When will they ever learn...

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They say Sri Lankans forget things easily, but this is just ridiculous. The civil war Sri Lanka suffered through ended just four years ago; although we were all so grateful for it, people have apparently begun to forget what we had to endure. The racism, terror…all of that just because one bright spark Sinhalese political group decided to be racist against Tamils.


But, of course, we’re forgetful so we’re allowing it to happen again. If you’re Sri Lankan and you don’t know what I’m talking about, you must have crawled out from under a rock recently, because anti-Islam propaganda is everywhere! And who should instigate it, if not for – surprise! – Buddhist priests? Shocked? So was I.


As an atheist I’m impartial towards all religions, as long as they all promote freedom and equality. So let me firstly state that NOBODY can accuse me of favoritism towards Muslims. Do I have Muslim friends? Quite a few, yes. Do I value them above my other friends? Absolutely not. But people should have zero tolerance towards racism. I’m not saying all Muslims are perfect saints. There have been issues where they have done wrong, but in what religion have there never been mistakes?


What’s most upsetting, in my point of view, is that Buddhist priests are now engaged in politics. Not only are they in politics, but they twist what Lord Buddha has preached to benefit themselves. After all, a majority of the population are Buddhists; who would question clergymen, right? It’s clear that these priests (to refer to them as ‘priests’ is actually an insult to the religion) are using the faith people have in them, to their own advantage.


Lord Buddha has preached that people should have compassion and respect towards each other. Priests should set an example to followers, yet you find them invoking hate in the minds of people. Are these really the role models you want?
The Bodu Bala Sena doesn’t have much of a purpose, honestly. To me, they’re a huge joke. Some of the allegations they’ve made are beyond ridiculous:


Halaal should be banned:

They’ve claimed that the Jamiyyathul Ulama tries to force producers to get the Halaal certificate, to ensure that they earn more profits. Are you telling me that producers don’t have the backbone to refuse? This is a free country (or so we think) If you don’t want the certificate, don’t take it! Because what is that organization capable of doing? It’s not like they’re going to burn down a store room for not having that particular approval.






Muslims are trying to reduce the Buddhist population:

So, apparently, Muslim merchants hand out genetically developed toffees to Sinhalese people, which cause infertility in women. See how stupid that sounds? Does the dimwitted person who spread this rumor think that Muslims have nothing better to do than to invest in genetically developed TOFFEES, of all things?


Muslims shouldn’t have so many children:

Who are they to tell people how many
children to have? This isn’t China. So what if Muslims want more children? Did the BBS stop to think that maybe they’re more family oriented (I’ve noticed that Muslims tend to be closer to family than Sinhalese do) and that maybe they can afford to have children? Should they be penalized just because Buddhists don’t want to have more kids? The BBS also believes that Buddhists should have around 5 to 6 children to ensure that the Sinhalese population grows. Right, because the priests are totally going to fund that.


Muslim women shouldn’t wear the Abaya:
The Bodu Bala Senawa has claimed that a man’s curiosity is triggered more by a woman who is covered because he cannot see what she’s like. Oh ok. So let’s all walk around naked? What business is it to anyone if a woman wants to cover herself? In a world where nudity is accepted, where it’s considered to be pretty if you dress up like a prostitute, it’s actually better that there are still women who have values and want to dress decently. It’s hilarious that BUDDHIST PRIESTS, of all people (seeing as how they should promote decency) want women to stop wearing the Abaya, or even have a problem with what women wear at all!


Muslim shops employ Sinhalese girls on purpose:

Places like Nolimit are apparently recruiting poor Sinhalese girls as saleswomen, and they eventually marry the Muslim guys who work there and end up converting to Islam. So in other words, Muslim shops shouldn’t provide job opportunities to girls who didn’t have the privilege of receiving a good educations and becoming successful. But of course if they attempted to do that as a remedy, the BBS would gladly accuse Muslims as being racists. Again, a stupid claim of a conspiracy.


Not only does the BBS start all these rumors that spread like wildfire, they themselves are known to attack Muslim places of worship as well as shops. The stories they’ve made have reportedly caused a lot of trouble to Muslims country-wide. Worst of all, women in Abayas are being discriminated, as a Buddhist priest has apparently referred to them as “Gonibillas” Well done, BBS, that is just so mature of you. As a feminist I’m deeply disturbed by this and I strongly believe that this political group should be shut down and these priests should be banned from preaching. Haven’t we suffered enough during the past three decades? Do we really need another reminder of why racism is bad? And haven’t other countries taught us enough? The Holocaust killed six million Jews! Do we really need to be called the next Hitlers?


Muslims, as far as I know, have supported us to end the civil war. Is this how we repay them? Also it’s obvious that Sri Lanka relies on Middle Eastern countries to get necessary goods; and if Muslim merchants were to shut down their businesses and go abroad, it would actually affect our economy, because they’re known to be successful. Right now what we’re doing is biting the hand that feeds us.


So what if we’re a Buddhist country? It’s a known fact that a majority of the population belongs to Buddhism. But does that mean we have to bully a certain sect? Political groups like the BBS are nothing but thugs who try to stir up trouble, especially after the ordeal we had to face. Racism should not be promoted in any way and it’s very disheartening that they’re allowed to do what they please without any sort of intervention from the government. Is this really the sort of environment we should be growing up in? Is this what we teach the younger generation? To hate because of religious differences? Just as Sri Lanka was reuniting, and putting the past behind her, these pathetic excuses for clergy just had to come along and create new issues.
It’s only a matter of time until the BBS bring up some other insane story, but before you decide to follow them solely for the reason that clergy can be trusted, think again about whether you are willing to face another war, because Sri Lanka can most definitely do well without it.


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-RH-