{"id":44893,"date":"2021-03-14T13:23:01","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T13:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=44893"},"modified":"2021-03-14T13:23:01","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T13:23:01","slug":"racist-agenda-fear-worries-over-sri-lankas-burqa-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=44893","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Racist agenda\u2019: Fear, worries over Sri Lanka\u2019s burqa ban"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s move to ban the burqa on \u201cnational security\u201d grounds while calling its use \u201creligious extremism\u201d has been termed a \u201cracist agenda\u201d used to cause divisions in the country.<\/p>\n

A burqa is an outer garment worn to cover the entire body and the face and is used by some Muslim women.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Sri Lanka\u2019s Minister for Public Security Sarath Weerasekera said he had signed a paper for cabinet approval to ban the burqa, adding that\u00a0the government also plans to ban more than 1,000 Islamic schools that were defying national education policy.<\/p>\n

Sri Lankans expressed disapproval of the proposal, with many viewing the act as an attempt to appease Sri Lanka\u2019s Buddhist majority and cause divisions.<\/p>\n

Sri Lankan ethnic Muslim women wait in a queue for the COVID-19 blood test in Colombo, Sri Lanka [Chamila Karunarathne\/EPA]<\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is a racist agenda,\u201d Hilmy Ahamed, vice-president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, told Al Jazeera.\u00a0\u201cThey are trying to convince the Buddhists that they are going after Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinhalese Buddhists account for about 75 percent of the country\u2019s 22 million people with Muslims making up about nine percent. Ethnic minority Tamils, who are mainly Hindus, make up to about 15 percent.<\/p>\n

The signed documents outlawing the burqa were submitted on Friday, according to Weerasekera. The proposal requires the approval of the Cabinet and Parliament, where the government has a two-thirds majority, before it becomes law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe burqa has a direct impact on national security,\u201d Weerasekara told a ceremony at a Buddhist temple on Saturday.\u00a0\u201cIt is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We will definitely ban it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

So, is Sarath Weerasekara banning the burqa because of the recommendations of the PCoI on the Easter Sunday Attacks?
If so, shouldn\u2019t he also ban the Bodu Bala Sena? #LKA<\/a> #SriLanka<\/a> #BurqaBan<\/a> #BBS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc1a \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2a (@munza14) March 13, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Weerasekera\u2019s announcement came a few weeks ahead of the second anniversary of the 2019 Easter attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in the country that killed at least 269 people.<\/p>\n

Two local Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the ISIL (ISIS) group were blamed for the attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt [wearing a burqa] should be considered a right of a women to choose,\u201d added Ahamed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey forcibly cremated over 350 Muslims [COVID-19 deaths] against their religious belief and now they want to ban madrasas and burqa. Will the same scrutiny be there on Christian and Buddhist education which serves the same purpose as madarasas to educate theologians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

I don\u2019t approve of #Burqa<\/a> but outlawing it amidst of the #pandemic<\/a> appears to be ineffective, ridiculous and discriminatory. There\u2019s has to be hidden motives behind this drama or just the manifestation of government\u2019s incompetency. #BurqaBan<\/a> #facemask<\/a> #SriLanka<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rumman (@Rumman05) March 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In March last year, the government imposed regulations that said the bodies of COVID-19 victims could only be cremated. The rules banned burial, saying the virus could spread by contaminating groundwater.<\/p>\n

This ban was lifted last month after criticism from international rights groups across the world and months of\u00a0protests mainly by Muslim groups.<\/p>\n

Vraie Cally Balthazaar, a gender activist based in the capital, Colombo, said the move will affect the lives of Muslims in the country after the government mandated the cremation of COVID-19 victims.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

If the #BurqaBan<\/a> is indeed implemented, the government needs to take full responsibility in educating the public on the differences between a burqa, niqab, hijab, etc. to make sure there is no confusion that would lead to a racial turmoil in the country https:\/\/t.co\/iii2rEvt32<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adrian Jansz (@AdrianJansz_) March 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone making decisions on the burqa are doing it with the intention of national security or keeping the rights of women in mind. I think the burqa has become a symbol of a power struggle that the state wants to control,\u201d Balthazaar told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving dealt with the cremation issue, we now have to face this. This is affecting the lives of Muslims, particularly women, in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Public awareness on what burqa is\u2019<\/h2>\n

The burqa was temporarily banned after the 2019 bombings, drawing a mixed response with activists saying it \u201cviolated Muslim women\u2019s right to practise their religion freely\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jamila Husain, a journalist based in Colombo, said there needs to be \u201cpublic awareness on what the burqa really is\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

If closing a 1000 #islamic<\/a> schools and banning the #Burqa<\/a> isn\u2019t considered blatant #islamaphobia<\/a>, I don\u2019t know what is. #BurqaBan<\/a> #Islam<\/a> #culturalgenocide<\/a> #srilankaburqaban<\/a> #GenocideSriLanka<\/a> #oppresive<\/a> #Dictatorship<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pyrawy\/ \u0baa\u0bc8\u0bb0\u0bb5\u0bbf (@pyrawy) March 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cNot many people, other than Muslims, know the difference between a burqa, hijab and niqab. Lack of proper awareness could lead to discrimination or targeting of Muslim women,\u201d Husain told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the Easter Sunday attacks when the burqa was temporarily banned, Muslim women even covering their face or head with a shawl were abused or threatened because some non-Muslims assumed covering the head was banned. So there needs to be proper awareness before this is made law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, Sri Lanka was called by the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold human rights abusers to account and to deliver justice to victims of its 26-year-old civil war, including over their treatment of Muslims.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sri Lanka\u2019s move to ban the burqa on \u201cnational security\u201d grounds while calling its use \u201creligious extremism\u201d has been termed a \u201cracist agenda\u201d used to cause divisions in the country. A burqa is an outer garment worn to cover the entire body and the face and is used by some Muslim women. On Saturday, Sri…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}