!! Penderitaan umat Islam Rohingya merambah kaum muslimin di Srilangka !!

Sejumlah pendeta Budha berdemonstrasi di depan masjid Al-Akram di kota Dambajama, Srilangka pada Rabu malam (25/7/2012) menuntut penutupan masjid. Mereka juga melakukan ritual agama Budha di depan masjid tersebut.

Kaum muslimin setempat melaporkan tindakan para pendeta Budha itu kepada pihak kepolisian setempat. Pasukan kepolisian setempat kemudian dikerahkan ke tempat kejadian.Anehnya, polisi justru memerintahkan kaum muslimin untuk menutup masjid Al-Akram.

Masjid Al-Akram di Srilangka telah berulangkali menerima ancaman dari penduduk Budha Srilangka sejak waktu yang lama. Padahal masjid itu terdaftar di kantor urusan agama dan kebudayaan Islam Srilangka.

Ancaman dari penduduk Budha dan sikap aparat kepolisian Srilangka yang membacking mereka membuat kaum muslimin di kota Dambajama mengadukan kasus tersebut kepada Majelis Ulama Srilangka.

Majelis Ulama Srilangka sendiri segera mengadakan komunikasi dengan Kepala Kepolisian Srilangka. Dalam pertemuan dengan Majelis Ulama Srilangka, Kepala Kepolisian Srilangka menyatakan perkara tersebut sepenuhnya telah ditangani oleh kepolisian. Ia menjanjikan masjid Al-Akram akan dibuka kembali dalam waktu dekat.

Pembantaian massal junta militer dan mayoritas penduduk Budha Myanmar terhadap kaum muslimin Arakan yang menewaskan lebih dari 6000 warga muslim saat ini menjadi berita hangat di media massa internasional. Lebih dari 200 desa muslim di Arakan dibakar. Sedikitnya 300 ribu warga muslim Rohingya mengungsi ke Bangladesh.

Meski demikian PBB, ASEAN, lembaga HAM internasional dan Barat mendiamkan saja aksi genoside terhadap umat Islam Rohingya. Jika pelaku pembantaian adalah orang Yahudi, Kristen, Hindhu atau Budha dengan korban kaum muslimin, maka PBB, ASEAN, lembaga HAM internasional dan Barat tidak mencap para pelaku sebagai teroris. Tidak ada sanksi apapun atas para pelaku pembantaian yang kafir tersebut. Hal inilah yang membuat orang-orang Budha di Srilangka dan Thailand Selatan semakin ganas memusuhi kaum muslimin.

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The Dambulla Mosque Debacle and The Rise of The Minority Extremist

The city of Dambulla in Sri Lanka, more known for its representation in tourism brochures as a registered heritage destination for culturally-inclined tourists to the island, made headlines of a less-idyllic nature on the afternoon of Friday the 20th of April – when Buddhist monks led a 2000-strong protest against a local mosque. Intimidation in the form of marching picket-wielders, fire-bombs being hurled and emotionally-driven chants demanding the demolition of Masjidul Khaira led to the cancellation of Jumaah prayers at the masjid, the evacuation of worshipers and effective cordoning off of the premises.

Said protestors claim that the land on which the mosque is built is of reverential value and sacred to their faith, the reason for which the 'illegal structure' must go. The Muslim community of Dambulla has countered the allegations stating that the mosque has in fact been lawfully registered and operational for the past 50 years.

Muslims in Sri Lanka make up roughly 8% of the 21.5 million-strong population, a percentage tying them in third place with their Christian counterparts, after Buddhism and Hinduism. A statistic that also has them tagged a 'minority' in the Sinhala Buddhist dominated (70% of population) nation.

Surprisingly (as is not usually the norm with these type of targeted attacks) the majority of immediate public reaction exchanged over social media and online forums was not of reactionary animosity directed towards Buddhism and the Buddhist community as an entity, but rather a collectively-acknowledged finger of disapproval pointing in the direction of another sort of minority – the minority of radical trouble-makers representing the very anathema of what Buddhism entails.

Aside from a negligible faction of ideological individuals out to instill and fester strained Muslim-Buddhist relations, true Buddhists embarrassed at this misrepresentation sympathized with the Muslim community, and the Muslims though understandably upset at being targeted in such a fashion, in turn acknowledged that the attacks were not definitive of general public sentiment.

All ears however were directed to the then-silent government, at the time yet to take a stand on the issue.

On Sunday the 22nd of April, the Prime Minister's office released a statement ordering for the mosque's closure, but 'assuring ' the Muslim community that they would be provided with the necessary facilities to facilitate the relocation of Masjidul Khairah to a safer location. The decision claimed to have been collectively made with the consent of the country's Muslim leaders, but the ministers in question have denied having had any say at the time.

This portrays the Sri Lankan government in a very negative light both internally and across international waters, especially to the Muslim countries who voted in support of Sri Lanka in the recent US-backed UNHRC resolution last month.

Despite a history in the island dating as far back as the 8th century, Sri Lankan Muslims feel they've been plated an unfair share of occasions to feel targeted, especially over the last couple of years. What with a similar incident in September 2011, and when earlier this year more than a hundred visiting Islamic preachers were asked to leave on grounds relating to flouting Sri Lanka's immigration laws – this sentiment is not without argument.

The nationalization and politicization of Buddhism as a state religion has always been a cause for concern among the religious minorities, having the potential to hinder any balanced decision making that can serve to suitably placate all parties concerned.

The ethnic minorities have however proven their mettle in tolerance (not mere complacence) in light of recent events, but the minority in question that needs to be dealt with more pressingly, is this new surge of religious radicals set out to widen the divide on peaceful co-existence.

At the point of this going to print, the repercussions of this ordered move was only just getting started with a volley of words exchanged between the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka and the so-called 'Buddhists' behind the attacks.

The Muslim community of Sri Lanka seems to have now resorted to placing greater expectancies on the well-positioned Muslim parliamentarians (a considerably large representation in the current regime) than in the government as a whole. That in exercising their rights as MPs and leaders they will be dutifully positioning the well-being of the Muslim community before personal fears of potentially risking their political footing on the boards they represent.

If there is anything productive to come out of all of this, it is the exposition of the not-so-lesser-evil of the religious extremist. For like the hate-driven Breivik murders in Norway earlier this year, the exhibitionist tendencies of these misfits in question are being broadcast (and received) for what they truly are. A pandemic not just for the governments of Asia, Europe or America to learn to quash effectively long-term, but also a pressure test for the targeted groups to come out of it better represented than when they went in.

Sri Lanka Muslims under siege

The end of the civil war brought hopes that the country could become united. But attacks by radical Buddhists suggest Sri Lanka faces a new challenge to internal harmony.

Colombo’s suburb of Dehiwala is probably best known for housing the Colombo Zoo. But late last month, it became the site of a wild protest at a small mosque, a protest that has many Muslim leaders in Sri Lanka worried.

On the morning of May 30, police officials reportedly informed the leader of the Dehiwala branch of the Association of Muslim Youth of Seylan that an illegal demonstration was likely to take place at the group’s mosque. Sheikh Ramsy was instructed to cancel madrassa lessons.

True to the warning, by midday, some 200 demonstrators led by several dozen Buddhist monks converged on the small Islamic center and began throwing stones and rotten meat over the gate at the mosque. Fortunately, most projectiles landed harmlessly in front of the mosque. Protestors shouted slogans demanding the closure of the mosque, claiming it was performing daily animal sacrifices, a charge the mosque denies.

“This charge is really unbelievable and shows how little they know about the religion of Islam,” Sheikh Rasmy explains.

“We only conduct sacrifices associated with the Eid ul-Adha and often the meat is distributed to poor families.”

The incident is the latest in a string of serious incidents involving extremist Buddhist provocations against Muslims in Sri Lanka.

In April, for example, a number of Buddhist monks disrupted Muslim prayer services in the village of Dambulla. The attackers claimed that the mosque, built in 1962, was illegal.

Weeks later, monks are said to have drafted a threatening letter aimed at Muslims in the nearby town of Kurunegala, demanding Islamic prayer services there be halted.

Reza, an imam at the Darul Iman Islamic Book House in Colombo, says he is confused by the outbreak of intolerance.

“We in the Muslim community aren’t used to anything like this. But the last few months have seen new tensions across the country.

“We aren’t sure why this is happening now. Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus we have all lived together for a long-time.”

During the 30-year civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam and the central government, the island’s Muslims, though Tamil-speaking, sided with the government against the LTTE. This was in part a result of thousands of Muslims being ejected from Jaffna in the early 1990s.

Discrimination

During the conflict, the Sinhalese Buddhist majority courted the island’s Muslims, and many Muslims rose to prominent bureaucratic positions, while a handful even served in the Sri Lankan armed forces.

A Muslim bureaucrat in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, who spoke on condition of anonymity, believes that the status of Muslims has changed since the end of the war in 2009.

“The government view of Muslims has changed since they defeated the ‘Tigers’. We are no longer seen as a loyal asset,” the official says.

“Now we’re seen as a liability. I know Muslims who have inexplicably lost positions in the customs office and regional agencies in the past year.”

Muslims interviewed for The Diplomat said that discrimination in the provision of government services was second only to inflation as a challenge for the island’s Muslim community.

The vast majority of the island’s Muslims are the descendants of Persian and Arab traders who settled on the island.

Official estimates put the Muslim population of the country at around 7 percent, although Muslims believe their share of the population is much higher, perhaps as much as 17 percent of the total population.

In Sri Lanka, such numbers are important because funding from the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs is spent proportionally on each religion.

The Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs agreed to speak off the record about religious issues on the island, and dismissed the incident at Dambulla as “unimportant,” maintaining the mosque in question was an illegal structure.

“Any religious structure must be approved by the ministry, the local government and the appropriate divisional secretary,” an official says.

“Anyone who hasn’t followed these procedures is building an illegal structure and it becomes a police matter.”

According to the ministry official, the three-step approval process for new religious structures was implemented in 2010.

Speaking in his office, the official noted that religious freedom was ingrained in the Sri Lankan Constitution.

“We are a democracy. That is what separates us from Saudi Arabia or the Maldives. People are free to practice their beliefs in Sri Lanka as long as they respect the laws.”

But the same official also sidestepped the question of the source for Sri Lanka’s rising religious tensions, pointing only to "interested parties" being behind individual incidents.

Officials at the ministry also stated the policy of the ministry was to address complaints of discrimination from all sides.

Such an ambivalent attitude toward sectarian issues is reflected at higher levels of government as well. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had, at the time of writing, yet to issue a statement about Dambulla or Dehiwala, despite the fact that Sri Lankan diplomatic delegations often tout the island’s Muslim heritage to attract foreign investment.

As a result, Sri Lanka’s Muslims have largely taken a self-reliant approach to resolving the challenge.

On the night of June 11, assailants again threw stones at the Dehiwala mosque. Following this latest incident, the mosque and others in the area moved to improve security. Using money raised from within the local community, Sheikh Ramsy has decided to install protective metal screens to protect the mosque from future attacks.

However, the island’s Muslim leaders are aware that building barriers isn’t a long term solution.

As a result, Sri Lanka’s All Ceylon Muslim Congress, the most popular political party for the island’s Muslims, has tried to build bridges within affected communities to avoid future violence.

Risad Badhiutheen, one of the party’s leaders, has visited Buddhist temples and met with monks in the Dehiwala area in order to ease tensions.

Muhammad Omar, a trishaw driver attending prayer services at the mosque, notes that “Everywhere, people have problems. These [religious tensions] are the problems of Sri Lanka. We can’t rely on the government. The community must come together.”

Persian traders to Sri Lanka named the island “Serendib,” from which comes the English word “Serendipity.” But, for the moment at least, the island’s religious minorities are hoping for happier time

Parti Presiden Sri Lanka menang besar

COLOMBO 10 April - Parti pemerintah Sri Lanka, Pakatan Kebebasan Bersatu Rakyat (UPFA), pimpinan Presiden Mahinda Rajapakse (gambar) mencatat kemenangan besar dalam pilihan raya Parlimen negara ini, yang pertama kali diadakan sejak pemberontakan Pembebasan Harimau Tamil Eelam (LTTE) berjaya ditumpaskan.
UPFA memenangi 117 daripada 225 kerusi, manakala parti pembangkang utama, Parti Bersatu Kebangsaan (UNP) hanya memperolehi 47 buah kerusi.
Bagaimanapun, keputusan bagi 45 kerusi lagi masih belum diisytiharkan.
Menurut Rajapakse, orang ramai menyokong penuh UPFA berikutan polisi ekonominya, selain kejayaan parti itu menumpaskan pemberontakan Harimau Tamil dalam serangan tentera besar-besaran pada tahun lepas.
"Saya mohon anda untuk mewujudkan sebuah Parlimen yang kukuh yang mampu berhadapan dengan sebarang cabaran.
"Secara ikhlas, saya berterima kasih kepada anda kerana memberikan saya sokongan majoriti yang akan membantu menjadikan Sri Lanka sebagai satu contoh kepada dunia," katanya.
Jurucakap Rajapakse, Chandrapala Liyanage menyifatkan, kejayaan ini sebagai sumbangan besar tugas seorang Presiden.
"Parti itu telah memenangi Parlimen dengan mudah," katanya.
Liyanage menjangkakan UPFA akan memenangi sekurang-kurangnya 24 kerusi yang masih belum diisytiharkan, kurang sembilan kerusi untuk memenangi dua pertiga majoriti undi apabila keputusan akhir pilihan raya diisytiharkan pada 19 April ini. - AFP