Tora! Tora! Tora!

The scenes of the gruesome deaths of innocent civilians and multiple explosions across three churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and further explosions at high-end hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday morning will forever be etched in our minds – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

 Thursday, 2 May 2019

I’m a few thousand miles away from my motherland as I pen these thoughts.

A routine and simple visit to family living overseas, rich with the promise of fun and laughter, has turned into sleepless nights and constant monitoring of news sites and checking up on loved ones. 

The scenes of the gruesome deaths of innocent civilians and multiple explosions across three churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and further explosions at high-end hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday morning will forever be etched in our minds. 

Being Muslim, their deaths will be mourned and remembered for many moons to come, but so will the painful news that followed – the suicide bombers who carried out and coordinated the attack with military precision were radicalised Muslim youth, claiming to be part of a hitherto little-known extremist group called the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

How a sensible person with a clear conscience perpetrate such a sinister act and mayhem against humanity, whether he is Muslim or non-Muslim, boggles the mind.

The modus operandi and sophistication of the deadly assault which mercilessly killed, at last count, over 200 local civilians, over 40 foreign nationals and injured a further 500, indicate that without an international link’s organisational capability and strategy, it wouldn’t have mounted to such a lethally daring and methodical attack.

It has now transpired that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attacks and even released group photos and a purported video of the group that were directly involved in the attacks pledging allegiance to the ISIS leader. Sri Lanka’s bombings certainly bear hallmarks of a dreaded Islamic State attack due to its barbarity and ruthlessness.

Prof. Rohan Gunaratna, international terrorism expert, opined that the savage attacks on Sri Lanka’s soil appear to be the handiwork of the Islamic State (IS) in collaboration with its “Sri Lankan branch”. In fact, ISIS is designated as a “Terrorist Organisation” by the UNO and is widely known for its videos of beheadings and other types of brutal executions.

The ideology of ISIS and NTJ are not only anathema but also against the tenets of Islam. These fanatics simply exploit the peaceful religion of Islam for their own benefits and personal glorifications. Needless to say, ISIS and the so-called NTJ are “Munaafiqs” (hypocrites) of the highest order.

Terrorism has no religion, no race, no ethnicity and no singular ideology other than creating mayhem and senseless violence against innocent people. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Islam has given so much importance to human beings that it likens the killing of a single person to wiping out the whole of humanity.

“Whoever kills a person, it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he has saved all mankind” (Quran, 5:32).

Islam has taught its followers to treat all mankind with mercy, tolerance and justice. Its teaching of peace encompasses all humanity, irrespective of religion, caste and creed.

Moreover, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has said, “Allah shows kindness towards those who are kind to one another. Be kind to those who live on this earth, and the one above the skies will be kind to you” (Tirmidhi).

Most importantly, the act of suicide is a grave sin in Islam. Allah Almighty says in the noble Quran: “…And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is most merciful to you.” (4:29)

The prohibition of suicide has also been mentioned in many hadith. The Prophet said, “He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire.” (Sahih al Bukhari, 2:23:446)

In addition, during his life Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave various injunctions to his forces and as per his conduct of war, he categorically prohibited the mutilation of dead bodies, the killing of a child, woman, and the elderly, and the senseless slaying of an enemy’s flocks and even warned against the burning of trees. The commandments above were just a few of exemplary many others followed to the letter by early Muslim generals during their historic campaigns and conquests.

This clearly manifests that, neither ISIS now NTJ adhere to Quranic injunctions nor follow the sunnah (the words and action of Prophet Muhammad) which promotes peaceful existence among all living beings on earth and eschews hatred, bigotry and violence against humanity. It is ironic that they carry these acts in the name of Islam, when their suicide missions and brutal slaughter of innocent people is going to drag them straight to the bottom of the fiery pits of hell.

NTJ under the fire brand leadership of Zahran Hashim from Kattankudy who was the ring leader of the suicide bombings, attained prominence last year owing to the vandalism of Buddhist statues at Mawanella. It was against this vile human being, that a few years ago Muslim leaders and the community of Kattankudy lodged complaints with the police with due to his hate-filled speeches and videos which incited violence and bigotry. 

Sheikh Arqam Noor Amith, an Executive Member of ACJU and Secretary of Youth Affairs, broke down recently while speaking with media about how intelligence officials were informed of the extremism displayed by this individual and his organisation, as far back as 2015. Had he been apprehended and brought to justice, Easter Sunday’s blood bath and carnage could have been averted.

Since Christianity is an Abrahamic religion which cultivate a close affinity with Islam and in fact, Muslims are allowed to marry Christian women without conversion, it defies logic that the NTJ has chosen the sacred churches on our land to unleash its deadly suicide missions on.

The only plausible reason deduced from this is that its members were systematically indoctrinated and misguided by handlers and were simply following instructions and acting like mindless zombies.  What depravities must run in the minds of such youth to allow to be brainwashed to this extent? 

By massacring innocent people and ending their lives abruptly, and causing extensive damages to churches, as well as the creation of deep rifts and racial disharmony between the living – the Muslim and Christian community – Zahran Hashim, the blood-thirsty monster who was the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday carnage has caused indescribable misery and mental agony for all of us. All communities in our beautiful country have been affected in some way or the other, and in particular the Muslim community is left to bear the inevitable backlash and its consequences of these crimes. 

The Sri Lankan Government should bring all perpetrators, including the financers who callously contributed to this heinous crime, and severe punishment should be meted out against the offenders without mercy or compunction.

We the Muslims of Sri Lanka unreservedly condemn the perpetrators’ despicable acts of terror committed against our Christian brothers and sisters on Easter Sunday, on the soil of our Motherland.

In this time of deep distress, we join hand in hand with our beloved Christian community to offer our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May Almighty Allah give strength and fortitude to the grieving families to bear the loss of all our departed souls, and we fervently pray for the speedy recovery of all our injured brethren.

As Sri Lankans, let us get together to eradicate the menace of terrorism and work together in brotherly spirit and camaraderie to achieve peaceful co-existence and harmony.

Extremist groups nurtured under Rajapaksa regime - Tilvin

Thursday, May 2, 2019 

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva yesterday said capitalist rulers in the country should be responsible for nurturing extremism on the lines of religion and race.

He said Islamic and Buddhist extremist groups were nurtured under the rule of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“They created these extremist groups and used them. Now they are trying to regain power to stop extremism in the country,” the JVP General Secretary said.

He said voters should think twice when such politicians seek power again.

“These power-hungry political groups have resorted to using the sensitivities of the people and their pain of mind to achieve their petty and narrow political objectives,” Silva said.

He was speaking at the JVP May Day commemoration at the party headquarters in Pelawatte yesterday.

Silva said those who are in power are making the maximum advantage of the Easter Sunday attacks. “They are bringing Emergency regulations and the Counter Terrorism Bill to cover up their incompetence.”

He said the rulers would use these attacks to forget the burning problems of the country such as unemployment and the wage increase for plantation workers.

“Those who lost power at the last Presidential and Parliamentary Elections are trying to regain power using these tragic incidents,” he said.

He said national security should be protected. “National security should be strengthened, but democratic and human rights should not be at stake,” he said

Silva said the security of the people should be upheld while protecting human rights and democracy.

“Capitalism and imperialism have brought hunger, social injustice and wars. Today’s society requires justice instead of injustice and rationalism instead of myths.”

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the rulers of the country have shown their incompetence and the country needs a new breed of rulers. “The economy has suffered an unprecedented setback.”

Silva said his party has no intention to turn the Easter Sunday attacks into a political issue.

A ‘bloody week’ sees searchlight on social media

 

1 May 2019

The horrendous terror attacks brought attention to the role of social media. It now seems almost inevitable that any major social event will be assessed in some way on what role social media play.

In this instance, the impact is multi-faceted. The block, which came into affect several hours after the attacks, was the second time in little over a year that the Sri Lankan Government had blocked social media; the last being during the riot in March 2018.

Last year, there was evidence to show social media, especially Facebook and WhatsApp, were being used to spread hate speech and probably share information if not organise mob attacks. This time, however, the block was preemptive. It appeared that it was the natural extension of the heavy security response to the attacks.

There was widespread support for the block among the general citizen, even as many of them were using VPN technology to circumvent the very move. That support seems to stem from the belief, not completely unfounded, that the terror networks could use the web to organise themselves more effectively and that hate speech spreads faster on the same networks.

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• Zahran Hashim shifted to FB and YouTube when the mosque he founded in Kattankudy banned him from preaching there
• Social media main conveyor of news, tips, leaks and even outright hoaxes
• Role of social media is only going to get more prominent in the future
• There is no way you can ban social media completely
• Its role is only going to get more prominent in the future

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The chief architect of the terror plot, Zahran Hashim, simply shifted to Facebook and YouTube when the mosque he founded in Kattankudy banned him from preaching there some two years back.

The sickening second acts to attacks were the videos, skittish in nature, but made to drive terror into a population already traumatised by the wanton destruction of innocent lives. In the first instance, overcrowding of the frame probably took out some of the sting from the supposed message from the grave. Nevertheless, as with the Christchurch attacks, but to a lesser chill effect, the web was used as an integral part of the attacks.

Authorities were probably acting on their assessment of the effectiveness in the social media ban last time when they went ahead with it this year. This in turn made it look as if the move had become a compulsory act in crisis management.

If the authorities had leant any lesson, the typical social media user was not far behind. Last year, when the block came into effect, the inquiries on VPN were coming in, in bucket loads. This time around, there wasn’t even a murmur on that – everyone knew what to do to get on their favourite network – Facebook.  And most did.

Social media became the main conveyor of news, tips, leaks and even outright hoaxes. The intelligence warning of the attack first made its appearance on social media. I first saw it on a very popular WhatsApp group used by journalists as an information laundromat. It appeared several hours after the blasts. In the same forum, it was rejected as a hoax. But it never really went away and multiple journalists began checking on its veracity.

Not only was it proved to be authentic, but the same evening Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met his parliamentary group with that letter in his hand. By then, it was viral and formed the basis of nationwide outrage.

The letter would not have gained such widespread public circulation if not for social media. We again circle back to the crucial points, there is no way you can ban social media completely, unless you simply pull the plug on full web access, even then, you still can’t stop it.

But without platforms like Facebook playing a far more proactive role in moderation of content in languages like Sinhala, dealing with hate speech and fake news will always remain playing catch-up. 
What the past week also showed was that social media is now a way of life. With all its negative traits, it still is something most of us use of mundane things, like to show where we went or an errant driver or a celebrity who just happened to walk past.

Its role is only going to get more prominent in the future.

The writer is the Asia-Pacific Coordinator for the DART Centre for Journalism and Trauma Twitter - @amanthap 

Jihadis In Sri Lanka

Given the rocky relations between the two ambitious politicians, such a lack of communication is understandable.

by Irfan Husain-April 29, 2019 

 

Whenever there’s a terrorist attack anywhere, I pray that Muslims weren’t involved. And if they are, I cross my fingers and wish none of them were Pakistanis. In the horror stories emerging from Sri Lanka, I seem to have got my second wish. However, this is scant consolation for the mayhem unleashed by a little-known Islamist group, the National Towheed Jamaath (NTJ), backed by the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

 

On Sunday morning in the UK, I received a string of text and WhatsApp messages enquiring about my safety. Friends knew that as I do every year, I had spent the winter at our beach house in Sri Lanka, but were unsure about my whereabouts. I immediately went on Twitter to discover the bloodbath that had occurred in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. The rest of the morning was spent in trying to find out if our Sri Lankan friends and their families were safe. As the magnitude of the atrocity emerged, I knew that only an experienced and highly trained group could have pulled it off.

 

In their long, brutal civil war, the Tamil Tigers had never deliberately targeted Chris­tians and foreigners. In any case, the defeated remnants of the ethnic Tamil group are too demoralised to attempt such a complex operation. That left Al Qaeda and IS as possible backers of the NTJ. The former has given up launching indiscriminate attacks, so that left IS. So I was not surprised when it claimed responsibility for the multiple attacks. What did surprise me, however, was the revelation that information about the impending suicide bombings had been passed on to Sri Lankan security officials by Indian intelligence a fortnight earlier. Both the prime minister and president claimed they had not been informed.

 

Given the rocky relations between the two ambitious politicians, such a lack of communication is understandable. Under the 19th amendment to the constitution (drafted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe), President Sirisena has the defence portfolio, and thus responsibility for security. There are reports he did not invite the prime minister to meetings of the National Security Council.

 

Last October, he attempted to remove Mr Wickremesinghe but was thwarted by the supreme court. Since then, their power-sharing arrangement has become dysfunctional. Mahinda Rajapaksa, ex-president and the other claimant to power, has cashed in on this criminal intelligence failure and called on the prime minister to resign. As the next presidential election looms, expect him to ramp up the rhetoric. And as his track record shows, he is not above playing the extreme Buddhist/nationalist card to further his agenda.

 

Perhaps more serious than this squabbling is the backlash against Muslims that I had feared. Although the government has tried to cover up the ongoing attacks against Muslim families and businesses, there have been multiple reports of anti-Muslim actions, especially from Negombo, a largely Christian area.

 

Sri Lankan civil society has been appalled by this mindless (though understandable) backlash. One friend has announced her intention to stand guard outside Colombo’s Jumaa Masjid at Friday prayers. People remember how monks of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) led mobs who killed several Muslims following a petty altercation near Kandy a couple of years ago.

 

There is a deep undercurrent of nationalism among elements of the majority Sinhalese who basically say that Sri Lanka is for Buddhists, and the minorities live there on sufferance. This is despite the fact that Muslims constitute only nine per cent of the population; many of them have descended from Arab traders who came to the island centuries ago.

 

There has never been a history of discord between Muslims and Christians in Sri Lanka. So if the aim of the NTJ and IS was to create conflict between the two minority communities, they have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.

 

In the small town in the south a few kilometres from our beach house, there are a couple of mosques, three churches and several temples. While the Muslims largely keep to themselves, I have never heard of any attacks on their peaceful community. But now, there is palpable fear of a backlash.

 

One warning sign I have observed with increasing (and depressing) frequency is the way younger Muslims now dress: women often wear the full burqa, while even teenage boys sport long, Saudi-style dishdashas and straggling beards.

 

Sinhalese also complain about the lack of cleanliness in Muslim neighbourhoods and the consumption of beef in a country that largely avoids cow slaughter. All this is grist to the BBS mill. After Sunday’s slaughter, these memes are likely to be magnified.

 

Another aim of the attacks was probably to cripple the economy. Tourism, after the setback of last October’s constitutional crisis, was just recovering when the bombers struck. It will be a long time before the country can calculate the full cost of a colossal intelligence failure.

Requiem For A Jihad

By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody –APRIL 30, 2019

Ruwan Jayakody

The entire nation of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka grieves a threnody of a mournful bloody Easter Sunday dirge, when the merchants of death, yet again, on the 21st of April of 2019 sold their freakish and violent merchandise of extremism replete with violent carnage, tragic mayhem, total lawlessness and resultant bedlam, to those salivating in the decrepitude of religious thralldom, as the country erupted in a maelstrom of cataclysmic hate, leaving human casualties in the triple digit range (including law enforcement officers), a similar number injured, a substantial number apprehended, a blundering ‘blood on their hands and what is left of their conscience’ Executive and Government scampering hither and thither to cover their State of nudity, a largely missing in immediate action ‘too little, too late’ Executive President, the sound and fury of the braying Opposition, and the smithereens of a fragile economy (tourism and hospitality businesses) strewn amidst the wreckage of charred places of worship (churches), with the smouldering cinders of broken faith, in its wake. 

Even though April, as American-British poet T.S. Eliot prophesied in The Waste Land is the ‘cruelest month’, the urgent and tireless efforts of the Archbishop of Colombo, together with the too numerous to mention by name doctors, nurses and staff of the medical health care hospital services, law enforcement personnel at the ground level, newly empowered through emergency regulations, and conscientious citizens, have ensured that a semblance of sanity has prevailed. 

Whither justice? 

Heads may roll in the case of certain seat warmers in the defence establishment, intelligence community and security apparatus, and the emperor may get new clothes, yet complicity continues at the highest levels of power and governance including in the Executive, administrative and legislative branches, whose clannish and abominable ‘protect our hides and to hell with the people’ policy has not only cost innocent lives but also precipitated a public relations fiasco of international magnitude.  

Thus, If justice is to prevail in Sri Lanka, the pith and substance of Sections 112, 199 and 289 of the Penal Code ought to be invoked against the Executive and the Government, namely The Mendacious Seven – the President and Minister in charge of the portfolios/subjects of Defence, and Law and Order, Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Defence Secretary, Hemasiri Fernando, State  Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene, Ministers Mano Ganesan and Harin Fernando, and the Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundara, and the perfidious ‘lying through the teeth’ Parliamentarians. That their acts, primarily of omission, of absconding on their duty of care and thereby endangering both lives and property, come well within the ambit of criminal negligence or gross negligence is an understatement, and belies the despicable nature of their culpability.         

Section 112 concerns public servants who voluntarily or intentionally conceals or illegally omits to notify of any information on and knowledge of the existence of a design to commit an offence which they became privy to and is their duty to prevent if they know that it is likely that the commission of an offence will be facilitated by such (The illustration under this Section specifically mentions Police officers) while Section 199 deals with the intentional omission on their part to give information of an offence by a person (whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed) legally duty bound to inform and notify of such and Section 289 is regarding the willful neglect or omission to perform a statutory duty. 

What are the many lessons to be learned from this tragedy? There are parallels between the series of coordinated terror attacks which took place in France in November of 2015 and the situation facing our country at present times, to the Sri Lanka of today. 

Consider then the following: 

Paris, the city of love, where songs flutter, hope according to chanteuse Edith Piaf blossoms, and in whose autumn sway, tramps and beggars are lulled to sleep, lies bleeding. In a series of coordinated terrorist attacks which included mass shootings, suicide bombings and hostage taking, over 100 have been killed, over 300 have been injured, and about 100 critically so. This is the Paris of the catacombs and the danse macabre.

The French have responded by declaring a state of emergency and by shutting down all borders. Who brought this bloody Christmas cheer, or what French President Francois Hollande has rightfully called ‘an act of war’, earlier than planned? It is none other than the terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Without getting into the semantics of what is wrong with Islam (and there is plenty wrong) – that do-not-do-it-yourself-lifestyle guide, and putting aside the fatuous fallacies and superstitious drivel that are put forward by the apologists of the Quran who state that verses are taken out of context, in order to alternately wash their hands off or to justify this utopian disorder, it is an evident fact that it is not the self or ego that has been surrendered before the conception of a monotheistic god but the very submission of reason, sense and logic.

These ignoramuses who export terror are at present floundering. Their celebrity is founded on the aesthetic of torture porn and the calligraphy of gory ultra-violence, of human rights abuses and violations in the form of beheadings, war crimes, ethnic cleansings and the wanton destruction of cultural edifices. The ISIL/ISIS is in their death throes. Progress in some of the post-9/11 wars waged against the jihadists, may seem slow albeit due to the complex relationships of nurture that the West and the oil rich Middle East have maintained with the nature of terror. Yet campaigns led separately by, for an example, the United States of America (USA) and Russia, are through military might working towards relegating these holier-than-thou terrorists to their delusions of moral higher-ground, to their promised lands of bestial vestiges.

This latest attack, for which they have gleefully claimed credit for, is a resort to the last refuge of the terrorist – the spreading of chaos. Why France, one may ask? Why not the USA or Russia? Is it the ban on the niqab, the recent train attack that was thwarted, or as the ISIL/ISIS has allegedly claimed the involvement of France in the ongoing Civil Wars in Syria and Iraq? Secular France’s history is one of liberalism as exemplified by the stance taken on the Charlie Hebdo shooting. One cannot ignore the fact that France, dating even back before the time of Montaigne, the Age of Reason, the Age of Enlightenment and through to the fin-de-siecle, has been a pillar of the Western civilization too. This is also the case with their policy towards the problem of unmitigated migration. It is this enlightened approach that these miscreants have blatantly abused. How does one deal with this global affliction? Reason? Certainly not.

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What now for the moderate Muslim: Reflections after the Easter Sunday terrorism

Image courtesy Quartz

SABRINA SOURJAH- 05/02/2019

Many supposed Muslims are in custody for suspected links with terrorism. Many swords found, including in the suburban Slave Island mosque. Many explosives scattered everywhere. Women killing themselves, the unborn and their offspring, without a moment of hesitation. After all this, no matter how true, it is not enough for Muslims to quote Quranic verses and say that Islam does not support extremism or terrorism. Perhaps it’s even offensive to many non-Muslims. To the many lives lost on Easter Sunday. We need to understand how such a gush of extremism went unobstructed.

I’m mainly addressing the moderate Muslim here because I can only represent my kind. My loose definition of a moderate Muslim is as follows. You may or may not pray five times a day or fast during Ramazan. You may or may not wear a hijab or go to the mosque for Jummah prayers. You will have a close friend, not just an acquaintance, who is non-Muslim. You went to a non-Muslim school and hung out with Sinhalese, Tamils and Christians. You work in offices where the majority are not Muslims. You don’t wear the burqa or would tolerate your husband wanting to bring another wife. You identify yourself as Muslim and for you, the essence of Islam revolves around your personal relationship with your creator. In short, you are well-adjusted to live in a Muslim-minority country. Being a non-moderate Muslim does not equate to being an extremist either. It only means that you know less of the non-Muslim world and have fewer ties to it than the moderates.

There is another reason for looking specifically at moderate Muslims. We are the bridge between the chasm that has erupted between non-Muslims and extremists. We understand the world of Islam and the world outside to varying extents. We can and must help cohabitation and trust as we’re the ‘experts’ of this field.

Most want to find a scapegoat for the terrorism that reared its big head this Easter. It’s how the human mind works. Even when we make mistakes in our personal lives, we try to find excuses, for want of an innocent self. Sri Lankans should try not to succumb to this blame game entirely and examine how each of us may have contributed to this conundrum. Did we appoint the wrong government? Did we turn a blind eye to extremism? Did we promote hate speech, alienating a community and sharing videos that may have been used to recruit suicide bombers? Did we not condemn extremism loudly enough? We each need to reflect on our contributions and on how we can rectify our possible ignorance.

I see a lot of Muslim friends making grand declarations on Facebook. Nothing wrong with that. We must make our voices known so people know where we stand and who we support. But some of them are also apologising for this event. Why? I have also struggled with guilt in the past. Whenever a jihadist blows something off, I’ve felt like I’m partially responsible. A few years ago, I went to the 9/11 memorial in New York. I read the letters written by kids who lost their fathers. I listened to horror stories of husbands losing wives. I came out of the memorial with a headache that lasted for three days and bought a lot of 9/11souvenirs to overcompensate for my guilt despite my meagre student budget.

While I was feeling partially guilty for another such catastrophe in the past (many come our way as you know), one of my Sinhalese friends sat me down one day and asked a series of questions. Do you support these extremist ideologies? Do you believe they represent your religion rightfully? Did you know this was going to happen? I answered with a set of course not’s, my eyes turned down, understanding where she was going. That day, I learned from her never to apologise for a bunch of radicals using my religion for their selfish benefit. I don’t think anyone should feel guilty if you can honestly say no to my friend’s three questions.

But there is one thing we should consider being apologetic about. Why did we not see this coming from within our own community? Did we see it and ignore its significance? How did this all happen so fast?

As a religious guide, the Quran has the highest number of interpretations and schools of thought and these radicals interpret it to support their terrorist ideologies. Does the moderate Muslim lack a strong knowledge of the Quran? Do they know how to interpret it fully? I can read Arabic, but I don’t understand the language to derive meaning from the source itself. I have not read the English interpretation end to end. This disqualifies me from using theology to speak against these extremists. If that’s the case with you too, we need to fix it because otherwise we will get intimidated by an extremist who throws an incomprehensible verse at us. We need to educate ourselves better because when we’re not religiously literate, we idle in passivity, swaying neither to nor fro. Instead, we need to read the texts and form strong opinions and take a side.

But I know it’s going to take some time to master a language and a complicated text. Meanwhile, when we hear such a crazy ideology, let’s dig deep in our hearts and use our conscience to make a call on whether the ideology is just. Islam for me is grounded in my personal relationship with God. Nothing more, nothing less, and I believe it should be the foundation of Islam for all true believers. Let’s always question an ideology in comparison to the wishes of a compassionate, most merciful God. Do you really think our God prescribed the killing of innocent people? I can assure you my God is much kinder than that. We need to stop and think. Just because a terrorist talks with authority on Islam, doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be questioned.

My Islam teacher taught me the two most important things about Islam when I was fifteen. One was an explanation of God that I won’t go into detail here as it’s irrelevant to the crisis at hand. The other was about the changing nature of Islam. He told me some philosophies like Buddhism are universally applicable for all times. Its applicability never changes. But the interpretation of Islam should change with time and adjust to accommodate its social context while its core remains fixed. This is because Quran passages were revealed as responses to certain dilemmas and happenings in the Prophet’s life a long time back.

Take Samina Ali, American author and activist, as an example. In her 2017 TED Talk at the University of Nevada, she talks about what the Quran really says about women’s attire. This is a critical message that both Muslims and non-Muslims need to hear. She adds context to the verses and segregates the interpretations that have been subsequently added. What if all moderate Muslims had the wisdom and audacity to make these educated interpretations?

Most communities tend to ignore minority extremists, dismissing their views as ‘peculiar’ until innocent lives are lost like this. But we know now that even though they may be small in numbers, they can and will wreak havoc because that’s their venomous mandate. Although some Muslim organizations have been complaining about these terrorists to the relevant authorities, to be honest, I had no idea this existed to such a severe extent. We must be vigilant as a community. As soon as I heard of this attack being attributed to a radical Islamic group, I thought back to the years before 2012 when I was living in Sri Lanka. On Ramazan and Haj festival days, after an early morning bath, we dressed new clothes and rushed to the Battramulla mosque for the festival prayer. I often got reprimanded by my parents because I made them late all the time. I thought back of all the sermons I have heard in the mosque and nothing strikes me as been vicious in its content. Then we would come home, have breakfast and go to all our neighbour’s doors to give them watalappan. Mawlawis in our mosques nowadays may not be preaching violent sermons, but should we stop after looking only at our mosque? What about mosques in rural areas, wherein the people are most vulnerable due to poverty and lack of judiciary discipline? They are all part of our community and should be taken care of. Are our madrasas regulated enough? Do they have a set syllabus? The questions are plentiful.
Yes, we were warned of this by monks of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). But the route they took and the tone they used cannot and should not be condoned. It was like the tone that I see these extreme radicals using in the videos that are circulating with their hate speech. These warnings were thus not received well by the larger majority, who are peace-loving. This is clearly not the way to work towards a sustainable and respectful solution. Imagine, what if the warnings had come from someone who spoke wisely and compassionately like the Archbishop of Sri Lanka? Will we have thought twice before dismissing the information as mere racial bias?

Some blame it on the government. Yes, there is no question our government is ineffective, uncommunicative and inefficient. They have to be held accountable and hopefully, some of them will resign out of some shade of shame. Our leaders can’t even hold a candle to the New Zealand Prime Minister, who mourned with her citizens with compassion and respect, while boldly reforming gun laws immediately. But if I may ask, who appointed our politicians? If not them, who else could we have appointed? Are we so desolate in our options? When I last voted in Sri Lanka, I could not vote for any party in clear conscience. I drew a long, diagonal line on my vote sheet and came home. We need new leaders we can all get behind without any reservations. We need leaders who want to do what’s right for the country as a whole, while respecting humanity. We need leaders who bow down to justice instead of prioritising their victory at the next election. As moderate Muslims, we also have to look at who represents us in the parliament and cabinet. Are they truly indicative of our hopes and beliefs for this country? Or do they serve their own agendas and a minority of Muslims? Should we appoint politicians that most of the country will vehemently despise for various reasons? Can such leaders solve any of these issues if they continue to be impartial?

Some blame it on the whole Muslim population, campaigning to ban not only the burqa, which I wholeheartedly agree with, but also halal food and Islamic banking. As a moderate Sri Lankan Muslim, I don’t go looking for halal food specifically, but I will always buy halal food when I see it in the grocery store, especially meat. Tell me, what’s the real use in banning halal food? Why do you want to take away my option to consume halal food? What good does that do than to seclude an already self and circumstantially isolated community?

But as my husband pointed out when I was feeling like a victim of all this hatred, the rest of the country is scared too. Just like me or maybe even more than me because Islam in itself is a big jumble of unknowns for them. Some of them are posting racist slogan on Facebook purely out of unfathomable fear. They have no idea what hit the country, and they are looking for possible answers. Yes, some of them may sound racist and extremist in their own way, but let’s not give into our selfish victimhood now. The true victims are the innocent people who lost their lives on Easter Sunday. If we react to a few racist comments, risks being perceived as supportive of extremists on the fringe. Let’s be more patient and try to empathise with people’s desolation. Let’s show them that we will stand by the country.

Let me leave you with a book recommendation. Karima Bennoune’s Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here is a collection of true stories of brave men and women who fought against Muslim extremism.

All of them Muslims. For some untold reason, stories of Muslims standing up against extremism does not get much air time locally or internationally. I hope this book would serve us as an inspiration to do the right thing when our country needs us to step up the most.

I plead guilty for not learning enough about Islam to combat radicalism intellectually and for my ignorance of the extremist movement. I will do my best to rectify my blunders from here on. I don’t know what you may have contributed towards. It’s possible you did not contribute at all as well. But it’s your decision to make and your conscience will guide you there.

Let’s do what we can for meaningful impact, not wasteful banter. Let’s not act like our politicians. Let’s just stop this blame game and look inside.

Muslim group visits Hindu, Buddhist temples and church to show solidarity with Easter bombing victims (updated)



Members of the group going into St Joseph's Church in Sentul.

Sunday, 28 Apr 2019

PETALING JAYA: A Muslim group visited a church as well as Hindu and Buddhist temples in Kuala Lumpur Sunday (April 28) to show solidarity with non-Muslims following the terrorist attack in Sri Lanka.

Global Unity Network president Shah Kirit Kakulal Govindji said their group of 22 people visited the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple in Kg Kasipillay followed by St Joseph's Church in Sentul and ended their visit at the Sri Jayanti Buddhist Temple.

 

"In Christchurch, when Muslims were killed, non-Muslims showed solidarity. In Colombo when Christians were killed, we as Muslims must also show solidarity (with the victims)," he said.

He said Muslims should show compassion at all times, not only when Muslims were killed.

 

"Even if only one non-Muslim is killed, we must show concern. We must be fair to everyone," said Shah Kirit.

Shah Kirit speaking to Fr George Packiasamy during the visit.

 

He said they saw how Mass was conducted and also held a dialogue session with St Joseph's Church priest, Father George Packiasamy.

"We have a very good relationship with the church," he said, adding that this was his fourth visit to St Joseph's Church in Sentul.

He added that when the group comprising students and working professionals visited the church, parishioners served them a halal breakfast while the Buddhist temple served them lunch.

Shah Kirit said the group had been doing a lot of interfaith work for close to 20 years to allow Muslims to learn about other religions.

"In Malaysia, we are a multi-racial and multi-religious country. So, it is very important that we understand one another," he said.

Shah Kirit added that many problems around the world stemmed from prejudice, presumption and misconception about other religions and races, adding that this could lead to more suspicion and hatred unless it was removed.

"The best way to remove prejudice, presumption and misconception is to learn from one another," he said.

He added that their group gave Muslims the chance to learn about other religions and to observe how they worship and pray.

"We also hold dialogues with priests or monks to get proper information about other religions," he said.

Fr George said the group made an appointment to visit the church a month ago.

However, he said he was hesitant to continue with the meeting after the Sri Lanka incident, but decided to meet with them to share views about religion.

"They came to get to know our Christian faith and they also had dialogues with my ministry.

"Each religion is unique and we should see the goodness in each religion.

"We should have respect one another and build friendships and live in harmony in our nation," he said.

On April 21, suicide bomb attacks on three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka killed about 250 people with scores more injured.

Need to act against ghettoization of minds to stem terrorism

People who have been relocated to a school building due to an overnight gun battle between troops and suspected Islamist militants (Reuters)

An eminent Sri Lankan researcher on radicalization and terrorism, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, urges the Sri Lankan government, the island’s political and religious leaders, and civil society, to ponder over the ill-effects of physical, social and psychological ghettoization which has been going on in Sri Lanka for quite some time.  

30 April 2019

A co-author of “Three Pillars of Radicalization” (Oxford University Press, 2019), Singapore-based Dr. Gunaratna believes that the Easter Sunday multiple suicide attacks by local affiliates of the Islamic State (ISIS) at least partially stemmed from the ghettoization of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.  

The motivation and the targets chosen smacked of the agenda of the global Islamic State (ISIS) and had little to do with inter-communal relations in Sri Lanka itself. But a fact which cannot be ignored is that those who actually carried out the bombings were Sri Lankan Muslims. Therefore, the April 21 carnage cannot be seen entirely out of the local, Sri Lankan, context, and that context is a deep-rooted and progressive ghettoization of Sri Lankan society, Dr. Gunaratna says.  

“In Sri Lanka there are separate schools for the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. And Hindu school students study only Hinduism, while Muslims study only the Quran and the Christians, only the Bible. Students do not follow an inter-faith course to understand and appreciate each other’s doctrines and practices,” he pointed out. “And there are territorial enclaves too,” he added.   

The Tamils oppose the settlement of no-Tamils in the North, denouncing any such settlement as “State-sponsored colonization”. In the Eastern Province, there are distinct Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese villages. In Batticaloa district, an entire town, Kattankudy, is exclusively Muslim. No non-Muslim would be able to live or buy property there.  

April 21 carnage cannot be seen entirely out of the local, Sri Lankan, context, and that context is a deep-rooted and progressive ghettoization of Sri Lankan society

No wonder then, Kattankudy was the breeding ground of ISIS activists and leaders in Sri Lanka, including the man who led the pack of suicide bombers on Easter Sunday, Mohammad Cassim Zahran. Kattankudy has been the headquarters of the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) as well as the new and more deadly and ideologically radical Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI).  

Dr. Gunaratna pointed out is that Sri Lankan Muslims have been progressively isolating themselves from other religious groups “by reducing their interactions with other groups to the barest minimum”. This is so even in Colombo where there areas which are predominantly either Muslim, Tamil or Sinhalese. Food habits, religious practices and considerations of security in times of civil unrest have made communities form exclusive or near exclusive enclaves creating invisible barriers to interaction.  

The Wahabi or Salafi Islam brought to Sri Lanka from their homeland in Saudi Arabia, has made the Muslims of the island dress differently and live an isolated life in order not to get influenced by non-Islamic or un-Islamic ideas. According to a high profile Muslim lady from the Eastern Province, until recently, interactions between the Muslim and Tamil women were frequent and close there. But these have greatly lessened over the years now.   

“There were weekly markets in which Muslim and Tamil women used to sell their wares and homemade products sitting on opposite sides of the market street. In the process they would chit chat and get to know each other. But growing Wahabi influence has prevented Muslim women from indulging in such public activities. The result is a dis-junction between Muslim and Tamil women and families,” she said.   

Ghettoization is represented by separate living enclaves, separate schools and separate subjects of study. It leads to exclusivism and isolation but also feelings of separateness, uniqueness, superiority or inferiority vis-à-vis the ‘other’. “Isolation breeds a distrust of the other. Distrust leads to avoidance and fears. Fears, in turn, result in violence and terrorism,” Dr.Gunaratna pointed out.  

Stigmatization and labeling of communities, especially Muslims is common in Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar. It arises either from self-isolation or discrimination or both. Stigmatization is a social wound which tends to fester indefinitely be at the root of violence and terrorism.   

Influenced by the ISIS since 2014, some radical group of Thowheed groups had started preaching hatred for other religious groups. Videos made in Tamil Nadu spread such ideas. They are on Youtube and therefore widely watched. Many of the Thowheed speakers hold audiences, especially the youth, spell bound by their orations in chaste Tamil. One video from Tamil Nadu called upon Muslims to hate Kafirs even if relations with them, at the inter-personal level, were excellent.  

Ban on Face Veil - (Burqa/Niqab)

Ghettoization of the mind (in all communities) leads to communities not being able to see things from each other’s point of view. The Sinhalese feel insecure when they see fully covered up Muslim women in the context of growing terrorism. During Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Presidency, the Buddhist radical Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) had sought a ban on the burqa. In response the moderate Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL) launched a project to supply colourful burqas in exchange of black ones. But the project fizzled out eventually.  

Two days after the April 21 serial blasts, Ashu Marasinghe MP, moved a Private Member’s Bill to ban the face veil and the full length burqa. Realizing the gravity of the issue, the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema (ACJU) advised Muslim women to remove their veil when required. A few days later, the ACJU advised Muslim women to avoid the face veil altogether and that, within a week. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka went along with the ACJU, but sought two weeks time to get the message across to the community spread over the island.  

Meanwhile, President Maithripala Sirisena announced his intention to ban the face veil under Emergency Regulations on April 29. A woman with a belt bomb strapped to her body had set it off when the police went to her house to question her about her suicide bomber husband at Dematagoda.  

Need for harmony Act

Dr. Gunaratna has called for a ban on segregation of all kinds and prevent ghettoization at the root. “Ethnically and religiously mixed schools, mixed residential localities and multi-ethnic provinces should replace the existing ethnic and religious segregation in these areas. The demand for mono-ethnic or mono-religious territorial units should be rejected,” he said.   
In Singapore, where he lives, the government insists that residential flats are multi-ethnic, with Chinese, Malays and Indians living together cheek by jowl.  

“A ‘Harmony Act’ on the line of the 1992 Singapore Act is a dire necessity in Sri Lanka. It will criminalize hate speech and hate propaganda. If the ‘Harmony Act’ was there, the hate speech and radicalization preached by  Zahran would have been curbed long ago, the youth would not have been radicalized to this extent, and the bombings would not have taken place,” Dr. Gunaratna said. He said religious preachers of all religions should be registered, monitored and controlled. They should be licensed for two years at a time.  

A South Asian diplomat pointed out that in 100% Islamic Maldives and Turkey, Imams are told what to say in their sermons. In Turkey the line is given every week before the Friday prayers.

The typical Sri Lankan Muslim is a most peaceful person, co-existing with other communities as a trader and following a beautiful form of Islam

Fortunately, only a tiny fraction of Sri Lankan Muslims are influenced by such wile preaching. “The typical Sri Lankan Muslim is a most peaceful person, co-existing with other communities as a trader and following a beautiful form of Islam,” Dr. Gunaratna said. “Our people are far away from organizations like the National Thowheed Jamaat”, said Hilmy Ahamad of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka.   

And Sufi leader H.M.Ameer of the Badriya Jumma Mosque in the all-Muslim town of Kattankudy said that only 150 people would have been following Zahran, leader of the Easter Sunday bombing squad.   

Ameer, Ahamad and the ACJU had complained about Zahran’s preaching to the police and other authorities including the Defence Ministry. Ameer had even filed a case against Zahran. But all this was of no avail because the government did not take the threat from the Thowheed Jamaats seriously. 

Easter terrorist carnage and counter terrorism in Sri Lanka

Unfortunately, Sri Lanka, which prided itself as the only country in the contemporary world to completely defeat terrorism in its soil, is bleeding again – Pic by Chamila Karunarathne


The day of horror 

Thursday, 2 May 2019 

Dust is settling down in Sri Lanka after one of the most devastating and heinous terrorist attacks against Christians and foreign visitors (civilians) on 21 April. It was supposed to be a day of glory and celebrations for Christians world over. However, it turned out to be a day of horror and repugnance for Sri Lankans as well as many others.

The security forces and the police are doing a commendable job taking follow up action and are in the process of arresting a large number of radicalised persons, criminals and recovering large quantities of illegal weapons, explosives, detonators, communication equipment, forge passports, National Identity Cards and vehicles. There were even a few gun battles and explosions triggered by suicide bombers.

There is a country wide fear psychosis with many people staying at home unless it is really essential for them to go out. Schools and other educational institutions have been closed and all types of fanfare, musical shows, and festivities have been stopped. The print and electronic media is trying their best to keep the civilian population informed of the developing situation, as well as advising them on precautions to be taken.

Religious leaders of all denominations led by Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, are sending message after message appealing to their followers to practice tolerance and requesting them not to take law in to their hands, which has prevented escalation of violence against the innocent Muslim population.
Terrorism and Terrorist

The United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, described terrorism as any action that is ‘intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants, when the purpose of such an act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a Government or an international organisation to do or to abstain from doing any act’. 


In short, terrorism could be described as indiscriminate violence against non-combatants to achieve political, religious or some other objective. While terrorism is a tactic that cannot be entirely eradicated, steps can be taken to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately defeat organisations that use terrorism as a tool to achieve their objectives.

Counterterrorism is defined in the US Army Field Manual as ‘Operations that include offensive measures taken to prevent, deter, pre-empt, and respond to terrorism’. This definition is more concrete but has its strengths and weaknesses. First, it correctly states that counterterrorism is an all-inclusive doctrine including prevention, deterrence, pre-emption, and responses, which would require bringing to bear all aspects of a nation’s power both domestically and internationally. Second, this definition includes everything but essentially differentiates nothing, which is a shortcoming.

Counterterrorism is a difficult concept to define. There is no universally applicable counter-terrorism policy for democracies. Every conflict involving terrorism has its own unique characteristics. Democracies should respect civil liberties and the rule of law, a staple in their counterterrorism strategies. Counter-terrorism (also called anti-terrorism) incorporates practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, military, police and other organisations use to combat or prevent terrorism.

It must be remembered that human rights and individual freedoms are important while the right to life is more important. Easter bombings took away the right to life of nearly 250 innocent civilians.

The Easter bombings have created a major dilemma in Sri Lanka. A person, who uses indiscriminate violence against civilians, in the pursuit of political or religious objectives, is considered a terrorist. Hitherto, such an individual was seen as a person, who is from an underprivileged community, has been victimised or motivated for a cause. However, some of those involved in the Easter Sunday bombings are reported to be highly educated, both locally and abroad and hailing from affluent families. They were a highly motivated group and fighting for a cause even against the mainstream religion of their own. This showcases the degree of their indoctrination either locally or abroad.
Lessons to be learnt from the Easter bombings

The Easter bombings have clearly displayed the vulnerability of Sri Lanka, its population and other installations to terrorist attacks. The attacks demonstrated that any target could have been selected and succeeded. These incidents also demonstrate that national security has been quite at the bottom of the country’s agenda, despite the fact it had experienced a protracted conflict against a formidable terrorist organisation for nearly three decades. In simple words, there was a lack of ‘security culture’ in the country.

Sri Lanka has not been able to take effective, timely counter action to prevent, deter or detect the perpetrators despite receiving credible intelligence warnings. The deduction is that sufficient attention was not given to the intelligence warnings, as there was no security culture prevailed in the country. Sri Lanka is located at a geo-strategically critical location in the Indian Ocean among spheres of influence of major players. Furthermore, the country has come out of a prolonged conflict. Therefore, national security should be given priority, when decisions are taken on major initiatives such as foreign relations, development of infrastructure and economy.
Intelligence is not information

It must be remembered that intelligence is not mere information. Strands of information need to be gathered, collated and evaluated in order to derive effective actionable intelligence. Thereafter, it should be disseminated to the appropriate agencies and authorities concerned. It is like a jigsaw puzzle children play. Only when all the pieces are combined together, one gets the full picture.

However, we need to look even beyond that picture and evaluate and identify trends, both locally and internationally, which would enable related agencies to predict with certain accuracy, which can be translated in to operational intelligence. It must be remembered that intelligence mean differently to different agencies, based on their own expertise and the domain they focus. There are multiple intelligence organisations in the country. These need to be strengthened and integrated, a practice Sri Lanka developed and effectively used toward the end of the separatist conflict.

Sharing of intelligence, taking prompt action and thereafter follow up action, are key to successful counter terrorism operations. Even then, unless there is a sound national security culture, actionable intelligence will not be acted upon by the decision makers.
Way forward

Unfortunately, Sri Lanka, which prided itself as the only country in the contemporary world to completely defeat terrorism in its soil, is bleeding again. It is believed that with a proper national security culture, the Easter Sunday carnage could have been prevented or its impact minimised. Unfortunately, it was not the case. Terrorists achieved what they wanted; to create a fear psychosis by mayhem and death of a large number of innocent civilians, thereby getting worldwide media coverage for their cause. This dastardly act will not fade away for a long time as the sufferings of victims have been immense.

We need to move on. We need to keep the national security as our top most priority and create a culture of security. Countering terrorist activities cannot be done by government forces alone. It has to be a comprehensive effort involving all stakeholders, similar to what we had towards the end of the separatist conflict. Not only did Sri Lanka overcome the most ruthless terrorist organisation in May 2009, but we were not caught in the conflict tarp, as no major terrorist event took place for nearly 10 years until the Easter Sunday bombings.

(The writer is Director, Pathfinder Foundation.)