{"id":105972,"date":"2013-09-17T15:40:30","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T10:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=105972"},"modified":"2013-09-26T01:59:59","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T20:29:59","slug":"and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAnd They Also Come For The Christians\u201d – With Apologies To Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892-1984)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka<\/a><\/span>\u00a0–<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Professor A.N.I. Ekanayaka<\/p><\/div>\n

Amidst the widespread condemnation of recent attacks\u00a0 on Muslims by hostile Buddhist militants in Sri Lanka, it is fair to say that Christians in Sri Lanka though saddened and outraged by these incidents are probably not surprised. That is because they have in many ways been\u00a0 getting\u00a0 a bigger beating \u00a0and over a much longer period of time, than their recently beleaguered\u00a0 Muslim counterparts. Considering incident reports many in the public domain during 11 years from 2002 -2013 there seem to have been at least 250 hostile incidents against Christian churches, Christian pastors and Christian worshippers in Sri Lanka \u2013 and still counting. They constitute a depressing tale of\u00a0 beatings, insults, verbal abuse, stoning, stabbings, destruction of property, desecration, arson, mob violence, death threats, attempted murder, disruption of worship, obstruction of funerals, defiling people and places with human excreta, as well as framing up victims with fake charges. In one of the most recent incidents it would appear that at Meegoda<\/a><\/span> in the Colombo district a Christian prayer meeting was disrupted by a mob led by some monks who forcibly entered the premises destroying musical instruments and damaging furniture and glass windows. Evidently the pastor was assaulted by a monk who hit him over the head with a guitar until it broke and the pastor fell unconscious to the floor.The recent attack on people who were taking refuge inside a church in the Weliweriya massacre<\/a><\/span> ( an\u00a0 act of desecration strongly condemned by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjit himself ) also deserves mention here, since it points to the seeming disregard of the government itself towards the sensibilities of Christians. We may speculate that if\u00a0 provocations even fractionally as serious as these had been directed against the Muslim community in the nature of things there might have been grievous repercussions.<\/p>\n

By comparison the persistent harassment of Christians has proceeded with relative impunity, amidst frequent police inaction if not seeming partiality towards the culprits, overall government apathy , the sanguine indifference of a predominantly Buddhist public and the complacency of a predominantly Buddhist media for whom this is not a priority. Moreover being a longsuffering placid non violent community, Christians in Sri Lanka have been restrained in the face of these humiliations rather than attract public attention by raising a hue and cry.<\/p>\n

It is of course important to emphasise that these violations though perpetrated in the name of Buddhism are an unspeakable contradiction of the teachings of the dhamma<\/em>. Such hate crimes are the very antithesis of Metta<\/em>, Karuna<\/em>, Mudita<\/em>, and Upekkha<\/em>. Sadly the upsurge of violence in defence of Buddhism shows that the pristine Buddha dhamma<\/em> of its compassionate founder has virtually disappeared in Sri Lanka. It seems that what passes for Buddhism nowadays is a hideous distortion\u00a0 that might more aptly be titled\u00a0 \u2018militant Sinhala Buddhist nationalism<\/a><\/span>\u201d ( a curious jingoistic religiosity) where ironically the dhamma<\/em> instead of promoting detachment from the world – itself becomes a focus of insecurity, obsessive protectionism, and craving. Any true Buddhist with \u2018right understanding\u2019 would find this situation deeply distressing.<\/p>\n

There is obviously\u00a0 no provocation that can even remotely justify the kind of violence documented\u00a0 in the various reports on any legal, moral or spiritual perspective. However it is a fact that historically allegations of so called \u2018unethical conversions\u2019 and agitation for anti conversion legislation, have formed the backdrop to such violence and a back handed excuse for it . Consequently while not wishing to disgrace themselves by openly condoning such violence, it would not be surprising if chauvinistic Buddhist political parties, some religious organisations, and individual diehards ( even including some otherwise respectable intellectuals ), may silently gloat over the plight of the Christian victims\u00a0 on the grounds that they \u201cgot what was coming to them\u201d for engaging in \u2018unethical conversions\u2019. However this article is not about the vexed issue of \u2018unethical conversions\u2019. Indeed, it is even possible to argue that on any logical reasoning the whole concept of unethical conversions is a meaningless contradiction because a so called \u2018forced conversion\u2019 is by its very nature a \u2018no conversion\u2019 \u2013 but that is not the point. \u00a0Nor is it that the occurrence of such activities \u00a0in Sri Lanka if at all has been \u00a0grossly and maliciously exaggerated to the point of paranoia by interested parties. The point is that whatever our opinions about such matters decent peace loving Sri Lankans who have a proper understanding of the core teachings of their religion ought to draw the line at violence and have a zero tolerance towards it, because violence in any form, at any time, against anybody, for any cause, is a gratuitous violation of both religion and the law.<\/p>\n

Having said that one must concede that Christians in Sri Lanka find themselves in a somewhat more difficult position than their Muslim counterparts. Recent attacks on mosques and Muslim business premises may not have been dominantly motivated by the paranoid fear that large numbers of Buddhists might somehow be attracted to Islam, become intellectually convinced of its truth, and convert to it. \u00a0By comparison attacks on Christians may have an added dimension reflecting the anger and bitterness of those who feel threatened by the potential for the purely voluntary conversion of individuals to Christianity. Indeed amidst the manifold\u00a0 trials tribulations and uncertainties of life on earth, the inexorable advance of death, and the awful fear of what may lie beyond – it is not surprising that ordinary people should be attracted and excited by the simple Christian Gospel. \u00a0It is a Gospel that proclaims the incredible love of God who came down to earth in the form of Jesus, \u00a0in every way shared our human experience, suffered the horror of crucifixion as a propitiation for human sin, and triumphantly rose from the dead, so that\u00a0 those who put their faith in Christ may forgiven of their sins, enjoy peace and joy for the remainder of their earthly existence, and confidently look forward to the absolute guarantee of eternal life beyond the grave. It is not surprising that people should find such extraordinary \u201cgood news\u201d irresistible, and it is intolerable and unfair that they should be beaten up for it along with those who introduce them to it.<\/p>\n

To complicate things further the Christian Church lives under the inescapable imperative of the \u201cgreat commission\u201d where Jesus unequivocally exhorted his disciples to \u201c Go forth to every part of the world, and proclaim the good news to the whole creation . . .\u201d . Accordingly Christians all over the world are called to peacefully respond to this divine imperative by preaching and teaching, respectful dialogue and charitable service carried out with love tolerance and sensitivity. Their response to those who want them to stop doing this is the same today as that of the apostle St Peter 2000 years ago who on being arrested, put in prison and produced in court\u00a0 for preaching the Gospel answered \u201c Is it right in God\u2019s eyes for us to obey you rather than God ? . . . We cannot possibly give up speaking of things we have seen and heard\u201d<\/p>\n

It is well known that throughout history millions of Christians who have been faithful to this calling have suffered much and endured great persecution. \u00a0One of the more horrible examples from our own time and region is the case of the Australian missionary Graham Staines who was serving amongst socially outcast lepers in Orissa India. In 1999 he and his two little sons were ambushed by frenzied Hindu activists with flaming torches, and burnt alive while sleeping in their station wagon. His wife Gladys Staines has since forgiven the killers saying that she had no bitterness towards them. \u00a0In Sri Lanka the numerous attacks against Christians during the past 12 years though not as bad, nevertheless reflect a similar mindset in the attackers. It is this mindset that is responsible for much intolerance towards religious minorities in all cultures.<\/p>\n

It is a mindset characterised by a\u00a0 fundamental\u00a0 fallacy that has been around for so long that everyone, even the so called educated classes, \u00a0tends to take it for granted.\u00a0 As William James the father of modern Psychology is supposed to have said\u00a0 “There’s nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.”. In this case wherever in the world religious minorities are harassed the underlying driving ethos is the notion\u00a0 that the majority religion has territorial sovereignty and enjoys an intrinsic hegemony in a\u00a0 specific geographic zone. \u00a0But the assumption that this or that religion has a unique incontrovertible claim on this or that geographic region in perpetuity, constitutes a dangerous and irrational ideology that is utterly obsolete in a 21st<\/sup> century globalised world. \u00a0It is a springboard to much violence against religious minorities, for the implication is that other faiths may exist in such regions on sufferance, only for their own followers, within strictly defined limits at the will and pleasure of the majority community which of course holds the whip hand. No wonder\u00a0 fanatics in such a society will extrapolate that if in their view a religious minority \u2018steps out of line\u2019 they can take the law into their hands, and beat them up ! Alas, in Sri Lanka Article 9 which gives to Buddhism \u201cthe foremost place . .\u201d\u00a0 unfortunately enshrines this inimical notion of territorial religious sovereignty \u00a0in the constitution.<\/p>\n

But the truth is that such exclusivity diminishes the very religion that it is intended to foster. If one subscribes to a religious faith believing it to be truth, then one must believe that it\u2019s truth \u00a0is true for all\u00a0 people everywhere. It follows that one is duty bound to try and evangelize the world with its truth. To settle for anything less is to undermine the validity of a religion and diminish its relevance. Each religion represents a unique and mutually exclusive spiritual perspective on such critical matters as life, death, sin, suffering, salvation, happiness\u00a0 and eternity. \u00a0Notwithstanding the manifold theological contortions of religious pluralists and their wishful thinking, the reality is that there are irreconcilable differences in what the different religions say about such things. \u00a0Notwithstanding such differences true religion does not consist in jealously guarding its traditional dominance in one corner of the world where it has a majority and aggressively fighting off the competition. Nor does it mean harassing adherents who think better of it and convert to another faith. All that sounds too much like a shopkeeper desperately trying to retain his customers by hook or by crook. Indeed such obsessive protectionism is a dis-service to a religion for it is a sign of weakness and an admission that the truth of that religion is not convincing enough to retain its followers.<\/p>\n

The reality is that religious faith is one dimension of human ideology amongst many – political, economic, scientific, social and moral. In a democracy all such beliefs including religious beliefs are ( in a manner of speaking) a freely marketable commodity. In the free market of human ideology those that are more convincing, stand the test of time in the furnace of human experience, and are of greater immediate value in coping with the problems of life will inevitably win the day and attract more converts. Religion is no exception to this process where additionally its attractiveness will also be strongly influenced by the practical witness to holiness and loving kindness, of its professed adherents .<\/p>\n

Such are the fundamental changes in mindset on the part of both society and government\u00a0 required for the permanent eradication of violence against religious minorities anywhere. Wherever in the world irrational and outmoded concepts of\u00a0 inherent territorial religious supremacy persist, minority faiths will always be resented, tolerated on sufferance, and potentially persecuted. However, whatever the imperative for such a fundamental \u00a0attitude change, there is little doubt that in Sri Lanka the government can stop attacks on Christians by appropriate measures provided it has the political will. The principled exclusion of any chauvinistic quasi-religious political party from the government and prohibiting ( instead of appearing to sympathise with ) the known militant religious groups that are openly running riot harassing religious minorities, are amongst the measures that will restore\u00a0 the confidence of religious minorities, and demonstrate the intention of the State to\u00a0 enforce the rule of law without fear or favour. Such measures would also be in the best interests of Buddhism, by sending a strong message to \u00a0ugly rampaging militants who try to bring Buddhism into disrepute by the display of hate and violence in complete violation of the teachings of the dhamma<\/em>. As to why the government hesitates to take such action is puzzling considering that the President having vanquished terrorism is widely perceived as a national hero whose impeccable Sinhala Buddhist<\/a><\/span> credentials are beyond reproach however firmly he may deal with religious militants who are a disgrace to Buddhism.\u00a0 As the old adage states \u201cwhere there is a will there is a way\u201d. \u00a0In the meantime Christians wherever in the world they are besieged will echo the heartfelt prayer of the ancient Psalmist who many centuries BC complained \u201c O Lord how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult ? They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage . .\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":105973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,6968],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-editorial","category-popular-columns"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cAnd They Also Come For The Christians\u201d - With Apologies To Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892-1984) - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cAnd They Also Come For The Christians\u201d - With Apologies To Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892-1984) - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-09-17T10:10:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-09-25T20:29:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Asoka-N.I-Ekanayaka.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"594\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"641\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cAnd They Also Come For The Christians\u201d - With Apologies To Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892-1984) - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Asoka-N.I-Ekanayaka.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-09-17T10:10:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-09-25T20:29:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-they-also-come-for-the-christians-with-apologies-to-martin-niemoller-1892-1984\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Asoka-N.I-Ekanayaka.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Asoka-N.I-Ekanayaka.jpg\",\"width\":\"594\",\"height\":\"641\",\"caption\":\"Prof. A.N.I. 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