Tuesday, 13 August 2013 00:52
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A DAY after Eid, the attack on the Grandpass mosque is the latest in a spate of despicable anti-Muslim incidents that have sullied the island’s hard-won peace with racial hatred.
Sunset prayers were brutally disrupted when a mob, allegedly led by Buddhist monks, stormed the Masjid in Grandpass, breaking the gates, stoning the windows and demanding its immediate removal. Residents have told reporters that the old Molawatte mosque was taken over by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) prompting the worshippers to move to a new building several metres down the road. An ancient bo tree looming over the old establishment had also prevented its expansion.
The residents had no ire against the bo tree or the movement of the new mosque, which they say has been used for the past three years, yet the mob that attacked did not find this coexistence impressive. Rather their intention was to cause more divisions between communities that have lived in peace for decades – be they Muslim, Sinhalese or Tamil.
Residents also relate that Sihala Ravaya (SR) had sent a mob last month demanding the removal of the mosque and its authorities had asked for a month to comply. The next event was the reprehensible attack.
The result was Buddhist and Muslim political and religious leaders scrambling to resolve an issue that should have been nipped in the bud. Random groups do not and should not have the power to demand removal of places of worship, whether they are legal or otherwise. Ostensibly the Police knew about the SR involvement for residents say Police security was provided to the mosque but no attempts were made to make sure the law was followed. Hopefully the mob members will not be given impunity.
It cannot be denied that with the advent of the Bodu Bala Sena and other hardline organisations in Sri Lanka, the intensity of bigoted actions have increased. The number of derogatory racist remarks and tokenisation of religions and individuals, the warping of the diverse history inherited by Sri Lanka and spread of virulent and often inaccurate information to whip up racial hatred are on the rise.
Even though in this instance the BBS and SR have denied that they are behind the attacks, their whipping up of racial sentiments certainly did not help matters – in fact indirectly such organisations along with their members are responsible for creating problems where none previously existed.
Making the sacrifice to maintain peace, the Muslim community already ended the Halal certification process for local companies and agreed to give it free of charge for exporters. Events came to such a pass due to the increase in hardline factions and the inability or reluctance by the Government to quell them.
Saturday nights events also provoked an unusually stern response from Muslim Ministers in the ruling coalition led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa who issued a scathing statement, slamming the Government’s “lukewarm and ineffective” measures to curb anti-Muslim violence that they claimed had strengthened extremist groups spreading chaos in the country. The Ministers, who also wrote a strong letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, demanded that the Government take action to prosecute and punish those acting against national unity.
Taking the adage better late than never, it can only be hoped that the Government will, at least now, implement the law independently and provide justice to every citizen of the island irrespective of the religion they follow.
