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Consolidating the Muslim Identity

Assalamu Alaikum

The Muslims of Sri Lanka, according to the census of 1981 number around 1 093 889. There are two groups; namely the Sri Lankan Moor and the Malays. This paper examines what the Muslims can do to strengthen their community. I sincerely hope the proposals in this paper materialize. It would be great if there is a Muslim organization that can spearhead the campaign.

The separatist war raging in the north and east of Sri Lanka, has brought destruction and death to all Sri Lankans, irrespective of ethnicity. The Muslim community, though not directly involved in the conflict has been at the receiving end of brutal violence at the hands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - an organization that is fighting to create a separate Tamil state comprising the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. In 1992, the LTTE ethnically cleansed the northern province by giving Muslims 24 hours to leave or be murdered. Today, thousands of these displaced refugees languish in refugee camps in Puttalam, not knowing what happened to their belongings, their mosques and lands. Others have started their lives over again among the Sinhalese.

S.L Gunasekara, in his book "Tigers, 'Moderates' and Pandora's Package' states:

One is constrained to wonder how acts of 'military heroism' like committing the mass murder of Muslims worshipping in their Mosques could serve to 'liberate' the Tamils from their alleged 'oppressive domination' by the Sinhalese.

Today, Tamil politicians in the eastern province are trying very hard to remove Muslim and Sinhalese settlements from so-called 'Tamil areas'. Also racist elements among the Sinhalese have begun to rise against Muslims and several Muslims have been the victims of attacks. We must put a stop to this immediately before it is too late.

I believe that the future of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, lies in cooperation with the Sinhalese. We must become their allies, not their enemies. We have to befriend the Sinhalese, cultivate the relationship and become a united front. We who fought with the Kandyan kings against the invaders must be proud of our achievements, for our community has always stood for a united Sri Lanka. The great Mr. Sinna Lebbe proposed that the Lion Flag should be the national flag of Sri Lanka. So all Sri Lankans have a debt to him and to the Muslim community. We must never forget that.

That said, we have to stand tall against Sinhala chauvinism as well and ensure that it doesn't threaten our community. We must not let the racist elements within the majority community rise to the top.

From personal experience, I know that outside Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan community is divided into two distinct groups:

(1) The Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers and other friends of Sri Lanka and
(2) The Tamil community

This division is to be blamed on the LTTE and their supporters who milk expatriate Tamils for all their worth in order to fund their bloody campaign in Sri Lanka.

The Sinhalese for the most part have treated us better than the Tamils. Chased out of the northern province the Sinhalese accepted as and helped us to start our lives again. Muslims have been voted into office in predominantly Sinhalese areas - even beating Sinhala candidates! But have we ever heard of a Muslim MP being elected to office by the Tamils in predominantly Tamils areas? No. The latest is that the LTTE is harassing our brethren in the east and usurping the land they are living on!

I believe that we should take a side in this war. Enough standing in between. Either we are against the LTTE and Tamil racism or not. How can we even hope to combat Sinhala racism if we are sitting on the fence? We should all take steps to become friends of the Sinhalese. In the future, when peace arrives between the Sinhalese and Tamils, what will be the fate of the Muslims? Faced with racism and opposition on BOTH sides, what will we do? We must think of the future and act now in order to make it bright.

The Sinhalese form 74% of the population and with the Muslim 7% this rises to 81%. With such a strong block, Muslims will never need to fear. But we must be friends with the Sinhalese in order for this to work.

So how can we become friends with the Sinhalese? After careful consideration (I know many of you will disagree with me) I believe the surest way of winning confidence and trust of the Sinhalese is to learn Sinhala. We must switch from the Tamil language to the Sinhala language as soon as possible. Our mother tongue should become Sinhala, not Tamil. You may be thinking that this is an extreme step, but it is the only sure way to gain the support of the Sinhalese. With the exception of a few people, we do not have a special attachment to the Tamil language.

The benefits of switching to Sinhala are numerous:

(1) We will gain the confidence and trust of the Sinhalese.

(2) No longer will Tamil politicians be able to rope us in as 'Tamil Speaking People' in order to give credibility to their statements.

(3) We will have more opportunities job-wise both in private and state institutions.

(4) The Muslim community will have more power to influence political decisions through the Sinhala media. Currently there are very few, if any, Muslim reporters writing in Sinhala. We will be able to present our case and eradicate false views regarding Muslims and Islam to the vast majority of Sri Lankans.

(5) We will be able to open the eyes of the Sinhalese to Islam in the Sinhalese language.

(6) The Sinhalese will not be able to claim we are foreigners from Tamil Nadu, as we speak Sinhala our homeland is Sri Lanka.

(7) The Sinhalese media is more culturally in tune with our Islamic culture.

(8) The Sinhala language is more musical and easy to learn than the Tamil language. I am speaking from experience here.

(9) We will be able to make a bigger impact on the Sinhala literature, media scene than in Tamil literature and media scene.

The Muslim community should also oppose regionalisation and division of the country along ethnic lines. We should all be proud to be Sri Lankan. Unfortunately the SLMC is only raising a hornets nest and creating hostility towards Muslims by demanding a separate South East Council. These are unnecessary divisions that will move us further away from becoming friends with the Sinhalese and contribute to creating more problems. Think brothers and sisters! Please!

Please note that these are only my humble opinions.

Wassalam

Afdel Halaldeen
Canada

[Email withheld on request]