By Latheef Farook
Around four years ago, today’s hate campaign pitting the majority Sinhalese community against the island’s minority Muslims, was unheard of. However, today Sinhalese minds were poisoned against Muslims to such an extent that racist such as Jathika Hela Urumya, JHU, are even justifying attacks and killing of Muslims and the burning and the destruction of their residential and commercial property causing billions of rupees of loss for no valid reason.
Now the question is who brought Islamophbia to the island to the detriment of the country.
The hate Muslim campaign or the persecution of Muslims has all the hallmarks of Israeli conspiracy while the carnage at Aluthgama, Dharga Town ,Beruwala and the surrounding areas has all the hallmarks of a combined conspiracy of Israelis, India’s Rastrriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS, and Myanmar’s fascist saffron robed thug Ashin Wirthau’s 969 Movement.
Reiterating this, Sinhala daily Divaina, in its 5 July edition, has accused Israel’s front Norway of being behind this religious violence in the island.
In the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, Muslims who have suffered immensely during the ethnic war expected their grievances will be dealt with and the country, learning lessons from the disastrous ethnic war, will move ahead towards a better future for all communities.
However this dream was shattered as the racist neo fascist elements which dominate the government had their own agenda to promote the majority Sinhalese and subjugate the minorities. Thus began a program of Sinhalisation in almost every possible field, writing off minorities as if they don’t exist while establishing close ties with regional and international forces known for their hostility towards Muslims.
As a result anti Muslim forces, with their own agendas, began entering the country with government blessings, turning the island into a playground for harassment and carnage of Muslims besides boosting racist elements here.
When it became clear that the Sri Lankan government has started establishing closer ties with Israel, I predicted that “it is matter of time before a vicious campaign pitting the innocent Sinhalese against Muslims begins”.
This is Israeli agenda worldwide and Sri Lanka is no exception.
In an article which I wrote more than three years ago I warned that the Israeli presence in the island would be disastrous. This is what I predicted;
“The island’s growing ties with Israel have become cause for serious concern especially within the discriminated Muslim community which fears that this may spell out disaster for them.
This fear emanates from Israel’s long record of hostility towards Muslims and its crucial role in the United States led western global campaign demonizing Islam and Muslims under the guise of fighting a so called war on terrorism. It becomes still worse because a small minority of racists remain in influential positions in the government while Muslim parliamentarians remain subdued and ineffective under a political system which provides for a democratically elected dictatorship with absolute power and no accountability.
The Israelis have entered Sri Lanka like midnight thieves and began spreading their tentacles in the media, government, business sector and other areas besides cultivating politicians as they always do.
In the recent past ministers, top officials and private sector officials, tourists and many others have started visiting Israel while Israel’s entrepreneurs began investing in many sectors indicating the flourishing relations.
The question is what is the guarantee that the Israelis will not use the Sinhala racists to whip up hostility against Muslims? All what the Israelis do wherever they go is to carefully screen and pick up racist elements to unleash violence against Muslims and create communal turmoil.
It is matter of time that Sri pays the price for the folly of allowing the Israelis here.
Citing an example I pointed out what happened to Muslims in India. According to New Delhi based fortnightly Milli Gazette of 1-15 December 2009, Hindu extremist organizations get lot of money from Israel via Europe to kindle communal riots against Muslims. Indian Home Ministry disclosed that in 2008 alone RS 7877 crores were received by Hindu organizations which were used for subversive activities in the form of riots, bomb blasts and creating circumstances detrimental to Muslims. The report added that “investigation give credence to the belief that Hindu terrorists are poisoning the socio-political atmosphere in India and Israel is helping them through financial help”.
Now the question is what is the guarantee that the Israelis would not do the same thing in Sri Lanka. Is there a dearth of extremists in Sri Lanka? Can the island afford to take this risk especially at a crucial time in its history like now when all communities in the island are looking forward to a future which would, if not prosperity, at least ensure peace? Thus concluded my article.
Where do we strand today?
Knowledgeable Muslims were shocked that President Mahinda Rajapaksa who had been the president of Sri Lanka PalestinePeoples solidarity committee allowed Israelis into the country. The Israelis even managed to persuade President Rajapaksa to visit Israel. This speaks for the success of Israelis in Sri Lanka.
During the past few years innocent Sinhalese minds were systematically poisoned under a very well planned and executed hate campaign. In this campaign Buddhist monks and Buddhist temples were used, mosques were attacked, Muslim dress code condemned followed by violent attacks on mosques and business establishments threatening their very existence.
In their drive to propagate hatred towards Muslims, Buddhist monks who are in the forefront in this campaign, even told blatant lies to misguide the Sinhalese. For example one Buddhist monk, addressing a public gathering, said that” Muslims always spit three times on the food or drink which they serve to non Muslims”. This, he said, is the teaching of the Quran”.
The persecution of Muslims came into open with the destruction of a Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura under the watchful eyes of the police. The government failed to bring the culprits to book indicating its support to this hooliganism .Predictions were that, if the racist elements were allowed to continue their hate Muslims campaign it is likely that Sri Lanka may become yet another Myanmar.
Today the predictions have been proved with the attack on Muslims and the destruction of their properties in and around Aluthgama, Dharga Town and Beruwala on 15 and 16 June 20145 by well trained professional thugs. Now the question is who these thugs are?
Many suspect that Israel’s intelligence service Mossad trained this “ racist killer squad” , dispatched to Israel with great publicity for so called agricultural training, enjoys overt and covert state patronage as accused by many even in the government circles.
In the midst of this Sri Lanka also started secretly cultivating relations with the Indian anti Muslims RSS and its deceptive fronts such as BJP,VHP.Shiv Sena,Bajran Dal and the like whose main agenda is to eliminate Islam and crush Muslim in their drive to turn India into a Hindu Raj
The savage unleashed on the unarmed and harmless Muslims in Aluthgama, Dharga Town , Beruwala and the surrounding areas on 15 and 16 June under the cover of curfew by the Sinhala Zionist Bodu Bala Sena saffron robed thugs have all the hallmarks of violence often unleashed on Indian Muslims by RSS since 1947.
These forces began visiting Sri Lanka
For example a professor from Manipal University in India, invited by a government institute, condemned outright all Indian political leaders from Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh and hailed Narendra Modi , then BJP prime ministerial candidate, as the only solution to India’s ills.
Ending the discussions, he said; I had come here to warn Sri Lanka of the danger the of Wahabi terrorism. He said Wahabi terrorism is not a problem yet, but it is spreading fast and it can be a serious problem in about five years. Therefore unless Sri Lanka takes precaution Wahabi terrorism is bound to become serious and Sri Lanka could become the transit point for Muslim terrorists.
When I challenged him to prove this allegation he ran away saying“I am getting late”. These are the so called RSS intellectuals.
Perhaps the government wanted to send a message to the then prime ministerial candidate Modi, known for his intense hatred towards Muslims and his crucial role in the February 2002 Godhra massacre of Muslims, that “ we are with you in the hate Muslim campaign”
In the midst there comes the BBS’ alliance with Burma’s blood thirsty fascist Monk Ashin Wirathu, responsible for slaughtering thousands of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims. This alliance forebodes death and destruction of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Muslims fear that this extremely dangerous alliance has all the ingredients to turn the island into a killing field from which it may never recover.
It was in this background there came the killing of Muslims and the burning of their properties in and around Aluthgama. The question is whether Aluthgama is the beginning or the end of this hate Muslim campaign which has all the ingredients to turn the island into a living hell.
Ends 5 July 2014
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