‘Where every prospect pleases, man alone is vile’
Image courtesy Aaron Joel Santos The title of this article is a line from a beautifully haunting hymn written by Bishop Heber of Calcutta who, clearly, had an imperialistic mindset. He visited our…
Religion and faith
A Tolerant Sri Lanka: How far will we go?
The past few weeks have seen a rise in incidents and publicly expressed sentiments against the Muslim community by groups who claim to represent the rights of Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka….
Taking old friends too seriously: Sri Lanka, Burma and Buddhist extremism
(Caption and content from Reuters) Sri Lanka’s long relationship with Burma is something that anyone who has even a nodding acquaintance with Sri Lankan history is aware of. In both nations, Theravada…
Helping the Police arrest brutish “monks” in Sri Lanka
Apparently the infamous Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has condemned the attack on Fashion Bug warehouse a few days ago and asked the Police to arrest those involved in it, even if they…
Inter-Religious Integration in Sri Lanka—Inclusion not Intrusion
Image courtesy Maliban Biscuit Over the past months Sri Lankans have been educated on two Arabic words: halal and haram (that which is permissible and not permissible). Unfortunately the circumstances of learning…
Geneva and Bodu Bala Sena: Two Dimensions of a Crisis
Original image by Azzam Ameen, on Twitter There are tensions and schisms erupting, there is a crisis in the making. One dimension of this crisis is the unfolding diplomatic debacle: the…
The Political Economy of Prejudice: Islam, Muslims and Sinhala-Buddhist Nationalism in Sri Lanka Today: Some Reflections
From the Say No to Halaal Facebook group Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority is increasingly finding itself the target of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalists: a campaign against halal, attacks on mosques, boycott of their businesses,…
Pope Francis: Options for the poor, disappearances, dirty wars, dictatorships in Argentina, Sri Lanka and elsewhere
Image courtesy New York Times, Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters The new Pope has been hailed as someone known for his simple life style, identification and sympathy to the poor, proclaiming “how I wish for…
Bodu Bala Sena: A Threat To Sri Lanka’s Future
Goatabaya Rajapaksa ceremonially declaring open a Buddhist Leadership Academy of the Bodhu Bala Sena in Galle, via dbsjeyaraj.com Sri Lanka’s fragile attempt of reconciliation, following the end of the thirty-year civil war,…
How to Deal with Racism
Photo courtesy The Platform/Raashid Riza The Lord Buddha once said “When someone fires an arrow into you, you don’t try and find out who fired the arrow and what they are all…
The Sinhalese…
[The triple gem of Anuradhapura; Abhayagiriya facing north and its synthesis of Theravada and Mahayana represents the spiritual values of balance and integration; Ruvanweliseya in the western corner symbolizes caution, orthodoxy and…
An Allegory For Sri Lanka’s Sad Communalism
Photo by Aufidius, via The recent debate around the anti-halal movement, with its echoes of anti-Tamil sentiment of the post-independence period (‘Tamils get more government jobs,’ ‘Tamils have access to better education…
A Lenten Reflection by Bishop Duleep de Chickera
EVOLUTIONARY DECLINE AND THE ASCENT OF HUMAN RESILIENCE The weeks leading to Independence Day on February 4 were filled with intense debate on the legality and morality of the impeachment of the…
Issues of Divergence and Contestation: Some Reflections on the Concept of Halal
Photo by AFP’s Ishara S Kodikara, via ABC “Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumour; nor upon what is in a scripture;…
Why do Sri Lankan ‘patriots’ love Social Polarisation?
Photo by AFP, via Sri Lanka Brief Since the end of war in 2009, Sri Lanka has become a country full of zealots and patriots singing the song of country first, religion…
