Hadeeqa Khan
Member
In Sri Lanka, the government has taken an important step in banning burqas and other forms of covering the face in public places on the grounds of national security.
Public Security Minister Sarath Verasekara has told the BBC that he has passed a cabinet order in this regard and now only needs parliamentary approval.
Authorities expect the ban to be lifted soon.
The move follows a series of organized attacks on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday in the country two years ago. In April 2019, suicide bombers struck several cases, killing more than 250 people. The so-called Islamic State terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Authorities were temporarily barred from covering their faces when authorities tried to track them down. Now the government is going to make the ban permanent.
It may be recalled that recently another issue regarding Muslims in Sri Lanka had become controversial.
In Sri Lanka, it was legal to burn the bodies of those killed by the coronavirus, regardless of their religion. There was great concern in Sri Lanka's Muslim, Catholic and Buddhist communities.
However, following the recent visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Sri Lankan government has changed the order to cremate the bodies of those infected with the corona virus and now the last rites, burial and cremation of these people, Can be paid both ways.
'It is a symbol of religious extremism
Speaking to the media recently, Sarath Verasekara said that the burqa is a symbol of religious extremism. He said it was affecting national security and should have been imposed earlier.
He also said that the government intends to ban 1000 madrassas which are not in line with the national education policy.
"Not everyone can open a school and teach children whatever they want," he said. It must be in line with the government's education policy.
He said that most of the unregistered schools only teach the Arabic language and Qur'an which is not a good thing.
Helmi Ahmed, vice-president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, said: "If the authorities have a problem identifying people in the burqa, no one would mind taking it off for identification. "Everyone has the right to cover their face," he said. "It should be viewed from a rights perspective, not a religious one."
He said that most of the madrassas are registered with the government. He thought that perhaps five per cent were unregistered and could be prosecuted.
All this comes at a time when Sri Lanka is seeking the support of OIC members through Pakistan at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, where Sri Lanka has been accused of violating the religious rights of Muslims. Is facing a charge of infringement.
Sri Lanka is also under pressure from the international community to hold those responsible for human rights abuses during its 26-year-long civil war accountable.
The civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, killed more than 100,000 people, most of them from the country's minority Tamil community.
Public Security Minister Sarath Verasekara has told the BBC that he has passed a cabinet order in this regard and now only needs parliamentary approval.
Authorities expect the ban to be lifted soon.
The move follows a series of organized attacks on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday in the country two years ago. In April 2019, suicide bombers struck several cases, killing more than 250 people. The so-called Islamic State terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Authorities were temporarily barred from covering their faces when authorities tried to track them down. Now the government is going to make the ban permanent.
It may be recalled that recently another issue regarding Muslims in Sri Lanka had become controversial.
In Sri Lanka, it was legal to burn the bodies of those killed by the coronavirus, regardless of their religion. There was great concern in Sri Lanka's Muslim, Catholic and Buddhist communities.
However, following the recent visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Sri Lankan government has changed the order to cremate the bodies of those infected with the corona virus and now the last rites, burial and cremation of these people, Can be paid both ways.
'It is a symbol of religious extremism
Speaking to the media recently, Sarath Verasekara said that the burqa is a symbol of religious extremism. He said it was affecting national security and should have been imposed earlier.
He also said that the government intends to ban 1000 madrassas which are not in line with the national education policy.
"Not everyone can open a school and teach children whatever they want," he said. It must be in line with the government's education policy.
He said that most of the unregistered schools only teach the Arabic language and Qur'an which is not a good thing.
Helmi Ahmed, vice-president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, said: "If the authorities have a problem identifying people in the burqa, no one would mind taking it off for identification. "Everyone has the right to cover their face," he said. "It should be viewed from a rights perspective, not a religious one."
He said that most of the madrassas are registered with the government. He thought that perhaps five per cent were unregistered and could be prosecuted.
All this comes at a time when Sri Lanka is seeking the support of OIC members through Pakistan at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, where Sri Lanka has been accused of violating the religious rights of Muslims. Is facing a charge of infringement.
Sri Lanka is also under pressure from the international community to hold those responsible for human rights abuses during its 26-year-long civil war accountable.
The civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, killed more than 100,000 people, most of them from the country's minority Tamil community.