Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Global Voices

    Anti-Muslim attacks stoke tensions and incite fear amongst mourning Sri Lankans

    On 12 May Sunday, anti-muslim violence started over a Facebook post by a Muslim trader in coastal Chilaw town in Puttalam District, North Western Province of Sri Lanka.
    by Rezwan May 17, 2019 3 minutes

    Muslims praying In Sri Lanka. Image by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    On 12 May, anti-Muslim violence was allegedly sparked over a Facebook post by a Muslim trader in coastal Chilaw town located 80 km away from Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo. Within hours, mobs began attacking mainly Muslim-owned buildings and houses in other cities in the North Western province. By 13 May, around 500 houses, shops, mosques, and other religious centers were damaged, one person was killed, and ten others were seriously injured. The authorities imposed a curfew in the entire country until the morning of 14 May, amid fears of the attacks spreading.

    The authorities also temporarily blocked a number of social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, to control the situation.

    This comes in the wake of the 21 April 2019 bomb attacks on churches and hotels during Easter celebrations, which killed 258 people and rattled the country. As details of the Easter events emerged, locally based radical Islamic groups were identified as the attackers and many of the perpetrators died in suicide bombings. Many feared that the local Muslim community would be targeted as a scapegoat for the terrorist acts, against the backdrop of century-long violence by the Sinhala majority against minority Tamils, Muslims, and Christians.

    A Facebook post allegedly triggered the clashes

    Tisaranee Gunasekara describes how the recent violence started in a blog post for Groundviews:

    The outburst of anti-Muslim violence began on 12th Sunday in Chilaw (the inciting incident seemingly was a Facebook post by a Muslim trader with deficient English and a cavalier attitude towards punctuation; it was translated into Sinhala by a Sinhalese whose knowledge of English was even poorer). Within hours, the violence spread to other parts of the North Western Province and to Gampaha district. Undeterred by the curfew or the presence of the security forces, the mobs attacked and burnt, as they did in Digana in 2018, Aluthgama in 2014 and nationally during Black July.

    As of now, the worse of the violence seems over. Even so, this is only a reprieve. If the perpetrators of this week’s riots are not brought before the law, fast, a new outburst is bound to follow.

    The Facebook post quoted the Muslim trader as saying, “Don’t laugh more, 1 day u will cry,” which allegedly caused people to believe it was a warning of an impending attack.

    Images and videos of the destruction caused by mob retaliation were being circulated on social media:

    Asking for solidarity

    There is an indication that hardline Buddhist groups were behind these anti-Muslim attacks. Police have arrested 78 suspects for the violence and unrest especially in Kurunegala, Kuliyapitiya, Nikaweratiya, and Chilaw. According to the authorities, the situation is now under control.

    At Groundviews, Gitendra E Chitty asks Sri Lankans for peace and solidarity in these difficult times:

    Sri Lanka must bring its communities together, no matter what race or creed. Because these attacks were not against Christians or tourists. These mobs were not against Muslims. They were against each and every one of us, and their damage to our mindsets and our morals and our sense of belonging is real – for Sinhalese, and Tamil, and Muslim, and Burgher, and every other ethnic and religious group.

    Journalist Chathuri Dissanayake tweets:

    IT specialist Afzal says:

    Originally published in Global Voices.

    More from Global Voices

    Global Voices5 min readInternational Relations
    Unpacking Pro-Palestinian Activism In Taiwan: Interview With Aurora Chang
    To understand what motivates fewTaiwanese to speak for Palestine, Global Voices spoke to Aurora Chang, a Taiwanese human rights activist involved in the coordinating of solidarity movements with Palestine.
    Global Voices6 min readPolitical Ideologies
    Bassirou Diomaye Faye Elected President Of Senegal: Victory Of A Determined Youth
    On March 24, 2024, the Senegalese people elected a new president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, following a period of protests caused by the postponement of the initial election date.
    Global Voices5 min read
    Presidential Elections In Venezuela: Less Free Than Ever
    As Venezuela's presidential election approaches on July 28, will the opposition be able to endorse a viable candidate? Will Maduro leave anyone who threatens him electorally out of the race?

    Related