Disarming The Juggernaut Of Religious Intolerance
By Sachin Parathalingam and Kavindya Tennakoon on behalf of the youth discussion forum,
Dynalogue -September 7, 2013
Sachin Parathalingam
The youth of Sri Lanka express their dismay and alarm over the apparent surge in religious intolerance and communal discord that has permeated our society in the post-LTTE era and particularly in recent months. It is a pity that the ‘infamous’ “Grandpass incident”, a subject of intense political drama a few weeks back, was neither “isolated “ nor “random”, as some conveniently assert. Research conducted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA)indicates that from May 2009- January 2013 a staggering 69 attacks have been directed at places of religious worship While the majority of these cases pertain to the Christian community, particularly non-traditional churches, this does not preclude other major religions, with reports indicating at least 10 Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques came under attack in the period under survey.
What is truly fueling this juggernaut of intolerance is not the inter-religious attacks or the impunity the perpetrators of these attacks appear to enjoy. The members of this forum hold the view that these attacks, which are undoubtedly deplorable, do little to alter the mindsets of the so-called ‘moderate thinkers’ or fuel deep communal hatred or majoritarian insecurity in that sense. The driving force behind this phenomenon of intolerance is largely the virulent hate campaigns against certain religions and religious groups propagated via the online and social media. For instance a recent infographic on a Facebook page, asserted that the growth rate of the Muslim population is over 80% and if the Sinhalese are not careful, the Muslim population would supersede that of the Sinhalese by 2014. Another infographic likened the practices of Islam such as “Halal” to that of the “Taliban”. To correct the ‘peace-loving’ groups behind these sentiments, the Muslim community constitute a mere 8%( approximately) of the total population, a fact that the followers of our forum need little reminder of. Consequently it is obvious that assertions such as those highlighted above are nothing more than a farce, as any reasonable mind would comprehend. But when ‘sugar-coated’ with colorful images and potent rhetoric, sentiments such as these, expressed in social media can mutate into a viable and potentially lethal propaganda tool , a tool that if left unchecked could have limitless and dangerous consequences for communal harmony.
The “majority” are NOT intolerant Read More
