which is safe for them .
If you allowed all requests soon they will ask for a mosque inside this Hindu school.
Cheers
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Ugly American / April 4, 2019
First, I am highly encouraged by the statement made by Dr. Deepika Udagama – Chairperson – HRCSL.
Thankfully this agency seems to be in the hands of some very capable people like Dr. Udagama – who articulated very clearly how these teachers rights are protected by the constitution.
Bravo – to HRCSL!
Second, I am saddened and disappointed by the initial action taken by the administrators of the Hindu Ladies School in Trincomalee. Their action is highly prejudicial, bigoted and reeks of racism and intolerance. It goes against all Hindu Teachings of tolerance and compassion towards fellow men.
Third, let’s not forget, the LTTE in their heydays in Jaffna, gave the Muslims 24 hours to leave Jaffna. Tens of thousands of Muslims, fearing the LTTE, were forced to leave, leaving behind their property and possessions.
Amazingly, the administrators from the Hindu School and some of the people who supported LTTE’s exodus notice to the Muslims in Jaffna are the very people who scream their heads off – about how they are being discriminated and treated badly by the government and the majority community.
As they say, Karma is a Bitch!
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Amarasiri / April 7, 2019
Ugly American,
You hit the nail on its head.
Any followers of a region should have the freedom to practice and attire based on their traditions and beliefs, guaranteed by the constitution. Nuns wear gowns and headgear.
The nutty administration of the Hindu school almost likely followed the racist ideology of LTTE, and they need to be de-brainwashed.
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critical thinking / April 4, 2019
SRI LANKANS must respect each other’s culture, and way of life.. we all have 4 religions. All should be respected.. No harm should be inflicted to any one. let each community feels freedom to practice their religions.. food, cloths, customs, traditions and dress codes all are part of culture and way of life. let them all have these as they like. why should each community put their nose into others .. if you culture is under threat, you deal it with your community. educate them.
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WalaGembaRaja / April 5, 2019
Am I the “bigot” Nosy Parker? Would any of our BUDDHIST pundits like you care to engage in a public debate on a Buddhist woman’s dress code? Many of our hypocrites cannot handle the truth because many don’t practice what they preach. Unfortunately, this includes our Mahanayaka high priests. Many don’t even understand basic Sinhala terms in sermons. At least, one can come close to being a descent Buddhist,if they shall learn to be humble than ridiculing those who stand up to these Muslim ladies who have been wronged. I have had this scholarly debate challenging our BUDDHIST HYPOCRITES on dhramaya, vinaya, seelaya, namaskaraya for many decades. I wonder how many of you understand the Karaniya Metta Sutta “කරණීය මෙත්ත සූත්රය? Many break the seelaya even before we conclude this enchanting. I suggest everyone to get hold of a good translation of what “Pathi’Vruththaa Seelaya” is. Google and listen to my student, Pujya Kagama Sirinanda Himi on topics “දැන් ඉන්න ගෑණු පතිවත කියන්නේ මොකද්ද කියලවත් දන් නෑ”. This means that most women today don’t know their most precious asset. Another topic is, “ගෑණුන්ගෙ පතිවත ගැන සිරිනන්ද හිමි කිව්ව අපූරු කතාව”. (Women don’t know what Pathiwatha is. If so, how can they practice?). If anyone would care to listen to these sermons, it is evident that the true teachings of the Lord Buddha is no different from what has been ordained for women in Hinduism and Islam. We must support and defend these Muslim ladies when they seek to attain something noble and righteous. Gauthama Buddha left Yasodara Devi and the child in order to become a Sramaṇa. Did Yasodara Devi wear less clothes and reveal her body to attract a new male companion? In fact, she adorned more clothes, purified and consoled her heart after feeling guilty that she somehow made her husband to leave them. In fact, Yasodara Devi wore more clothes and devoted to the teachings of the Lord Buddha to attain Arahatā.
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Pon Kulendiren / April 5, 2019
in Sri Lanka every thing is an issue . Soon Peeing and Pooing too will become an issue
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