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| Sri Lanka |
| Are Lankan Muslims taking to radical Islamic groups? |
| 2004-09-03 |
| Relentless persecution by the LTTE on the one hand, and the increasing influence of Islamic fundamentalist movements on the other, have the potential to drive the embattled Muslims of Sri Lanka into the arms of radical Islamic groups, says counter-insurgency expert, Col (Rtd) R Hariharan. "Muslim extremism has not made much headway so far in Sri Lanka. But the Muslims' political future is a question mark, as they are losing their clout." Col Hariharan was a top ranking intelligence officer with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s. He warned that if the Muslim political leadership was weakened, the political influence of Islamic fundamentalism would increase. There are already reports of Muslim youths toying with the idea of resisting the LTTE with arms. The existence of an "Osama Group" has been talked about. Informed sources said that one such Islamic group had opened an office in Kinniya, in the eastern district of Trincomalee. Tamilnet, a Sri Lankan Tamil website, has reported that a suspected radical Islamic group threw a hand grenade into a house in Eravur in Batticaloa district on Tuesday, killing one and injuring two other Muslim youth. The website said that for sometime now, fundamentalist groups had been warning Muslims not to indulge in un-Islamic activities like consuming alcohol, gambling, visiting prostitutes and misbehaving with women. Radical Islamic groups were active in the Muslim villages of north Batticaloa, Tamilnet quoted the police as saying. For the past five years or so, Sri Lankan Muslims have been visibly lurching towards a fundamentalist culture, observers say. Women, even tiny tots in nursery schools, now cover themselves from head to foot. In the eastern districts, the fundamentalist Tabligh movement is caching up fast. But so far, fundamentalism has not intruded into politics. The mainstream Muslim political parties in Sri Lanka, deny that the Muslims are turning towards radical Islamist groups. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |