Cardinal urges Muslims to rise against those who ‘instrumentalize’ Islam

By Yohan Perera  

Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith yesterday urged the Muslim community in Sri Lanka to rise up against those who try to ‘instrumentalise’ Islam for their own purposes.  

“Rise up and defend yourself against those who try to instrumentalise Islam to fulfil their own purposes. Oppose Wahhabism and organizations that promote such ideologies. This is my special request to the Muslim community,” Cardinal Ranjith said at a programme held to mark the second anniversary of deadly Easter Sunday attacks.  

“There would not have been any issue today if the Muslim community rose up strongly against extremism when the Easter attack took place. It seems that they did not rise up against extremism till yesterday. With the remarks made by Mawalavi Hassan Mawlana it is clear that Muslims reject extremism. These attacks such as the Easter Sunday mayhem is not what it claims they are, but much more than what they are and that is why I make this request from the Muslim community,” the Cardinal added.  

“We should know who carried out the attacks and for what purpose and whether they repent what they did if they are to be forgiven. We must remember that we must not hit back at our distractors. We should not forget the support and solidarity shown by our Buddhist brothers. It is important that religions work with one another and not against each other,” he said  

“Burying the truth and embracing are not part of Jesus Christ’s teachings. We will continue our struggle to get to know what really happened when it comes to the Easter Sunday attack. It is surprising that the investigations are carried out to suit day-to-day fortunes,” he said.  

Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera who also participated in the ceremony said CID should investigate as to what had happened to the one billion rupees which was donated by the Global Muslim organization three months after the Easter Sunday attacks. 

He said both the government and the religious leaders are duty-bound to bring about unity. “It is the duty of the government to ensure the security of the people as per the teachings of Buddha. The previous regime totally failed in its duty while the present regime is not fulfilling it adequately,” he said.  

Pic by nimalsiri edirisinghe

Pic by Waruna Wanniarachchi