IINA – 1

Muslims in Sri Lanka

Colombo, Muharram 7/Mar 21,2002 (IINA) - Sri Lanka’s Muslims were in the past mainly centered in the eastern part of the country, but the war between the government’s security forces and the Tamil Tigers has forced many of them to leave and settle in such places as the capital, Colombo, according to one of the Muslim leaders in the country, Ibraheem Salim, who had come to the holy sites to perform this year’s Haj.

He said that while the Muslims of Sri Lanka enjoy freedom of worship, they somehow perceive that they are being discriminated in other fields, such as senior civil service jobs, and the like, though there are some who do hold senior political positions, such as ministers.

Salim said that while there are the usual divisions among the Muslims of Sri Lanka, Daawa work continues to thrive, and Islamic centers and schools continue to be set up, with assistance from Muslim brethren from other parts of the world. He said that Islamic Studies form part of the curriculum of formal schools, but only up to Ordinary Level, but more needs to be done by Muslims on the level of secular subjects, in order to prepare their children for contemporary life in the professions.

Salim said: "But unfortunately, we are seriously lacking funds for technical education and for creating professionalism in our youth, and I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to philanthropists to sympathetically look into this matter."

Salim said that Muslims make up eight percent of Sri Lanka’s population of around 19,000,000, but despite their numerical inferiority, they do not face any particular threat against them from the warring factions in the country.

Salim said the mosque plays an important role in the life of the Muslims of Sri Lanka, including the officiating of Muslim marriages. He said the Grand Mosque in the capital, Colombo, "is an accepted authority on sighting of the new crescent" for Ramadhan and the Eid festivities, and many of the scholars, local or foreign, visit this mosque.