Maynooth University researchers make breakthrough that could help cancer patients

By National University of Ireland Maynooth Aug 27, 2014

Researchers at the Department of Biology at Maynooth University have made a significant breakthrough in the study of the human pathogenic fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus. The fungus, which severely affects some cancer patients, produces a toxic molecule, gliotoxin.

The toxin causes disease in immune-compromised patients such as cancer sufferers and is also a major issue in food safety. The researchers had previously discovered that the toxin actually damages the fungus itself, but that the production of the toxin stimulates repeat production (a positive feedback loop).

Stopping the loop

The scientists have now discovered that a new molecule (GtmA) shuts down the mechanism causing the repeat production. This type of molecular ‘off-switch’ has never been seen before in biology, and may form the basis of a therapy to treat aspergillus infection in patients.

Discussing the breakthrough, Professor Sean Doyle, Department of Biology, Maynooth University, said he believed the breakthrough could form the basis of treatment for patients in the future.

“This is a major breakthrough because if we can discover exactly how toxin production is switched off in one fungal species, this will provide insights into how we can do it in other human, animal and plant disease-causing fungi.”

“This might form the basis of a therapy to treat aspergillus infection in patients, which can have a significant impact for cancer, organ transplant, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients,” he said.

Following on from the discovery, Professor Doyle hopes that medication and food additives can be developed to combat the toxin.

“We’ve made a number of discoveries in our study of this fungus over the past few years but this is one of the most significant. It may lead to pharmaceuticals and food additives which can diminish the production of this extremely damaging toxin,” he added.

The next step

The Maynooth University team now intends to further explore the wider impact of their findings and also investigate if, and how, similar systems operate in other fungi which make gliotoxin, and related toxic molecules. The work has significant biomedical and biotechnological applications and they hope to work with pharmaceutical companies interested in anti-fungal drug development.

The research has been funded by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council, and the breakthrough has just been published in the prestigious Cell Press journal Chemistry & Biology. The team of seven researchers at Maynooth University, led by Professor Doyle, has been pioneering investigations for several years into gliotoxin, making a number of key breakthroughs into the little understood toxic molecule which was first discovered in 1936.

The project involves a major collaborative effort between Maynooth University biologists Professor Sean Doyle, Dr. Gary Jones and Dr. David Fitzpatrick, along with PhD student Stephen Dolan, Dr. Rebecca Owens and Dr. Grainne O’Keeffe.

Biology at Maynooth University

Biology is the study of life – everything from the tiniest microbe to entire ecosystems that spread across the planet. And understanding more about life will help us to tackle major societal challenges, including human and animal health, food security and the effects of climate change.

Since its inception in 1970, the Department of Biology at Maynooth University has expanded steadily in terms of numbers of undergraduates, postgraduates, post-doctoral staff and academic and support staff, and in the range of courses offered. Current programme offerings include the BSc Biological and Biomedical Sciences and the BSc Biotechnology, the MSc Immunology and Global Health, the MSc Biology (research) and the PhD Biology.

Recent funding success has funded not only projects and researcher salaries, but has enabled the purchase of the most advanced technologies for molecular, proteomics and bioinformatics research. Biology at Maynooth University is one of the best equipped and resourced biological research departments in Ireland.

Promoting research collaboration

The research activities of the Maynooth University Department of Biology have increased significantly in scope and the Department has established an international reputation in Biological Control, Bioinformatics, Immunology, Medical Mycology, Molecular Genetics and Plant Biotechnology.

Traditionally, researchers in individual fields within Biology may not have had much interaction with each other. But by sharing technologies, working together across these disciplines and asking new questions, researchers at Maynooth University are gaining new insights into how life works.

Recent outputs from the Department include publications in high-impact journals, such as Nature Immunology, Cell, PLOS Pathogens and PNAS, and the development of two campusspin-out companies: Profector, which provides technology for genetics and biomedical research and drug delivery, and Beemune, which seeks to protect the health of bees.

To keep up-to-date with teaching, learning and research in the Maynooth University Department of Biology, visit the departmental News and Events pages.

Police block protestors in Vavuniya on International Day of the Disappeared Tamil Guardian 30 August 2014 Hundreds of Tamils were blocked from delivering a petition in Vavuniya on Saturday, marking the International Day of the Disappeared. Relatives of disappeared from across the Northeast attended an event at Vavuniya Urban Council, before a protest march towards the Government Agent offices at Vavuniya Kachcheri but police stopped the protestors from proceeding, saying that they did not have permission, sources at the scene told the Tamil Guardian. The protestors, many of whom were holding pictures of their relatives, sat in the road, shouting slogans against President Rajapaksa and the Sri Lankan government. Organisers decided to hand the petition to TNA MP Maavai Senathirajah and disperse the crowds, due to concerns for the safety of the people. The protest was attended by TNA MPs Sivasakthi Ananthan, Vino Noharathalingam, Maavai Senathirajah, MA Sumanthiran, and S Saravanabhavan. NPC officials I Inthirarajah, M Thiyagarajah, Ananthy Sasitharan, T Ravikaran and C Sivamohan were also in attendance.

புலனாய்வாளர்களது அச்சுறுத்தலால் கைவிடப்பட்டது கூட்டுப்பிரார்த்தனை 

28 ஆகஸ்ட்டு 2014, வியாழன்

வலி. வடக்கு மீள்குடியேற்றதை வலியுறுத்தி நாளை சுன்னாகம் சபாபதிப்பிள்ளை நலன்புரி நிலையத்தில் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருந்த கூட்டுப்பிரார்த்தனை புலனாய்வு பிரிவினரின்  அச்சுறுத்தலால் கைவிடப்பட்டது என ஏற்பாட்டாளர்கள் ஊடகங்களுக்கு தெரியப்படுத்தியுள்ளனர்.

பூந்தளிர்  மாவட்ட  பெண்கள் அமைப்பின் கிளையினரால் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருந்த  கூட்டுப்பிரார்த்தனைக்கு   சிவில் உடை அணிந்த இராணுவ புலனாய்வாளர் அச்சுறுத்தல் விடுத்துள்ளனர்.

மேலும் தெரிய வருவதாவது,

வலிகாமம் வடக்கு மக்கள் தமது சொந்த இடங்களில் மீளக் குடியமர வேண்டும் என வேண்டி, பூந்தளிர் மகளிர் அமைப்பின் யாழ். மாவட்டக் கிளையினர் நாளை சுன்னாகம் சபாபதி நலன்புரி நிலையத்தில் உள்ள ஆலயத்தில் மாலை 3 மணியளவில் தீப ஆராதனை நிகழ்வு ஒன்றை நடத்துவதற்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்திருந்தனர்.

இதற்காகத் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள், வடக்கு மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர்கள், தமிழ்த் தேசிய மக்கள் முன்னணியின் உறுப்பினர்கள் மற்றும் வலி.வடக்கு பிரதேச சபையினர் மக்கள் ஆகியோருக்கு அழைப்பு விடுத்திருந்தனர்.

அத்துடன் நாளைக் காலை 11 மணிக்கு யாழ். மாவட்ட அரச அதிபருக்கு ஒரு மகஜர் வழங்கவும் ஏற்பாட்டளர்கள் ஏற்பாடு செய்திருந்தனர். இதனை அறிந்த சபாபதி நலன்புரி நிலைய வாசி ஒருவர் இராணுவப் புலனாய்வாளர்களுக்குத் தகவல் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இதனையடுத்து சிவில் உடையில் அங்கு வந்த இராணுவப் புலனாய்வாளர்கள் அவருடன் இணைந்து ஏற்பட்டாளர்களைச் சந்தித்து  பலாலி படைத்தலைமையைகத்திற்கு கிடைத்த இரகசிய தகவலை அடுத்தே நாம் வந்துள்ளோம்.

எந்தவொரு செயற்பாடும் இங்கு  மேற்கொள்ள கூடாது என்றும் அவ்வாறு செயற்பட்டால் பின்விளைவுகளை சந்திக்க நேரிடும் என்றும் அச்சுறுத்தியுள்ளனர்.  அப்போது அரசுக்கு எதிரான எந்த நிகழ்வுகளையும் நடத்தவில்லை இது எமது சமய  நம்பிக்கை என ஏற்பாட்டாளர்களும் அங்குள்ளவர்களும் தெரிவித்தனர்.

எனினும் அவர்களது அச்சுறுத்தல் பலமாகியதனால் இந்தநிகழ்வு நிறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும், அரச அதிபருக்கான மகஜர் கையளிப்பதற்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருப்பதாகவும் அவ் அமைப்பினர் மேலும் தெரிவித்தனர்.

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=621743375130803581#sthash.3oANo9eC.dpuf

Disappearances and the struggle for truth and justice

by Ruki 

- on 08/30/2014 

30th August is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Tens of thousands have disappeared in Sri Lanka in last few decades[1]. On this day, families of disappearances in Sri Lanka will gather in Vavuniya in the North, to once again publicly appeal to find their loved ones, at least know the truth of what happened to them, and hold those accountable to justice.

Disappearances and the Struggle for Truth and Justice by Thavam

Truth, Accountability And The Last Stages Of Sri Lanka’s War; A Private Sector Perspective

By Chandra Jayaratne -August 30, 2014

Chandra Jayaratne

Issues of Truth and Accountability; the last Stages of the War in Sri Lanka - Narrative iii – MARGA & CHA Colloquium; a Private Sector Perspective

The “Third Narrative” reviewed at the Colloquium presents an alternative narrative, of the events of the last stages of the war, and has been developed as a response to the UNHRC resolution of 2014. This is in the wake of the purported conflicting and contradictory accounts of the last stages of the war in Sri Lanka. These varying accounts have come from the Defense Authorities/ Army and the Government of Sri Lanka, I-NGO’s, University Teachers for Human Rights, Academics, Documentaries, Film Clips and Publications by Individuals, ex-Soldiers and Combatants, Diaspora Groups, Civil Society Groups, Activists and Collectives in and Outside Sri Lanka and presentations by the International Community, the UN Secretary General’s panel of experts, and the LLRC.

This presentation is made following an objective analysis looking forward at the socio economic consequences to flow from the processes now in progress. It is based on a private sector perspective. It has the sole focus of realizing the common future goals hopefully shared by all of the alternative view presenters. It further aims to assure that the truth and reconciliation will emerge, along with justice, equity, fairness, upholding the legitimate interests of all victims, the decesed and other local actors including the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and limb in the process of the military operations. It is also developed with an aim to restore the lives and livelihoods of those who suffered on both sides of the war theatre and lead to peace, reconciliation, reparation, restoration lives and livelihoods and alleviate the grievances of those innocent victims and allow loved ones to come to terms and closure with their dead, missing and disappeared family members and friends.

The end goal is to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity of the nation and its people, with peace, harmony, good international relations and socio-economic development, equitably benefitting all citizens. This goal has resonance with the private sector’s primary core value of placing the interests of the nation and its people first.                                                     Read More

Shenanigans In Sri Lanka?
Dr Subramanian Swamy & Prof Madhav Das Nalapat with President of Sri Lanka at Temple Trees, Colombo.

Given Tamil sensitivities and Lanka’s strategic location, a loose cannon could have dangerous consequences for India’s security and national integration.

M.G. DEVASAHAYAM

Sri Lankan Tamil issue has been on boiling point with Tamils of India in suppressed anger. To assuage this, members of the Chennai based Civil Society Coalition for Justice and Peace including former union health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, met Sushma Swaraj, union minister of external affairs in mid-July and presented a Memorandum requesting re-setting of India’s foreign policy on Sri Lanka. 

Inter alia, we submitted that UPA government had not been following a nuanced foreign policy in Lanka that would render justice to the war-torn Tamils while safeguarding India’s security interests. Instead, driven more by parochial prejudices and commercial interests, India’s policy has succeeded only in alienating the Tamils, who occupy two-third of the island’s coastal area, without endearing the Sinhalese in any manner. Lanka has thus been handed on a platter to the China-Pakistan axis thereby jeopardizing India’s maritime security.

We impressed upon the need for the new government to have a paradigm-shift in India’s policy towards Lanka. To facilitate this the Memorandum sought the nomination of an independent person as Special Representative for Lanka to go into all aspects of the Indo-Lanka relations, outstanding and vexing issues and come out with a comprehensive solution-oriented blueprint. This could lead to an early healing of the festering wound among the Tamils that could otherwise turn into gangrene. The foreign minister’s response was cool with the subtle message: “We know what to do!”

Obviously they knew, because within days, the chairman of ‘BJP’s Committee for Strategic Action’ and rabidly anti-Tamil Subramanian Swamy landed in Colombo with high-level delegation comprising Seshadri Chari of the RSS, Suresh Prabhu of the Shiv Sena, Madhav Nalapat of Manipal Academy and senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta to pay obeisance to President Mahinde Rajapaksa and assure him that NDA government will work as per his agenda. The Lankan President was informed that concerns of 70 million Tamils are of no relevance to Modi government since foreign policy is the exclusive preserve of the centre and that they could swing it as they wished. So elated were the Sinhalese that President’s adviser Sunimal Fernando, proclaimed in a seminar that if Swamy was to contest an election in Lanka, he would have a resounding victory! 

Ever since the end of civil war in 2009, Rajapaksa has been promoting Lanka as a unitary state of Sinhala-Buddhists. He had said that the country no longer had any minority communities, but only patriots and traitors. Swamy and his team played second fiddle while stating that the war crimes issues in Lanka ‘raked-up’ by the United Nations Human Rights Commission were “contrived to belittle the importance of Rajapaksa’s victory over the traitors.” Referring to non-implementation of the 13th Amendment, the key grievance of Lankan Tamils, delegate Seshadri Chari said that it was the product of a particular situation that existed in 1987 and in the changed circumstances should be abandoned! 

The fact is that in Lanka, linguistic and religious minorities are being crushed by the tyranny of the Sinhala-Buddhists who constitute 80 per cent of the population. The Northern and the Eastern Provinces, traditional homeland of the Tamils, were once strewn with thousands of temples, churches, mosques, schools, libraries and statues of eminent persons and historical monuments. Many of them have been razed to the ground. All the five renowned Hindu shrines that existed long before the advent of Buddhism in Lanka—Thirukketheeswaram, Thirukkoneswaram, Naguleswaram, Munneswaram and Thondeswaram—are now under the control of the occupying armed forces or Sinhala-Buddhists. Having subjugated the Hindu Tamils, the Sangha, as the Theravada Buddhist monks are referred to, has turned its attention to Muslims, who are also Tamil speaking. 

Whatever Swami’s delegation did in Lanka was the opposite of what Tamil Nadu stands for and what Prime Minister and foreign minister told Rajapaksa when he came to Delhi to attend Modi government’s swearing-in ceremony: Abandoning the 13th Amendment could reactivate the bloody Tami Eelam struggle.

Withdrawing the March 2014 UNHRC resolution that talks of ‘significant surge in attacks against members of religious minority groups in Lanka, including Hindus, Muslims and Christians’ would be endorsing the ongoing communal agenda in the island. Both combined will have serious reverberations in Tamil Nadu.

Notwithstanding, BJP’s ‘strategy chief’ is running amuck with his self-appointed role as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Sri Lanka very seriously. He lost no time in following-up the ‘success’ of his please-Rajapaksa mission and was back in Colombo in the third week of August to attend a Defence Seminar. Claiming Prime Minister Modi’s mandate to deal with Lankan affairs, Swamy has been touting himself as “Member of Parliament and President of the Janatha Party of India”. He also made many false and absurd statements on India’s policy vis-à-vis Lanka:

• Sri Lankan Army’s victory over Tamils helped ensure the security of India too;
• International investigation on war crimes against Lanka is not acceptable to India and that the UN Resolution should be withdrawn;
• Foreign policy is being decided by the government of India, and states do not matter; 
• India’s National Security Advisor will visit Lanka in November and Prime Minister Modi early next year;
• he BJP has a majority in parliament and protests in Tamil Nadu does not matter; 
• Lanka’s military personnel will be trained in Indian military establishments in TN; 
• TN government’s demand for the retrieval of Kachchativu from Lanka is meaningless since that matter has been already settled. Ironically it is this very strategist who ‘swam’ across Palk Straits two decades ago to recapture this islet!
• Lanka has addressed India's security concerns over its soil being used by extremists to infiltrate into Tamil Nadu 
• Modi government is not concerned over the strong ties between China and Lanka. New Delhi will back Beijing working with Lanka on the economic front. 

Swamy went on to state that India respects Lanka's right to choose with whom it wants to have friendly relations. Stating that India is not part of any strategic partnership which works against the Chinese government he added: "We are no one to tell Sri Lanka: Don't have the Chinese here or don't have the Pakistanis here. We can't. Sri Lanka won't listen even.”  It would seem as if the crux of Swamy’s mission in Lanka was to facilitate smooth functioning of China-Pakistan interests in the island! 

It appears that Swamy & Co are playing Rajapaksa government’s game of using the BJP to consolidate two agendas. Nationally, it is the Sinhala-Buddhist ethno-nationalism to usher in Buddhistva in Lanka, even as the RSS and the Sangh parivar are pushing the Modi government to step up the Hindutva agenda. Internationally, though, it would firm-up the China-Pakistan-Lanka nexus that could pose direct threat to India’s Southern Seaboard. 

Both are high explosive. Given Tamil sensitivities and Lanka’s strategic location the shenanigans indulged by a loose cannon can have dangerous portends for India’s security and national integration. One hopes the infant government is aware of the enormity of what is at stake. Within weeks of SAARC bonhomie, Delhi is losing the plot in Islamabad. In Sri Lanka it could be much worse.

In this background, Prime Minister Modi met the six-member delegation of the Tamil National Alliance, Sri Lanka's main Tamil political party, who called on him on Friday 22 August. As per reports, Modi categorically assured them to settle the vexing Lankan issue in a manner ensuring "equality, dignity, justice and self-respect" for its Tamil minority. Prime Minister had urged "all stakeholders in Sri Lanka to engage constructively, in a spirit of partnership and mutual accommodation, towards finding a political solution that is built upon the 13th amendment of the Sri Lankan constitution." This is what the external affairs minister is not willing to say and what BJP’s ‘strategy chief’ has been trashing during his sojourn in the island nation. 

Pray, who is running India’s foreign policy?

FAQ on the UN Human Rights Council Resolution (2014) on Sri Lanka

 

by Chandra Jayaratne 

- on 08/30/2014 

AUN investigation into allegations of violations of human rights in Sri Lanka is about to commence. As an aid to public discussion, Friday Forum sets out below information to help the general public understand the legal basis, origin, nature and scope of this inquiry.

1. What is the Human Rights Council?

The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the main inter-governmental body within the United Nations that is responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide. Under the UN Charter (which is like the Constitution of the UN), promoting and encouraging respect for human rights for all without discrimination is a major purpose of the UN (Article 1.3).  The HRC and all other human rights institutions and procedures within the UN have been established in order to achieve that purpose effectively. The HRC consists of 47 members, all of whom are Member States of the UN elected for a three year term by the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Sri Lanka too is a former member of the HRC.
FAQ on the UN Human Rights Council Resolution (2014) on Sri Lanka by Thavam

Issues Of Truth And Accountability: The Last Stages Of The War In Sri Lanka

By Rajiva Wijesinha -August 30, 2014 

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

Let me start with a paradox. This is an extremely impressive book, but I find it woefully depressing. It has been put together, according to the introduction, by three patriots who are also strong adherents of pluralism and the rule of law. Godfrey Gunatilleka is, as Dayan Jayatilleka once described him, arguably the best intellect in public life, Asoka Gunawardena is the most balanced and practical of administrators, and Jeevan Thiagarajah combines unparalleled energy in the service of his country with wide ranging knowledge of what happened in various spheres during the conflict.

Why then am I depressed? There are several reasons for this. The first is very simply that it comes far too late. Second, it requires fleshing out through details which are only available with government. Third, it leaves unstated the need for immediate action by government in the spheres in which it is unable to refute allegations made against the country. Fourth – and I cannot believe that the main writers were responsible for this, given the very different perspective Godfrey put forward in the television interview – it seems to swallow wholesale the allegations against the UN leadership in Sri Lanka made by the Petrie Report. Finally, it leaves out one group of significant actors, namely those who have contributed heavily to the Darusman Report, if we are to believe Wikileaks: I mean the NGO representatives who produced evidence against Sri Lanka.

For these reasons, the fourth and fifth sections of this book are weak. The first two sections are very strong, and provide an object lesson to the Sri Lankan government as to how it should have dealt with the allegations in the first place. The third section is well argued, but its main point is weakened by the failure to affirm forcefully the need for a credible internal inquiry with regard to the treatment of surrendees. In this regard the book is less balanced than the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report, which is surprising since its rationale is that of a middle way between that and Darusman.

With regard to the first three worries I have, the first could be compensated for by prompt action now on the part of government. But given the hamfisted way in which government dealt with the Darusman Report in the first place, I do not think anything more will be done. It seems incredible now that the government responded to allegations against it by producing a narrative that did not address those allegations. But, pace the book’s erroneous claim that the Ministry of Defence’s account of the humanitarian operation preceded the Darusman Report, the fact is that, in its ostrich like view that hiding one’s head in the sand would get rid of threats, the Ministry produced a document that might have been useful had it been produced in 2009, but which meant nothing after Darusman.Read More

As Gota’s kudu (heroin) image reveals itself so he makes new diabolic plans to conceal –creates new unit under Wakishta
(Lanka-e-news- 29.Aug.2014. 1130PM) Following Lanka e news exposing kudu (heroin) Gota’s kudu business with photographs testifying to it , Gota had given orders to the police to arrest ‘kudu Nuwan’ who everyone know is a second row heroin dealer and a stooge of Rajapakses , and make a huge din about it with a view to camouflaging the actual real drug lords involved.

It is most perplexing , although the detection of 300 grams heroin and arrest of kudu Nuwan along with it was given so much publicity , the detection of 59 kilos of heroin at Katugastota of Dato Mohomed Mujahid (Malaysia) a close partner of Gota had not been given publicity in the announcements of the police made 4 to 5 times a day. This was obviously because of the instructions given by Gota to the notorious police media spokesman, a lickspittle and lackey of the Rajapakses.

While these kudu deals of Gota are coming to light slowly but surely each time a heroin detection is made , and Gota is being disgracefully stripped to his skin , Gota has himself hatched a conspiracy to effectively cover up his sordid heroin deals. That is, creating a new unit under the notorious DIG Wakishta , the Director of State intelligence service (SIS) and Terrorist investigation division ostensibly to seize heroin brought into Sri Lanka .Interestingly and intriguingly , in this unit created to make heroin detections across the whole Island , there are only 5 police constables and an inspector .

In this country where there is an Anti Narcotics investigations Bureau (ANIB) comprising as many as 450 officers to make heroin detections , and even when that number of officers are hard put to control this heroin scourge which has reached most alarming proportions under the present regime , this new unit with a sparse staff of six officers is created obviously with some ulterior ‘kudu’ motive by devil incarnate Gota and not with genuine motives to eradicate the heroin menace .Indeed, seniors of the SIS say , this is a unit that was never heard of before in the SIS.

According to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division , the six member unit of Wakishta has not been empowered to seize heroin but rather the unit has been entrusted with other dubious and devious tasks …….

1. When any heroin detections is made by the Anti Narcotics Bureau or any other such Institution , a ‘balancing’ of the information is done at this unit on who are the owners of the commodity ought to be made known and who should not be exposed.

2. Tracking down the police officers who are passing information secretly to the websites about these detections , and spying on them.

3. Identifying the individuals who are engaged in heroin businesses outside the Rajapakse regime and gathering information with a view to establishing preliminary co ordination thereby bringing them under the control of the regime

This unit comprising six members established by Chandru Wakishta on the orders of Gotabaya is already in operation .

However , the genuine patriotic minded officers of the police anti narcotics bureau have decided not to pass information about their own raids and keep them concealed . 

‘Muslim Extremism’

Sri Lankan Muslims at the crossroads – 14

August 29, 2014,

Muslims displaying the victory symbol during an anti-Israel and anti-U.S. demonstration after Friday prayers in Colombo recently. (File Photo)

by Izeth Hussain

I will now make some observations on the external dimension of Muslim extremism, perceptions of which among non-Muslim Sri Lankans tend to impact negatively, very negatively indeed, on the local Muslims. Islam tends to be seen as a religion that encourages fanaticism, violence, and aggression, which has led to the notion that Islam was spread by the sword. That is supposed to be the process by which once predominantly Buddhist countries became predominantly Muslim countries. The local Muslims, together with the wider Islamic world, are therefore too often seen as posing an existential threat to the Sinhalese.

The notion that Islam was spread by the sword was prevalent in the Christian world for centuries, but it has long been established that neither Islamic precept nor practice supports that notion. On the level of precept, Islamic doctrine is clear and categorical: "There is no compulsion in religion". On the level of practice, the historical evidence shows that usually the conquered were given the option of conversion to Islam or payment of a tax which was supposed to be in lieu of military service to which Muslims were subject. The option offered was never that of conversion or extermination. The IS slogan of "Convert or die" is certainly an aberration. That is the reason why although the Moguls exercised power in India for centuries, Hinduism and other religions continued to flourish there. Complex factors were in operation behind the conversions in India, such as the desire of lower castes for dignity and equality. Anyway, some Bengalis were converted to Islam while others remained Hindu; some Punjabis were converted to Islam while others remained Hindu or Sikh – and so on. It is a fact that at the time the Moguls relinquished power to the British, the Muslims were still in a minority in predominantly Hindu India. That does not square with the notion of conversation to Islam by the sword.

There is also the fact that conversion to Islam took place in many countries without a precedent Muslim conquest. Examples in South and SE Asia are the Maldives, Malaysia, and Indonesia which has the largest Muslim population in the world. There are several Black African countries which are predominantly Muslim although the Arab conquests never extended that far south. I believe furthermore that Islam has been for several decades the fastest spreading religion in Black Africa. There are two other pertinent facts that I must mention. There is not a single Muslim country that can be taken seriously as a military power, except perhaps for Turkey. The two invasions of Iraq showed that it was a third rate military power. The other pertinent fact is that the Sri Lankan Muslims have never engaged in a program to convert Buddhists to Islam. The notion that Sri Lanka could become predominantly Muslim through conquest or peaceful conversion is nonsensical.

I come now to the problem of Muslim intolerance, which seems to figure in the Sinhalese consciousness as something inherent in Islam, as part of its very essence. An illustration is apparently provided by the destruction of the ancient Bamiyan statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban. The fact that those statues were left intact over many centuries while Islam reigned supreme in Afghanistan is ignored. Furthermore it was a version of Islam that was rigidly orthodox with strict observance of the sharia. But only the fact that the statues were destroyed by an extremist terrorist group, the Taliban – which is clearly a transitional phenomenon – is taken into account. I will explain later why the Taliban should be regarded as a transitional phenomenon. The fact that has to be emphasized at this point is that for certain reasons an extremist Islamic intolerance arises in some Muslim countries but not in all of them, a fact that suffices by itself to establish that intolerance is not of the essence of Islam. Indeed it is arguable on the basis of Koranic and other texts that tolerance, not intolerance, is of the essence of Islam. The Koran asserts in two places that those such as the Christians, the Jews, and the Sabataeans, who believe in the one true God and lead the good life, will go to heaven. I believe that Islam is the only world religion that asserts that adherents of some other faiths could attain the highest good in the afterlife. It becomes arguable that Islam is more in tune with the wider ecumenism, in which tolerance is of the very essence, than any other world religion.

The question that has to be asked is this: Of what practical importance is it to the Sinhalese that some Muslim countries are intolerant towards other religions? In Saudi Arabia non-Muslim religious edifices cannot be built, and though the private practice of other religions is permitted in principle, there is interference in practice in that sphere also. The position may be even worse in some other Muslim countries. But how does that affect the Sinhalese Budhists who are working in Muslim countries? I have posed that question and asked specifically, in an exchange of views in the Island, what are the Muslim countries where permission to erect Buddhist temples has been sought and been refused. There has been no reply, presumably because there are no such countries. It appears therefore that, apart from the singular case of Saudi Arabia, the Sinhalese Buddhists working in other Muslim countries have no problems about practicing their religion. Muslim intolerance should therefore be regarded as a non-problem – except to a marginal extent in the Saudi Arabian case - in regard to Sinhalese-Muslim relations.

I have pointed out that Muslim extremism and Muslim population increase are seen as posing existential threats to the Sinhalese. I have shown above that internally there is no threat from Muslim extremists, nor is there externally. But in the preceding paragraph I have departed from that framework and dealt with an aspect of Muslim extremism, namely religious intolerance, that in no way poses an existential threat to the Sinhalese. However that perception of Muslim extremism can gravely prejudice Sinhalese-Muslim relations. In other ways too perceptions and misperceptions of Muslim extremism – taking into account for instance the sub-human horrors being perpetrated by the Islamic State – can so gravely prejudice the Sinhalese that the mass of them can come to think of the Muslims as a lesser breed who are not entitled to the protection of the law and who deserve to be relegated to the lowest rung of the Sri Lankan socio-economic ladder. In other words it is the Muslims, not the Sinhalese, to whom Muslim extremism poses an existential threat.

My strategy in dealing with the problem of Muslim extremism would be as follows: try to show that Muslim extremism is an aberration, something marginal to mainstream Islam as the very term "extremism" indicates; and secondly try to show that orthodox mainstream Islam in its liberal version is the wave of the future as it can best cope with the pressures of modernity. It is a vast subject on which I can do no more than merely touch in these articles. I will begin by providing concrete illustrations of what I have in mind by the opposition between "extremism" and "mainstream". In the course of a recent newspaper dialogue with me an eminent Sri Lankan wrote very critically about what he called the "anti-humanism of the 21st century version of Islamic culture" His premise is mistaken in assuming that there is only one version of Islamic culture in this century. He provided three illustrations in support of his argument, the first of which was the famous fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini on Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, which included a huge monetary reward for anyone who killed him. I am not sufficiently informed to pronounce whether or not that fatwa accords with Shia jurisprudence but it certainly does not accord with orthodox jurisprudence as expounded in Weeramantry’s book Islamic Jurisprudence – which is now available in Sinhala. Most orthodox Muslims, though outraged by Rushdie’s book, would agree that condemning anyone without trial is repugnant to Islamic principles.

His second illustration was the case of the Danish cartoons which provoked enraged reactions in Muslim countries. Those reactions were excessive, but it would be wrong to assume that Muslims always react to perceived insults to Islam in extremist ways. In a BBS demonstration Allah was imaged as a pig and burnt in effigy. Nothing could have been better calculated to infuriate Muslims than that. We can be certain that every Muslim Ambassador would have reported to his Government on that outrage, including the fact that the Government made no statement to assuage the Muslims, which should have been done considering that practically everyone believes that the anti-Muslim campaign has had Government backing. But there was no reaction against the Government in the Islamic world. This case shows that Muslims don’t automatically react in extremist ways. His third illustration of the anti-humanism of contemporary Islam was the bombing of the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Gilles Kepel, a leading French Islamologist, researched Muslim reactions to that outrage on an extensive scale in Middle Eastern and Western countries and declared in a book that the vast majority of Muslims were against that outrage.

It is unwarranted to speak of anti-humanism as typical of contemporary Islamic culture. There certainly are Muslim extremists who can be regarded as anti-human. It is also true that orthodox Muslims can behave in extremist ways. But on the whole mainstream orthodox Islam stands for balance and sanity. Today we have on the one hand the Islamic State horrifying the rest of the world, including most of the Islamic world, by its subhuman atrocities. On the other hand we have the leader of Indonesia, which holds the world’s largest Muslim population, loudly denouncing the Islamic State. I hold that the latter represents the future of the Islamic world.

(To be continued)

izethhussain@gmail.com

UN chief expresses concerns over 

“Buddhist extremism”

August 30 2014

“In both Myanmar and Sri Lanka, I am concerned that Buddhist communities are being swept up by a rising tide of extremist sentiment against other groups,” United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon said on Friday.

He said that in Myanmar, it “is critical to resolve the issue of status and citizenship of the minority Muslim community in Rakhine State, commonly known as the Rohingyas.”

Mr Ban said he is also “alarmed by the rising level of attacks in Sri Lanka against religious minorities.”

UN Chief Expresses Concerns Over by Thavam

Dregs rolling in dosh

Editorial-August 29, 2014,

Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has urged the mainstream political parties to curtail expenditure on election related propaganda. They spend billions of rupees during elections and one wonders where all this money comes from.

The higher the campaign expenditure candidates or their parties incur the more dependent they become on financiers who, in most cases, are crooks who part with some of their black money in return for various favours from politicians after elections. It is alleged that a foreign drug baron who made an abortive attempt to smuggle in the largest ever heroin haul into this country lavishly bankrolled some ruling party politicians’ election campaigns.

It is not political parties as such that spend money on election campaigns. Individual candidates raise funds on their own and put aside part thereof for personal use or invest them through fronts. Some of the well known (as well as notorious) captains of commerce are said to have reached the commanding heights of the business world thanks to politicians’ campaign funds!

It is usually the candidate with the biggest campaign bankroll who secures the highest number of preferential votes provided he or she is somewhat popular. For, he or she is in a position to ‘bribe’ voters. Once, a candidate gave away a truckload of bottles of arrack during a parliamentary election campaign in a Colombo suburb. There have been instances where bags of rice, dry rations and even mobile phones were distributed among voters. Most politicians have set up foundations through which they engage in ‘social work’. For these activities they need funds, which come from big businesses and anti-social elements like drug barons, bootleggers and smugglers.

If the present electoral system is a problem, as argued in some quarters, because a great deal of funds has to be spent on electioneering in an entire district, a way out may be the adoption of the German electoral model which is a combination of both the first-past-the-post system and Proportional Representation.

There has been a suggestion that the preferential vote be abolished because it is the mother of all battles and even intra-party clashes. But, the elimination of that mechanism will only create a situation where the party leaders can ensure that their favourites and not the popular candidates enter Parliament, Provincial Councils and LG bodies.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the preferential vote or manape which is blamed for the faults of political dregs. The JVP is free from manape battles because it fields decent candidates who put the party before self. Even in the UNP and the UPFA there are some candidates who conduct clean election campaigns. Nominating decent men and women to contest elections is half the battle in overcoming the problems associated with the preferential vote as well as the entire electoral process.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, as they say. The Polls Chief may have discussions with the two main parties in a bid to make them reduce their campaign expenditure, but never will they agree to do as he says for obvious reasons.

Meanwhile, the Polls Chief has publicly pooh-poohed the argument that the 17th Amendment would have helped conduct free and fair elections; he has asked the media whether there is anything that he cannot do now but would have been able to do if the 17th Amendment had been fully implemented. If he is so confident that he is vested with enough powers to do his job, let him put his foot down and make all parties and candidates fall in line instead of pleading with them to obey election laws.