Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem has said that the Muslim community is
extremely disturbed by the assertion that the Muslim community of Sri
Lanka could be a possible breeding grounds for extremism within the
country.
Minister Hakeem, who is also the leader of the
SLMC, issued the following statement in response to the key-note
address delivered by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, at the
Defence Seminar on the theme ‘Post Conflict Sri Lanka: Challenges and
Regional Stability’: "In order to avoid any controversy arising out of
any misunderstanding, I would like to quote the exact words of the
Secretary of Defence and its context:
"Similarly, it has
been observed that there are some foreign groups that wish to encourage
Sri Lankan Muslims to identify themselves more with the global Muslim
community, thereby reducing their integration with the rest of the
population. It is a known fact that Muslim Fundamentalism is spreading
all over the world and in this region. This is a situation that our law
enforcement agencies and security forces are concerned about,
particularly as there have been instances where extremist elements have
been in transit in Sri Lanka prior to arrest and handing over to
appropriate authorities. The possibility that such extremist elements
may try to promote Muslim extremism in Sri Lanka is a cause for
concern."
The cogency and the relevance of this statement in
contemporary domestic and global contexts are understandable. There is
indeed a phenomenon of rising consciousness in the Islamic world which
is seen as ‘Muslim fundamentalism’ or ‘Militant Islam’ mainly by the
non-Islamic world. The most eloquent example is that of the Islamic
Republic of Iran which is the global enemy- number-one of the United
States of America. This same Nation has extremely cordial relations
with Sri Lanka. Similarly, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan too are also often
unfairly projected in negative light globally, despite their state
actions against militant extremism, but, they remain sincere friends of
Sri Lanka who voted in favour of our country at the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva. It has more to do with ‘perception’ and ‘passion’
and less to do with ‘realty’ or ‘accuracy’.
The observation
that the Muslim communities may have some elements with extreme
parochial prejudices is both possible and probable. Yet, we are
extremely disturbed by the specific reference to the Muslim community of
Sri Lanka as possible breeding grounds of extremism within the
country. I find it imperative to make this observation in the context
of the most vital part of the address made by the Secretary of Defence.
He says and I quote:
"If the level of political discourse
in Sri Lanka is not raised above these narrow ethno-religious concerns
to address the core issues facing all of our people, it will be very
difficult for the nation to make progress. In this context, it is
particularly important that all of the main political parties work
throughout the country to promote the interests of the nation, without
focusing on one group or other. It is only when we bring all the
ethnicities and cultures of this country together into one Sri Lankan
identity that we will truly make progress as a nation."
The
Muslim community of Sri Lanka that has been a historical minority of
Sri Lanka from the time of Ancient Sinhala kings fervently hopes to see
the State promoting the interests of the Sri Lankan nation, and avoid
"focusing on one group or other".
The minority communities
of Sri Lanka would have been genuinely reassured if the words of wisdom
of a public officer, such as the Secretary of Defence, included ‘all
communities’ that make up our plural polity. Prejudice and parochialism
are neither a minority monopoly nor a decease that the majority
community is immune to.
I would like to publicly contradict
the assertion of the Secretary of Defence that, "One of the
consequences of the increasing insularity amongst minority ethnic
groups is the emergence of hard line groups within the majority
community." On the contrary, I wish to say that, it is the
intransigence and intolerance of a miniscule minority within the
majority community who under the pretence of being defenders of the
teachings of the greatest defender of human dignity and non- violence
hold the entire populace in helpless anxiety while driving the hapless
minorities in to servile insularity.
The "vicious cycle of
greater fragmentation of the Sri Lankan identity" can only be halted
only when the state that is uniformly protective of all its people,
leaving matters of religion and culture in the hands of the respective
peoples and groups, as is the case of all enlightened democracies.
Surely, our nation state is mature enough to discern the difference
between coexistence and subsistence."
"The Island"
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