How must we respond to religious extremism and incitement to violence?
Image from Ingulfed Do not despair. It helps to try to understand the situation as it evolves, rather than crystallise your view of it in judgment. If you know your enemies and…
Religion and faith
IS THE BBS THE BOSS?
Photo courtesy There are scarier things, worse things, than Black July ’83. Aluthgama signaled the possibility of such things. The sequence of events, the lethal violence, the horror of Aluthgama were reminiscent…
The Limits of Tolerance
Photo courtesy There is a limit to tolerance, and this is it. In its short history as an independent republic, Sri Lanka has seen more bloodshed than seems fair. Many of our…
Horror in Aluthgama: Their Crime, Our Shame
Photo courtesy BBC [Editors note: This was sent by the author directly to us. As a policy Groundviews does not republish what’s already gone up somewhere else on the web. Making an…
Aluthgama riots and deaths: Vital updates
Photo courtesy BBC Update #3: 7.05am, 176 June 2014 A video with English subtitles of the BBS speech that incited violence in Aluthgama is now on YouTube. Also uploaded to the web…
A Papal prayer for Middle East peace and a visit to Sri Lanka
Photography by Getty Images, courtesy The Catholic Church has announced that His Holiness Pope Francis would be visiting Sri Lanka from January 13th to 15th, next year. Preceding the announcement, were visits to…
Let’s get rid of the ‘virtuous society’
Photo by ISHARA S.KODIKARA/AFP, via How many of you can honestly say that you have never visited a pornography website? I don’t have the numbers, but if I had to guess, only…
A modest proposal for the development of the Buddhisms and Tourisms also
Image via Last time I am writing opened letter. Peoples are reading it and telling me, The Silva, you are writing very intelligent things in support of Our Majesty and his country.…
Writing on the Wall: A Sinhala Prayer in a Tamil Church
When I was walking near the Mulativu beach by around 5.30 this morning, I came across an abandoned Catholic Church. It was in a dilapidated condition. The Church seems to have been…
Things Seem Better, No?
Photo by AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena The mind tends to disconnect well tread passages during travel. It’s a wonder the simple things that stay with you, things you only notice once you’ve left. To…
The Single Story of Sri Lanka
Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images via Al Jazeera America In a well-known TED talk, the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie talks of the dangers of the single story.[1] “The single story creates stereotypes,”…
Special Police units and democratic governance: A reflection on religious freedom with justice
Puzzling Decisions and worrying trends The recent government decision to appoint a special police unit to deal with inter-religious conflict adds to the prevailing confusion on the freedom of religion and the…
The Sri Lankan Muslim Diaspora Dilemma
Image via Transcurrents This past week, incidents in Sri Lanka and abroad have illustrated the dilemmas facing the Sri Lankan Muslim community and its Diaspora constituents. These incidents though isolated in occurrence…
De Pilo Pendet: Reconciliation and the Catholic Church’s Role in Post-War Sri Lanka
Photo by Dominic Sansoni I have a memory that dates back several years. It is of a Good Friday Service at my family’s parish in Kotte, Sri Lanka and of the length…
The failure of the media, civil society and the ‘moderates’
Photo by AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena via SC [FR] 97/2014 is a Fundamental Rights application currently pending before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. FH the Petitioner is an 11 year old Muslim girl…
