The Saudi Embassy has issued a statement rebutting claim by ex-Governor Hemakumara Nanayakkara, that the reason behind Wahhabi Muslims amassing wealth and assets in urban areas, is due to loan schemes funded by Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia that enables banks to issue loans at 1% interest.
The ex-Governor made this racist comment a few weeks ago at an event organised by teh All Ceylon Buddhist Congress.
Hemakumara alleged that Wahhabi Muslims have been able to invest in valuable properties in Colombo as well as other urban areas, due to state and private banks issuing major financial concessions on loans, backed by Islamic nations including Saudi Arabia.
“If an ordinary citizen wishes to take a loan from a state or private bank, we would be charged a 14% interest…But there is a special group of people in this country – a group of Muslims who are not charged the same interests as others. Not all Muslims are privy to these benefits, the Sufi Muslims are not given these concessions,” he said.
Hemakumara went on to state that it is the Wahabi Muslims who receive special treatment from banks, where, if they apply for a loan, the requested amount would be approved via a special committee that would issue the loan for a 1% interest.
He alleged although it was initially only Amana and Habib banks that issued these Islamic loans, today the state as well as other private banks in Sri Lanka and other finance companies offer this concession to Wahabi Muslims.
“The banks have been enabled to grant this concession of 1% interest on loans because islamic nations including Saudi Arabia and Qatar have invested in the local bank shares…Wahabis are granted these monetary concessions and the loss due to not charging the full interest is absorbed by the fund backed by the Islamic nation,” he added.
However, the Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka dismissed his claims and pointed out the country has only offered soft loans and that too, to fund the development projects of Sri Lanka intended to benefit Sri Lankans and enhance their quality of life.
In a special statement the Embassy noted a total of 407.72 million USD has been granted to Sri Lanka so far to fund facilitation of various development projects.
We publish below the letter in full:
Nathan / July 6, 2019
Fahim, I thought in Islam questioning about Islam or allah is sacrilege and that warrants holly war or jihad. Man, even educated Muslims, would say that no one has the right to question Quran or Allah. You just have to accept it. Those non believers have no right to exist and killing them is an act blessed by Allah with heaven and 73 virgins awaiting. For you Quran is 100% correct and there is no question of correcting Quran and instead the person who disagrees with Quran. This statment alone shows how archaic Islam is and how unintelligent the followers are. Once you make a conclusion, then there is no room for further learning, or knowledge or questioning, it is a blind end. That is Islam today and then. Who is this Allah, who is this God, what is this Quran, who created all this. It is man. All gods and all religions are created by man like politics. They are just copying each other, competing with each other and creating various theorises and views contradicting each other. If there is one Allah and one Quran then why so many groups in Islam and why they slaughter each other in the name of the same Allah? Same with other religions too. This God and religion issue is in no way different to politics and exploit the gullible, non thinking, delusional human with various fears and theories and miracles. Fahim, if we have the ability to think rationally and logically and humanely then we neither need a God or religion or Quran. But here we have so many, yet there is no peace no wisdom instead stupidity, ignorance and violence and hatred. Lastly, many things in Quran are totally out dated and it was meant for early desert existence of cruel. primitive, illiterate humans and not today’s humans living in the modern life.
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Sarrij / July 7, 2019
N.
Something wrong with your thinking and information gathering’ it’s all fake man. Get real; you need serious psychiatric help.
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Radical Ideas / July 8, 2019
The Sinhala racist sluts have exposed their Super Stupidity to the entire world in glaring Super Mega screen for everyone else to see. Day by day, the Sinhala Racist are losing their thinking capacity and just look at how crappy their findings. FALOPPIAN Rathana and his garbage acting on various issues that they brought forth are a case to study how their Dry Skin Head functions. Coming to the main topic, THE SAUDI ARABIA as a state cannot happen to be at the receiving end of a CRIMINAL, PROFESSIONAL POLITICAL BEGGARS whom they call The Sinhala Buddhist Nationalists or the more appropriately must be called as the SINHALA RACISTS. Why cant the Saudi Authorities and the government IMPOSE economic sanction and oil embargo to this criminal racist Sinhala political order, the ones who are benefitting from the so called “Muslim, Wahhabi, Arabs”….? If CHAMPIKA RANAWAKA wants to fight Islam, he should not do it with Muslim money which is running the Sinhala racist economy.
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concerned citizen / July 6, 2019
Nathan
Can you elucidate us on the ” todays living in the modern life” do you have any proof statistical or otherwise to show that todays modern life was better than desert existence of cruel primitive illiterate life
Is there more cruelty now or then, is there more killing now or then, was there more justice then or now, did people live like people now then?
if you dont know about something, dont talk about it
its better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than opening it and confirming.
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Fahim Knight / July 6, 2019
wafra? that is your opinion .
tragic of minds made up and very much like wahabi,Takiya ,another one,72 virgins
so give us another one just like thee
other one it takes only a chillie to do it in China.
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Nathan / July 6, 2019
Citizen, then or now things have been the same. Ever since man appeared there has been problems. Now we talk of more problems because of the modern day communication that is available to all and hence our awareness. Well modern day, I am not talking of humanity but about cutting the tip, or not eating pork or killing animals by bleeding or marrying many women, or have more children, etc. to name a few. It is up to anyone to anything like circusmcision etc but not in the name of Allah or any other god. Then or now, we are killing. After religions and gods were discovered, we have additional reason to kill. So your abuse only exposes your ignorance and bias and it is obvious you don’t have an open mind to think or intelligence to analyse. Humans are evils and they will continue to be evils. How do you explain these guys with so called education going into churches and killing the innocent in the name of a God. How do you explain Sinhala thugs and clergy periodically killing innocent minority civilians in the name of race or religion. Hope you will start thinking now.
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Nathan / July 6, 2019
Citizen, part of my earlier post was removed owing to overloading. That explained what these unnecessary things in the modern day.
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Fahim Knight / July 6, 2019
@Concerned citizen (unfortunately unconcerned of today , today matters)
yesteryear and the past is irrelevant, they say history must never repeat but it is always repeated, because religious prejudice and politics make sure we live in our past when no religion compels us to do so and we are to be blamed .
If we are not willing to consider progressive values , we will be stuck in history until we end up as history .
The choice is ours .
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Nathan / July 7, 2019
Saarij, luckily there is no god. Otherwise he would have punished you for your stupidity and ignorance. Religion flourishes in ignorance. This is what one calls fear of the unknown. Now start thinking and questioning. Once you become intelligent with the ability to think, question and learn then that will be god.
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