Economic woes bridging religious fault lines in Sri Lanka?

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI, India (AA) – The economic crises leading to political instability in the neighboring South Asian Island country of Sri Lanka has brought down the intensity of Islamophobia, which had become a convenient tool to target the Muslim community since the end of civil war in 2009 and more so since the Easter Sunday bombing in 2019, according to experts.

The Muslims, who constitute 9.7% of the total 21 million population, had over the last many years become targets of hardline Sinhala Buddhist groups.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency from Colombo on phone, Hafiz Nazeer Ahamed, a lawmaker from the eastern province representing the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said that with the crisis affecting everyone, it has now united people "irrespective, of their religious background."

He also said that there was an anti-Muslim sentiment earlier, and now people have realized the fallacies of communal politics.

"Youth particular have realized moving forward on a communal basis will fail the country. So, youth have started to canvass for a united Sri Lanka," he said.

Mafaz Ishaq, owner of an information technology firm also said that everybody cutting across religious lines right now is struggling against economic woes.

"The struggle has truly been multi-cultural and has garnered support from all. The fuel and gas crisis has affected us all and brought the country together as one to bring about change so that such economic mismanagement never happens again," he said.

He was, however, apprehensive that this bonhomie may not last long.

“The reality is it will last until the next populist sets out to exploit our differences than our commonalities. It has united everyone," he said.

According to the Alliance for Minorities -- a collective of eight civil society organizations – radical monks like Gnanasara Thero propagated hate speech and incited riots against Muslims in 2014. The deposed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration gave perpetrators complete impunity, said the human rights group.

- Attacks against Muslims

In 2013, a campaign against halal food was launched by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Buddhist monk-led Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist organization.

The BBS was also found leading attacks against Muslims in 2014 in the coastal town of Aluthgama and then again in 2018 in the Kandy district, resulting in the loss of several lives and destruction of properties.

The attacks in the island nation intensified against Muslims after nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts against some churches and hotels in 2019, killing over 250 people and injuring another 500.

In 2019, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Muslims in Sri Lanka are facing abuses and the community is facing arbitrary arrest and other abuses and called on the government to protect the community from violence.

In 2021, Sri Lanka's cabinet approved a proposed ban on wearing full-face veils including Muslim burqas in public. In the same year, the government announced shutting down more than 1,000 Islamic schools.

Razik Zarook, lawyer and former diplomat told Anadolu Agency said that everyone across religious lines had to queue up in the same line for the gas or outside the food store.

"The common people have a common problem. We are children of one nation and that type of feeling is there. We are facing a crisis. Everybody is sailing in the same boat," he said.

He blamed the politicians for the anti-Muslim sentiments in the country.

"Politicians have used this issue for their politics, and these things don't matter anymore. We don't know how long it would go, but yes right now, no one is certain, thinking on the lines of communalism," said Zarook

Imtiaz Buhardeen, a renowned businessman said that there have been certain problems for Muslims in Sri Lanka in the past, but this economic crisis is affecting everyone.

"Anti-Muslim hate has subsided a bit for now. We cannot say anything about the future. It is difficult to predict. The past has not been good. It(relationship) has improved. Hopefully, things will improve further," he said.-

- People express hope

He stated with the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, there are hopes that things will improve.

"In the next couple of days, there will be a new president, so hopefully, things will improve. IMF is also working and there is a breakthrough expected. In the next coming one and a half years, we are hopeful we would come out of this situation.," he said.

Last week, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country's interim president after Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit after fleeing to Singapore amid mass protests over his mismanagement of the economy.

Protesters broke into the presidential palace and set fire to the prime minister's private home.

Sri Lankans blame the Rajapaksa political dynasty for the crisis. Rajapaksa’s brother Mahinda resigned as the prime minister in May.

Crippled by a shortage of foreign exchange reserves after the collapse of its tourism-dependent economy, the island nation has defaulted on all its foreign debt.

It has been unable to pay for food, fuel, and other essentials, with the fuel shortage in turn leading to prolonged daily power cuts. Schools have been closed and state employees asked to work from home.

The government is negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package, but no deal has been finalized so far.