Aftermath!

It is with sorrow that I write this post. I remember, when we were young, we learnt at school about multicultural understanding. And about the national flag of Sri Lanka, which represents every ethnic community. Which literally means that, we were taught from a young age to live in a multicultural society understanding the fact that every Sri Lankan has his/her right to practice his/her own religion and we have no right to interfere. 

However, some gentlemen, who actually might not have understood this concept, have always been trying to think in a way that they and their religion are more superior than the others. These type of folks are there in every community. The problem arises, when these folks try to prove it in a violent manner. 

In the recent past, many such incidents have occurred in this beautiful island. Such incidents, suck out the beauty of this nation and its people. 

I remember one such incident occurred a couple of days ago, where an unknown mob has vandalized a Masjid. At around 10pm, a group of around 20 individuals has arrived in a truck and has started brutally attacking the Masjid and the Imaam. Some of us, might not be even be aware about this. And some others might know but not be bothered.

Now, please close your eyes and try to picture a situation, where people who practice different religions and follow different cultures look at each other as enemies and fight with each other to prove that they are superior than the other. I am sure that every single one of you must be knowing that we are still feeling the pain of the wound of a 30 year war. I don't ever think that Mother Lanka is capable of bearing another ethnic, religious or communal war among her children.

On the other hand, just imagine how beautiful it would look if four Sri Lankan kids, who follow four different religions, wearing their traditional clothes, joining hands and walking on the street. Won't that reflect the true meaning of our national flag?

"Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding." - Ralph Waldo Emerson


Image Courtesy: www.gov.lk

A Story as I Heard!

Mr John, an atheist lecturer once conducted a class about nature. He said, "Everything in the universe functions naturally on their own. There is no force or power behind the natural existence and orbits of planets, sun, moon, stars, etc."

Ahmed, a student in his class did not agree with this. His inner voice wanted to scream that it's not true. However, he kept quiet without disrupting his lecturer. 

After the lectures, everyone including Mr John left the classroom except for this boy. He waited till the classroom was clear. Once he ensured that the class is cleared, he moved to the teacher's table, grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote, "Mr John is an illiterate idiot" on the black board and left the classroom.

The next day, Mr John saw this and he was shocked. "If the person who wrote this did not step in front of the class, I will penalize the entire class.", he announced.

No person said a word. There was pin drop silence inside the classroom. Suddenly, Ahmed stood up and said, "Sir, yesterday, after everybody left the classroom, I saw a piece of chalk flew by itself and wrote those words on the black board by itself and landed itself back on the table.". The entire class broke into a laughter. 

Mr John, with a stern look on his face, silenced the class and walked briskly towards Ahmed. "Are you trying to play hanky panky with me, young man?" he inquired. "How on earth can that even happen?" he further questioned. Ahmed calmly replied, "Sir, even this tiny piece of chalk cannot write on the black board without being assisted. Then how can the planets, sun, moon and stars function by themselves, without a creator? How can they be so neatly managed without chaos? Don't you still think that there is a superior who operates all these?". He further said, "I sincerely apologize for misusing your name. But I wanted to enlighten you regarding this matter. I could not find any other way. I'm ready to accept any detention you impose on me as I'm the one who wrote it."

Mr John was out of words! 

"And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming."
The Glorious Quran- Chapter 21 (The Prophets), Verse #33

The Journey!

One day, after attending lectures, I got into a bus to get home. Since, it was the school time the bus was jam packed. There were people here, there and everywhere. Kids, children, parents, teachers and other passengers such as me, were all there. I somehow managed to find a place more towards the front door, for me to stand. I was holding the bars of two seats. The conductor was busy screaming at people asking for change and making them get in as usual. The bus was moving at a very practical pace according to the time and the circumstance. The velocity should have been somewhere between 10-20 km/h. Traffic jammed. 

Then a bunch of school girls got in to the bus carrying backpacks, which surely are heavier than themselves. Most of them, handed over their backpacks to the ones who were seated. Almost all of them looked as if they were 11 or 12. The bus was moving again. Even if it was moving, a man who walks at a decent pace can overtake the bus. Hot burning sun and traffic jam makes the sweat tickle out of the bodies of the passengers.

This is when I noticed one of those girls who were standing, has started falling asleep. Fair enough! After a day filled with lessons, teachers, friends, etc. at school, she must be feeling really tired. She is just two feet away from me. I felt really sorry for that poor little girl. I could have held her, but people might think something else. Hence, I stood there watching.

The girl was standing next to an aunty. She could hold the girl. But, wait! Why didn't she? Ohh.. Oops! She was stacked with 4 backpacks. She was helpless. So was the girl. The girl starts to lean towards the seat of that aunty. The aunty still did not notice the girl. She was too busy with those backpacks. 

There came another stop. The girl wakes up. 2 of the 4 backpacks the aunty was holding were taken back from her. She was a bit relieved. The journey starts again. Now, the girl did not care about the bus, the crowd, the weather or the traffic jam. She goes back to her dreams again. Now, with the backpacks are cleared, the aunty can now notice the girl. And yes, she did. She starts holding the sleeping girl. And, oh! Within the next 5 minutes, the aunty was also asleep. Her hand starts to slide down from the girl, and she loses the grip. She was in her dreams.

The girl wakes up with a sudden jerk. And now she was awake. Wide awake. But, the aunty. She was fast asleep. The girl was awake and the aunty was asleep. I was so curious as to what will happen next. But unfortunately, I had to move since my stop was nearing. I rang the bell. The bus stopped. I got down with some difficulty. The girl, aunty and other passengers continued their journey.

This is just one chapter about the day to day life as a Sri Lankan. We are used to it. And we are proud of it. Aren't we?

An 'Avurudu' without Halaal!

This post is regarding a poster campaign by the so called 'Bodu Bala Sena', around Kandy forcing the people who celebrate 'Avurudu' not to have Halaal food.

First of all, I would like to wish 'Bodu Bala Sena' an advanced 'Subha Aluth Avuruddak'. And I am going to help 'Bodu Bala Sena' differentiate Halaal food from others, so it would be easier for them to refrain from consuming Halaal food even by mistake.

According to Islam, food can be classified as either Halaal, Haraam or Makruh. Since, 'Bodu Bala Sena' knows more about Halaal than Muslims themselves, let's see the other categories of foods.

Haraam
'Bodu Bala Sena' say that they do not want Halaal, which means, they are more interested in Haraam. The Arabic term 'Haraam' means 'sinful'. According to Islam, Haraam food involves the following.

• Meat from swine.
• Pork based products and by-products.
• Human flesh.
• Animals improperly slaughtered.
• Animals already dead before slaughtering is due to take place (except for fish).
• Animals killed or sacrificed in the name of others than Allah.
• Intoxicants.
• Carnivorous animals (e.g. cat, lion, tiger, fox,dog).
• Birds of prey (e.g. vulture, eagle, owl).
• Land animals without external ears (e.g. snake, reptiles, worms, insects).
• Animals that have been ordered the killing of (e.g. gecko, scorpion).
• Animals which are forbidden to kill (e.g. bee, frog).
• Blood and blood by-products.
• Urine, faeces, phlegm, pus and other nasty fluids.
• Poisonous and narcotic products.
• Food contaminated with any of the above mentioned products.

Makruh

They can consider on Makruh as well. The Arabic term 'Makruh' means 'detested' i.e. which are disliked by Allah but not Haraam. Muslims are advised that it's better to avoid such food (e.g. horse).

Hence, my dear friends of 'Bodu Bala Sena', are you sure that you are going to consume any of the above foods for 'Avurudu'? If you are to avoid Halaal, it effectively means that you should consume the above mentioned things. I don't think that it is a very good idea. Am I right?

Further, I am sure that 'Kiribath', 'Kavum', 'Kokis', 'Aasmi', 'Pani Valalu' and all the other yummy 'Avurudu' cuisine does not include any of the above mentioned Haraam contaminated in it. If those yummy 'Avurudu Kama' does not include, Haraam contaminated products, isn't it Halaal? Hence, my dear friends of 'Bodu Bala Sena',

Do you still think that you have won the battle against Halaal?

I think not!

"Therefore, eat of what Allah has provided for you (which is) lawful and good. And be grateful for the favor of Allah, if it is (indeed) Him that you worship."

The Glorious Quran- Surah An-Nahl (The Bee). Chapter 16. Verse 114.

Attacks against Muslims in the year 2013!

This post is regarding the attacks against Muslims in Sri Lanka for the past 3 months. The attacks are listed below according to the date which it happened. 

05th January 2013
A protest demanding to vacate the mosque located in Malwathu Oya Lane, Anuradhapura. Protest was led by some Buddhist monks.


09th January 2013
The above mentioned mosque was vandalized by an unknown group.

17th February 2013

'Bodu Maha Samuluwa' meeting was held in the city of Maharagama targeting Halaal. The meeting was organized by 'Bodu Bala Sena'.

On the same day, a meeting about Halaal Awareness was organized by 'All Ceylon Tawheed Jama'ath' in Kattankudi. It was ceased by Police prior commencement.

27th February 2013
A group of Muslim girls wearing Islamic attire were attacked and forced to remove their veils in Dickwella, Matara.

28th February 2013
The Jummah Masjid in Kegalle town was attacked i.e. stoned by unknown individuals.

01st March 2013

A slaughterhouse in Dematagoda which was ran by Colombo Municipal Council was raided by 'Bodu Bala Sena' and some policemen claiming that it has not been licensed or approved.

Police announced on 06th March 2013 that this was a false claim. [Source: apennews.com]

03rd March 2013

Muslim students of Wekada Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya, Eluwila, Panadura were forced by the principal of the school to bow to their teachers and touch the feet.

On the same day, Anti-Halaal posters were there to be seen in the towns of Beruwala and Aluthgama.

4th March 2013

Mahara prison mosque, which is older than 60 years was vandalized by an unknown group.

On the same day, another mosque located in Opanayake, Balangoda was stoned by an unknown group.

කවුද මේවට වග කියන්නේ? 

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? 

Sri Lankans would surely know that who arose and encouraged such malicious activities. They announced that 'Bodu Bala Sena' means 'Buddhist Strength Force'. But now they have proven that it means, 'Anti-Muslim Force'.

What's the problem now?

My dear friends of 'Bodu Bala Sena'!

As per your request, the Halaal logo will not appear in the products which are distributed in Sri Lanka. This was a decision made considering The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), Chamber of Commerce as well as some venerable Buddhist priests. However, the companies MAY use this logo for the purpose of exporting their products for countries which they think this logo would be helpful.

This is what you as Buddhist Strength Force, requested. You wanted the Sinhalese Buddhists of Sri Lanka to boycott this logo and Halaal certified products.

Now what you say is that, by only removing the logo in Sri Lanka and continuing to practice the system of production and placing the logo for export purposes is not right. Well my dear friends, now you cannot point your hands to ACJU. Because, it is clearly up to the companies to decide whether to focus on the market in Sri Lanka or overseas. If they want to expand their market to foreign countries (Middle Eastern countries, to be more precise), this logo would add more value. 

You have further said that Muslims transfer funds to terrorist organisations and support them. If what you have said is the truth, Muslims would have acted violently regarding this issue. There were posters all around the country against Muslims, death threats for Muslims, strict warnings to vacate their businesses in certain urban areas of the country and so on. But, did you ever see any violence by Muslims against you or any other Buddhists regarding this issue? The answer would be 'No'. The Muslims still consider Buddhists as their brothers. How can you call them terrorists and blame that they support terrorism, when they behave in a manner which is completely against terrorism?

I do not understand what is your problem brothers. 

Please behave in a manner which Buddha has taught you. 

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."- Buddha.

Gonibillo- Galgoda Atthe Gnanasara Thero!

My dear Gnanasara Thero!

I heard you talking (blasting actually) on various occasions and was able to pick out a word you are very fond of using. A word you use to refer to Muslim women. 'Gonibillo', which is a word used by mothers to scare their children when feeding them. I do not know what similarity has Gnanasara Thero found with Gonibillo and Muslim women. Oh! He may have been deceived by their dress (But aren't monks not supposed to look at women?).

He might not be having the proper knowledge or understanding why Muslim women wear clothes covering the whole body. It is a duty of us to make him aware. (But it arises another question, why should a monk care if a woman covers her body or not? Does he want the women to take off their veils because he wants to look at women? I do not think so. Am I right, Gnanasara Thero?)

Gnanasara Thero, it is not appropriate to ask you this question since you are a monk. But you made me ask this from you. Will you get attracted and look at a girl who is revealing herself or a girl who is covering herself? It is obvious that revealing drags more attention and attraction, especially in the case of a woman. Any man would like to have a second look at a woman who reveals herself, which may lead to serious crimes such as sexual harassment. Islam, therefore as a precautionary measure, wants the Muslim women to cover themselves.

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like palms of hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc.), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husband's sons, their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigor  or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.- The Glorious Qur'an- Surah An-Noor. Chapter 24. Verse 31.

Hence Gnanasara Thero, it is the duty of a Muslim woman to cover herself since it has been ordered by Allah. And as Sri Lankans, I hope that Muslims do have their religious rights, which means they have the total right to practice their own religion. If a Muslim woman is to practice her religion completely, she should cover herself. 

Ask yourself whether is it appropriate to call a woman who practices her religion and wants no men to witness her beauty, a gonibilla?

Finally Gnanasara Thero, I post this picture to make you understand what I mean if you are still not clear.

I know that you did not have an idea on why these women wear clothes that are totally covered and unattractive. And now I hope that in the future you will not use such terms to address women who are trying to protect themselves from the gaze of men.