Extremists out to deepen schisms

Qadijah Irshad (Colombo Courier) / 11 May 2012

Almost three weeks after the vandalisation of a mosque in the Dambulla district by a 2,000 odd mob led by some Buddhist clergy, a Buddhist organisation called the Buddhist Protection Foundation held a protest march and a campaign on Monday 
in Kalutara demanding 
the removal of the in Dambulla.

Addressing media, the Executive Director of the Foundation Priest Puliyadde Sudhamma Thero said that the protest was just “a beginning of a series of protests against the Muslim mosque in Dambulla.”

The Dambulla mosque issue raises the ugly question of Buddhist chauvinism in the country. Viewing the incident in a larger context, one would identify the Dambulla fiasco as more than a Muslim issue.  It has consequences for all the communities — the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim. It also has impact on Sri Lanka’s attempt at reconcilliation among communities after the war.

Full Story>>>>