Plight of Sri Lankan Muslims

Photo Source: Scroll.in

By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront

Communal violence between Buddhist Sinhalese and Muslims escalated sharply in Sri Lanka in March 2018, forcing the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency on 6 March. International outlets such as Reuters and Al Jazeera reported that the immediate trigger was the killing of a 41‑year‑old Sinhalese man in Kandy district after an altercation with Muslim youths. His death sparked retaliatory attacks, with Sinhalese mobs ransacking Muslim businesses and setting fire to mosques. Human Rights Watch noted that police struggled to contain the unrest, and at least two people were killed while dozens were injured.

The violence had already been brewing. In late February 2018, riots broke out in Ampara after false rumours spread that a Muslim‑owned restaurant had laced food with sterilisation pills. This baseless claim inflamed tensions and led to attacks on Muslim property. By early March, the unrest spread to Kandy, where mobs destroyed homes, shops and mosques. Al Jazeera confirmed that 24 suspects were arrested for arson, while the government used emergency powers to detain dozens more.

Muslims make up around 9 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population, behind the Tamil minority. Reuters reported that Sinhalese nationalists accused Muslims of vandalising Buddhist sites and attempting forced conversions, though these allegations were often based on rumours. The Associated Press described how hundreds of Muslim residents in Mullegama barricaded themselves inside a mosque after mobs attacked their homes, accusing them of stealing a temple donation box. At least 20 homes were badly damaged, and witnesses said police did little to stop the attackers.

Radical Sinhalese Buddhist groups such as Bodu Bala Sena and Ravana Balaya have played a role in stoking ethnocentric nationalism, promoting the slogan ‘Sri Lanka for Sinhalese Buddhists’. Their rhetoric amplified fears that Muslim practices such as polygamy or alleged attempts to alter demographics threatened the majority. In Ampara, mobs spread rumours that Muslim traders were mixing pills into food to make Sinhalese men impotent, a claim later debunked but which fuelled violence.

The government responded by banning social media platforms temporarily, citing the spread of hate speech and incitement. The Guardian reported that Facebook and WhatsApp were used to circulate inflammatory messages, worsening tensions. Hundreds of Buddhist monks later rallied in Colombo, demanding stronger action against minorities.

The paradox of violence in Buddhist‑majority states such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka has drawn international attention. Buddhism is often associated with peace, yet nationalist movements have weaponised it. In Myanmar, Buddhist militias were implicated in attacks on Rohingya Muslims, while in Sri Lanka, Sinhalese mobs targeted Muslim communities. Analysts have noted that this contradiction undermines Buddhism’s global image as a non‑violent faith.

Sri Lanka’s history of communal violence is long. The 1915 Sinhalese–Muslim riots created deep divisions, and more recently, Aluthgama on the western coast saw anti‑Muslim violence in 2014. The civil war between the Sinhalese‑dominated state and Tamil Tigers also left scars. Human Rights Watch documented how the final phase of the war in 2008–2009 at Mullivaikkal involved mass civilian deaths, with thousands of Tamils killed by the army. Survivors continue to search for missing relatives.

The decline of Sufi Islam and the rise of Wahhabi‑influenced practices, often funded by Saudi institutions, has unsettled many Sinhalese Buddhists. Some compare Sri Lankan Muslims to Israeli Jews, portraying them as wealthy and self‑centred, a stereotype that feeds resentment. Political divisions have also played a role: Muslims largely voted against Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2015 election, which further entrenched perceptions of disloyalty among Sinhalese nationalists.

International actors urged restraint. UN Under‑Secretary‑General Jeffrey Feltman called for ‘swift and full implementation of the government’s commitment to bring the perpetrators of the violence and hate speech to justice, to take measures to prevent a recurrence, and to enforce non‑discriminatory rule of law’. Human Rights Watch stressed that minorities must be protected and that impunity for communal violence would only deepen mistrust.

The Sri Lankan diaspora also reacted. In Dubai, the Sri Lankan embassy hosted community meetings where expatriates called for peace and emphasised pluralism, rejecting divisions of religion or caste.

The events of March 2018 revealed how fragile Sri Lanka’s social fabric remains. Despite the end of the civil war in 2009, ethnic and religious tensions persist. The riots in Ampara and Kandy showed how rumours and nationalist rhetoric can quickly escalate into violence. The government’s reliance on emergency powers, rather than long‑term reconciliation, highlighted the absence of structural reforms. As Al Jazeera observed, the violence was triggered by a single death but fuelled by deeper grievances and mistrust.

Sri Lanka calls itself a socialist country, yet Buddhism is the official religion, and segregation is evident in education, with Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese often studying in separate schools. This institutional separation reinforces communal identities rather than bridging them. Unless Sri Lanka addresses these divisions, majoritarianism will continue to deepen fissures.

The paradox remains striking: a country that promotes Buddhism as its state religion has repeatedly witnessed Buddhist mobs attacking minorities. As Reuters and Associated Press coverage showed, the violence in 2018 was not isolated but part of a longer pattern of communal unrest. Without accountability and reconciliation, Sri Lanka risks repeating the cycle of violence that has haunted its modern history.