Can you have religious co-existence in Saudi Arabia?- Madagoda Abayatissa

Hello Madagoda Abayatissa Thero!

This post is regarding your statement "Can you have religious co-existence in Saudi Arabia? So religious-coexistence is a ruse to destroy Buddhism."

In this case, I do not agree with you and I do not understand the reason why you are connecting Sri Lanka with Saudi Arabia. There are 2 particular facts that you need to consider in the issue of such a statement.

1. If you are not aware of  the full name of Saudi Arabia; it is 'Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'. A Kingdom is a nation ruled by a king, in the case of Saudi Arabia it is 'Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud' who serves the country as the king. In a Kingdom, you are not supposed to speak or act against the king, for which you can be penalized. That is the norm of a Kingdom. Hence, it is obvious that, why there is no religious co-existence in Saudi Arabia.

The full name of Sri Lanka on the other hand is, 'Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka'. A Democracy is a nation ruled by the whole population. In a democratic country you have the complete freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, etc. Therefore, it is normal that in a country such as Sri Lanka, there is religious freedom. Even a five year old may understand this. But, it is very pathetic that a man such as you have not understood the logic behind this.

2. According to the facts I obtained from the following websites,                                          
          (i) http://www.whn.org/content/Saudi.htm
          (ii) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Saudi_Arabia
it is clear that there is less than 1% of followers of other religions reside in Saudi Arabia. And almost all of them were migrants from other countries. In a country such as this, is it necessary to have religious co-existence. Please elaborate on this, Abayatissa Thero.

According to the facts I obtained from the following websites,

          (i) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Sri_Lanka
          (ii) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Sri_Lanka
it is obvious the followers of Buddhism amounts to 70% of the population of the country while the other 30% are followers of Hinduism (12.6%), followers of Islam (9.7%) and followers of Christianity (7.4%). Hence Mr Abayatissa, is it fair to compare the two countries? 

When we talk about the rights of 30% of the population of Sri Lanka, you are pointing your hand towards a country which has LESS THAN 1% population of minorities which is also with a totally different system of control.

Is it fair? Ask yourself.
Be wise and think twice before publishing statements such as this. Because, we admire Buddhism, Buddhists and Buddha. People such as you and your good friend Gnanasara Thero are humiliating Buddhism in the name of 'Bodu Bala Sena'.