Posts Categorized: Religion

Saint Anthony’s Church and Cemetery

The ruins of this old church are slowing sinking into the sand. by Max Cortesi, Atlas Obscura, no date, accessed May 12, 2018 On the far northeastern beaches of Sri Lanka there is a tiny village called Manalkadu. It doesn’t see many tourists—and with only one battered unnamed road to get there, that’s not surprising. What… Read more »

Hindutva Takes on Tamil Nationalism

by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘Asia Times,’ February 16, 2018 he south Indian state of Tamil Nadu has become a battleground for the proponents of Hindutva and the champions of Tamil nationalism. Hindutva is the rallying cry of the Bharathiya Janata Party and   Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),a militant Hindu nationalist group that has for decades provided the… Read more »

Sri Lanka Imposes Emergency to Quell Communal Riots

by Times of India, March 6, 2018 HIGHLIGHTS Sri Lanka on Tuesday declared a nationwide state of emergency to quell anti-Muslim riots that have killed at least two people and damaged dozens of mosques and homes in the central district of Kandy. Here’s what led the Maithripala Sirisena government to take the extreme measure: *… Read more »

US Embassy Statement

by US Embassy, Colombo, March 6, 2018 March 6, 2018 – COLOMBO:  Rule of law, human rights, and equality are essential for peaceful coexistence.  It is important that the Government of Sri Lanka act quickly against perpetrators of sectarian violence, protect religious minorities and their places of worship, and conclude the State of Emergency swiftly, while… Read more »

Monks with Guns

Westerners think that Buddhism is about peace and non-violence. So how come Buddhist monks are in arms against Islam? by Michael Jerryson, ‘Aeon,’ London, Melbourne, New York, January 15, 2018 The recent violence in southern Thailand began on 4 January 2004, when Malay Muslim insurgents invaded a Thai Army depot in the southernmost province of… Read more »

The Hateful Monk

by Gavin Jacobson, ‘The New York Review of Books,’ August 31, 2017 Les Films du Losange Ashin Wirathu and his followers in Barbet Schroeder’s The Venerable W., 2017 Ma Soe Yein is the largest Buddhist monastery in Mandalay, Myanmar. A dreary sprawl of dormitories and classrooms, it is located in the western half of the city,… Read more »

HRW: Minister Threatens Defender of Minority Rights

by Human Rights Watch, New York, June 19, 2017 Investigate, Prosecute Attacks on Muslims, Christians (New York) – The Sri Lankan government should immediately repudiate statements by the country’s justice minister threatening to disbar a prominent lawyer for speaking out against attacks on religious minorities, Human Rights Watch said today. The incident highlights the government’s… Read more »

A Betrayal, Repugnant & Lethal

There was a prehistory to Black July, consisting of the teaching of contempt and the spreading of fear. It was that seeding which enabled Black July. Today we are living through the pre-history of an anti-Muslim riot. The demonising of all Muslims as fanatics hell-bent on taking over our land, our economy and our women… Read more »

Amnesty: Act Now to Prevent Further Anti-Muslim Violence

by Amnesty International, May 25, 2017 Sri Lankan authorities must act immediately to end attacks on Muslims in the country, and to rein in violent groups that target religious minorities, and take action against perpetrators, Amnesty International said. Index number: ASA 37/6361/2017 Amnesty Anti Muslim Violence May 2017 Sri Lanka: Act now to prevent further… Read more »

Saiva Temples in the Jaffna Region

During my last visit to Jaffna in March 2004, I had the good fortune to meet Prof. Arunasalam Sanmugadas and his wife Manonmani Sanmugadas. When both of them were living in Tokyo, 30 years ago (circa late 1980s, while carrying out their collaborative research with Prof. Susumu Ohno, on the linguistic and cultural links between… Read more »

Governance On The “Advice Of The Mahasangha”

by H.L. Seveviratne, ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ January 30, 2016 Prof. H.L. Seneviratne We frequently hear politicians declaring that they will follow the steps of the ancient kings who always ruled according to the advice of the Mahasangha. This is a vague generalization that has no historical or scientific validity. When we look at our history we… Read more »

The Enlightened Theology of a Tamil Saivite

by Karthick Ram Manoharan, ‘The Wire,’ India, December 22, 2016 In Religion, Caste and Nation in South India, V. Ravi Vaithees focuses on the works of the Tamil Saivite saint Maraimalai Adigal and explores the religious roots of the Dravidian movement and its impact on the political discourse. This year has been a calamitous one… Read more »

MRG: Continued Violations Against Religious Minorities in Sri Lanka

by Minority Rights Goup, London, December 8, 2016 mrg_rep_srilan_dec16 Executive summary Though Sri Lanka’s three-decade long armed conflict came to an end in 2009, hopes for a peaceful transition have been marred by ongoing violence against the country’s minorities. Post-war triumphalism and resurgent ethnonationalism, including the formation of Buddhist nationalist groups, has contributed to an… Read more »

200th Anniversary of the Establishment of the American Ceylon Mission

by US Mission to Sri Lanka & Maldives, Colombo, October 31, 2016 [As prepared] Rev. Dr. James Moos, Executive Minister, Co-Executive Global Ministries Rev. Dr. Deenabandhu Manchala,  Area Executive for Southern Asia, Global Ministries Rev Devasagayam Devanesan, Chairperson Rt. Rev Bishop Duleep De Chickera, Former Anglican Bishop of Colombo Rev Asiri P. Perera, President of the Methodist Conference in Sri… Read more »

Dynamics of Sinhala Buddhist Ethno-Nationalism in Post-War Sri Lanka

by Ayesha Zuhair, Centre for Policy Analysis, Colombo, April 20, 2016 Almost seven years have lapsed since the end of the war, yet Sri Lanka continues to remain a deeply divided society. Empirical evidence from the four waves of the ‘Democracy in post-war Sri Lanka’ public opinion survey conducted by Social Indicator (SI), the survey… Read more »

Buddhism and the Regulation of Religion in the New Constitution

by Benjamin Schonthal and Asanga Welikala, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo, August 2016 Buddhism-and-the-regulation-of-religion-in-the-new-constitution-Working-Paper-3 …This Working Paper offers a legal and historical overview of the issue of Buddhism in Sri Lanka’s constitution, which, we hope, will help the Constitutional Assembly in its deliberations. We also hope that this Working Paper will help advance discussions beyond… Read more »

Building More Viharas In The North-East Will Negate Reconciliation Efforts

by Thangavelu, ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ September 6, 2016 On August 23, 2016 the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) passed a resolution during the 56th sitting unanimously condemning the building of a Buddhist vihara by Sri Lankan troops on land belonging to a Hindu temple in Kilinochchi. The resolution was moved by NPC member Subramaniam Pasupathipillai. “The Kanakambikai… Read more »