Sri Lanka Muslim Council urges President to take decisive action on Buddhist extremists

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka has urged the President among several requests to take a decisive action by publicly condemning the hate campaign of the Buddhist extremists.
In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Head of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka N.M. Ameen has said these groups have been using the traditional media, social media, public meetings, posters, leaflets, and the circulation of rumors and misinformation insulting Muslims to inculcate a sense of fear and hatred among Sinhalese towards Muslims. He has asked the President to instruct the police to take necessary action to stop incidents of harassment against minorities and their businesses. "While we appreciate the many recent pronouncements that your excellency has made regarding the multiethnic nature of our polity, the Muslims' long history in the country, and the necessity of all ethnic and religious groups to live in harmony, we see no substantive reduction in either the incidents of harassment of members of our community or the campaign by the extremist groups," Ameen has said in the letter. He has added, "These groups have been using the traditional media, social media, public meetings, posters, leaflets, and the circulation of rumors and misinformation insulting Muslims to inculcate a sense of fear and hatred of Muslims among Sinhalese. They are using abusive language when referring to our religious practices and publicly calling for a boycott of businesses run by Muslims." The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka has called on the President to consider several requests made by them in order to stem the rising tide of anti-Muslim extremism in the country. Among the requests made by the Council to the President are to take decisive action by publicly condemning the hate campaign of the Buddhist extremists, continue to proclaim publicly that the minorities are equal citizens and equitable stakeholders in the country, and instruct the police to take necessary action to stop incidents of harassment against minorities and their businesses. Further the Council requested the President to empower the police to respond to instances where such forces try to take the law in to their own hands and ensure that the authorities take action against the media when they contribute to the propagation of hate sentiment. It also urged the President to diffuse the tension around the halal issue by either empowering the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) to continue to offer the certification, or by mandating a government institution to engage in the process given that the certification is most necessary to maintain Sri Lanka's export markets. -->