The Malaise Affecting Buddhism
In the run up to the 2014 Aluthgama riot, the rabble-rousing monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara coined the term Aba Saranai, a battle-cry of hate totally at variance with the teachings of the…
Religion and faith
The Blanket of the Dark
Photo by President’s Media Division (PMD) “From now on, people and monks will govern this country from the streets” Aturaliye Ratana Thero (Lankadeepa – 28.5.2019) A man in a suit defending the…
Keep it clean: A reflection
Photo courtesy CNN. “ . “ Real stories-real racism A Colombo taxi driver informed a customer that he was a Muslim. It sounded like an apology. His two previous hires…
The Terrorist, The Muslim and the Other
It was a casual Sunday breakfast, as I was making notes on refugees in Sri Lanka, when my partner, his eyes still peeled on his phone, exclaimed in shock that a church…
On the Presidential Pardon: Reactions to Gnanasara’s Release
The photos, depicting a saffron-robed Gnanasara Thero, received thousands of reactions on Facebook. “He has been freed” they read. commenters posted on the Facebook Pages of mainstream media like Neth FM and…
In the name of security: How the Burqa/Niqab Ban is Impacting Muslim Women
My neighbour, Maya, from a Tamil Christian family, usually attends the mass at St. Anthony’s Church every Sunday. But on Easter Sunday she didn’t attend the mass as her brother had returned…
Testing Muslims in the Month of Patience
Ramadan, the month of abstinence is when Muslims observe fast, voluntarily depriving themselves from all that are permitted to them on ordinary days. These abstentions are replaced with worship and acts that…
Secularism or Barbarism
The blue, red, yellow, orange and white lights are on, as are the makeshift stalls selling lanterns. Yet few pause to see, haggle, buy. Vesak, so near chronologically, had never seemed so…
Madrasahs, Extremism and National Security
Photo by Gemunu Amarasinghe, via The nexus between Madrasah education and Islamic extremism have been in the global discussions ever since the emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. This phenomenon emerged in…
Sensitivity, solidarity and social stability: A post Easter-Sunday reflection
Photo courtesy The message The worship had just reached the the affirmation of God’s intervention in history, when the police arrived. The officer was courteous but firm. The service had to be…
Security, Freedom and Co-Existence after the Easter-Sunday Attacks in Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy Getty via The Easter-Sunday attacks have changed a lot of things in Sri Lanka. It proved, if proof was indeed required, the sheer inefficiency of the present government. Some of…
From casualty to catastrophe
Photo by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake for We hadn’t seen him in years, ever since he left to work abroad. So, on the day of his return, his mother invited the extended family…
Independence Square Vigil: Speech by Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Photo courtesy AP / Manish Swarup via For people of my generation, as Sharika Thiranagama wrote in her recent article, news like the Easter Sunday blasts does not initiate a new fear, it…
Refugee crisis in Sri Lanka after the Easter Sunday bombings
Photo courtesy Gemunu Amarasinghe/Associated Press via “Pakistanis a country where suicide bombings happen on a regular basis, mobs gather and kill minorities and people who think differently, houses and settlements are attacked,…
What now for the moderate Muslim: Reflections after the Easter Sunday terrorism
Image courtesy Quartz Many supposed Muslims are in custody for suspected links with terrorism. Many swords found, including in the suburban Slave Island mosque. Many explosives scattered everywhere. Women killing themselves, the…
