In the dark heart of Sri Lanka's

anti-Muslim violence
A climate of fear prevails as Buddhist extremism grows
Nafeesathiek hahira Saha!deen in her home in "harga own# Sri Lanka $%hoto !& 'rancis (ade)
'rancis
(ade# "harga own
August *# +,-.
Nafeesathiek hahira Saha!deen had !een reading from her /uran when she heard a
great roar outside# 0smashing like a volume of thunder!olts and flames ever&where12
3er !edroom 4uickl& filled with men armed with sticks and iron rods1 Man& more had
swamped the front room of her house# and more waited outside1 5ne man smashed the
dressing ta!le in her front room# while others attacked wardro!es and sinks# and threw
the Muslim scripture !oard that hung on her wall to the floor1
It was the evening of 6une -71 hat afternoon Buddhist mo!s had !esieged a num!er of
Muslim 4uarters in "harga own on Sri Lanka8s western coast# and houses and
mos4ues were turned to ru!!le1 0he& said# 9come out# we want to set fire to the
house#82 Nafeesathiek recalls1 (hen the *:-&ear-old emerged from her !edroom into
the front room# 0people ran at me to assault me# !ut others stopped them21
he violence !egan shortl& after 7pm when around ;#,,, Buddhists marched through
the town8s streets1 Man& had watched earlier in the afternoon as <alagoda Aththe
<nanasara# Sri Lanka8s fire!rand monk and leader of the extremist Bodu Bala Sena
$BBS)# or Buddhist %ower 'orce monastic movement# spoke of the threat that Islam
posed to the countr&1
he violence had appeared planned1 (hen the group announced on its 'ace!ook page
that a rall& would take place# supporters asked whether the& should !ring gasoline with
them1 "a&s earlier# three Muslims had reportedl& attacked a monk in near!&
Aluthgama# providing the spark for a da& of fren=ied mo! violence that left three dead
and man& in>ured1 aking to the stage in "harga own# <nanasara warned? 0It will !e
the end of all @MuslimsA if a Muslim la&s a finger on a Sinhalese12
A retired teacher# Nafeesathiek sa&s she had taught students of all religious creeds#
spending the ma>orit& of her career in a school in central Sri Lanka in which she was
the onl& Muslim mem!er of staff1 Bntil that evening she had experienced no hostilit&1
But emerging from her house# she remem!ers turning to see the length of the street
full of armed men attacking the homes of neigh!oring Muslims1 Around -7, meters
awa& stood a group of policemen1 0he& were >ust standing there#2 she sa&s1
Nafeesathiek approached them and the& drove her to safet&1
Sri Lanka has suffered several instances of religious conflict in the past three &ears#
including the destruction !& Buddhists of a C,,-&ear-old Sufi shrine in Anuradhapura
in +,--1 But that da& in "harga own was among the worst1 Dideo footage showed
smoke !illowing from torched !uildings1 "a&s later the militar& was deplo&ed to guard
Muslim-owned propert&1 (hen ucanews1com visited the town in 6ul&# several streets
were lined with soldiers1 Behind them sat the charred# skeletal remains of !urned out
mos4ues and homes1
<nanasara co-founded the BBS in late +,-+# agitating against religious diversit& in Sri
Lanka1 Although its core mem!er !ase is relativel& small# it has 4uickl& developed a
strong influence1 Muslims have not !een the onl& targetE in 6anuar&# monks from a
BBS-allied group called Bodu Bala %aura# or Buddhist Shield# led attacks on Fhristian
churches in the countr&8s south1 <nanasara followed with a call in 6ul& for %ope
'rancis to come to Sri Lanka to apologi=e for the centuries of colonial rule !& Fhristian
nations G %ortugal# Netherlands and Britain1
Although he has distanced himself from the violence# the monk has !een une4uivocal
a!out the source of the growing hostilit&1 Hhis is a Buddhist nation# so wh& are the&
tr&ing to call it a multicultural societ&IH he told reporters earlier this &ear1
he Denera!le Baddegama Samitha hero# one of Sri Lanka8s !est-known monks# is a
former friend of <nanasara and holds a seat parliament1 In his office in the town of
<alle on Sri Lanka8s southern coast# he struggles to explain the emergence of an
extremist !rand of Buddhism that sees in other religions a threat to the national
identit&1 0Muslims and Buddhists suffered together during the war with the amils#2
he explains1 0It was harmonious G there8s no reason for the hostilit&12
In a post-war societ& still floundering from decades of conflict# mistrust feeds the 4uick
spread of conspirac& theories1 Samitha points the finger at a Jionist plot to take over
Sri LankaE others sa& the BBS is funded !& the Americans1 'ew versions carr& much
weight# !ut instead point to a desperate attempt to explain what isn8t easil&
explaina!le? 3ow has a movement that !roke ground less than two &ears ago managed
to mo!ili=e si=ea!le elements of a societ& that has little prior histor& of antagonism
towards other religionsI
Some point to a dark hand in the violence that ma& trace !ack to the upper echelons of
the government1 Fould %resident Ka>apaksa's administration !e looking to secure the
ma>orit& Sinhalese vote in the next elections !& mo!ili=ing supporters against the
specter of growing ethnic minorit& influence in the countr&I 5r at its heart could it !e
an economic conflictI 0Muslims used to !e ver& close to the kings of Sri Lanka# and
were granted crown land#2 Samitha sa&s1 0Now the& control much of the !usiness# and
therefore this could !e due to trade competition12
Such is the climate of fear following the 6une attacks that few people are willing to go
on record critici=ing BBS1 Samitha sa&s that on several occasions he has received
anon&mous phone calls warning him against speaking out against the movement1 But
on 6ul& +; around +#,,, people gathered in Folom!o8s Diharamahadevi %ark to rall&
against the violence# the strongest show of force &et1 An organi=er of the rall&#
Mohammed 3isham# said that more groups have spoken out against the growing
religious hostilit& over the past &ear# 0which gives hope of saner voices getting together
to make themselves heard against such racist groups and ideologies21
But he warns that while BBS and its adherents remain a fringe phenomenon# 0the
continuing impunit& with which some of these groups who propagate racism are still
operating is a growing concern21 3e added that the ma>orit& of incidents over the past
few &ears are 0still under investigation2# impl&ing that law enforcement is dragging its
feet1 Indeed multiple accounts# including that of Nafeesathiek# have emerged of police
standing !& and watching as the violence unfolds1 Lven Sri Lanka8s >ustice minister#
Kauff 3akeem# said that he had warned the government to prevent the 6une -7 rall& in
"harga own from taking place1 0I am ashamed#2 he later told theNew Mork imes1 0I
couldn8t protect m& people12
'or Samitha# the invective directed at him for critici=ing the BBS is eeril& familiar1
0(hen I campaigned for peace during the war @with the Li!eration igers of amil
Lelam G LLA I was accused of !eing pro-LLE now I8m !eing accused of looking for
votes from Muslims12 But the supposed phantom menace of Islam is !aseless# he sa&s#
with the statistics painting a different picture G examining the censuses of -:-+ and of
+,-+# the proportion of Muslims in Sri Lanka has not changed1
Nafeesathiek returned to her house several da&s after the attack to find furniture
smashed and >ewelr& and mone& taken1 She remains close to her Sinhalese neigh!ors#
!ut that onl& reinforces her !elief that the men who flooded into her house that
evening were not from "harga own# !ut perhaps a product of the organi=ing powers
of a higher force in the Sri Lankan clerg& or government1 She has not felt well since the
incident# and after the interview was due at the hospital for a checkup on her high
!lood pressure and di==iness1
he trauma for the Muslim population here is likel& to remain until light is shed on
!oth the cause and solution to the violence1 Lack of su!stantial action !& the
government will onl& worsen the crisis# 3isham sa&s1 0Moung and old from various
communities will feel as if the& have !een left alone after trusting that the perpetrators
will !e held accounta!le#2 he sa&s1 0hat can give rise to a sentiment which could result
in people thinking the onl& option would !e to take the law into their own hands12
he upshot of this could have additional repercussions for Sri Lanka8s Muslims1 0his
could pla& in to the hands of the extremists and racists who want to see Sri Lanka as a
pure Sinhala Buddhist countr&# contrar& to the diversit& and the nature of the
populace# !& giving them an excuse to swing the mindset of even the moderate
Buddhists#2 3isham warns1
%osted !& havam