The nationalization and politicization of Buddhism as a state religion has always been a cause for concern among the religious minorities, having the potential to hinder any balanced decision making that can serve to suitably placate all parties concerned.
Source/Credit: MuslimMatters
By Shaahima Fahim | April 25, 2012
The Dambulla Mosque Debacle and The Rise of The Minority Extremist
The city of Dambulla in Sri Lanka, more known for its representation in tourism brochures as a registered heritage destination for culturally-inclined tourists to the island, made headlines of a less-idyllic nature on the afternoon of Friday the 20th of April – when Buddhist monks led a 2000-strong protest against a local mosque.
[The event]... led to the cancellation of Jumaah prayers at the masjid, the evacuation of worshipers and effective cordoning off of the premises.
Said protestors claim that the land on which the mosque is built is of reverential value and sacred to their faith, the reason for which the 'illegal structure' must go.
The Muslim community of Dambulla has countered the allegations stating that the mosque has in fact been lawfully registered and operational for the past 50 years.
Muslims in Sri Lanka make up roughly 8% of the 21.5 million-strong population, a percentage tying them in third place with their Christian counterparts, after Buddhism and Hinduism. A statistic that also has them tagged a 'minority' in the Sinhala Buddhist dominated (70% of population) nation.
All ears ... were directed to the then-silent government, at the time yet to take a stand on the issue.
On Sunday the 22nd of April, the Prime Minister's office released a statement ordering for the mosque's closure, but 'assuring ' the Muslim community that they would be provided with the necessary facilities to facilitate the relocation of Masjidul Khairah to a safer location.
The decision claimed to have been collectively made with the consent of the country's Muslim leaders, but the ministers in question have denied having had any say at the time.
This portrays the Sri Lankan government in a very negative light both internally and across international waters, especially to the Muslim countries who voted in support of Sri Lanka in the recent US-backed UNHRC resolution last month.
The nationalization and politicization of Buddhism as a state religion has always been a cause for concern among the religious minorities, having the potential to hinder any balanced decision making that can serve to suitably placate all parties concerned.
...
The Muslim community of Sri Lanka seems to have now resorted to placing greater expectancies on the well-positioned Muslim parliamentarians (a considerably large representation in the current regime) than in the government as a whole. That in exercising their rights as MPs and leaders they will be dutifully positioning the well-being of the Muslim community before personal fears of potentially risking their political footing on the boards they represent.
-- Edited for space
Read original post here: The Dambulla Mosque Debacle and The Rise of The Minority Extremist
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