A row is brewing in Beruwala again between two Islamic theological groups on the eve of a major feast there and the police have called in the Special Task Force to maintain security.
The board of trustees of the Masjidul Abraar or the Bukhari mosque, Sri Lanka’s oldest mosque, which is controlled by the Sufi order, has complained to the Beruwala police that the puritanical Thowheed group is trying to fuel sectarian violence ahead of tomorrow’s annual feast.
The trustees told police a letter they had sent to the Thowheed-controlled Masjidu Rahman mosque had been distorted and distributed in Beruwala and Colombo as part of the attempt to create troubles.
The trustees complained that the Thowheed group had used a scanned copy of the Bukhari mosque letterhead and the signatures of the trustees and changed the contents of the letter.
Other sufi groups have also complained that the Thowheed group had distributed leaflets outside mosques to discourage Muslim devotees from participating in Bukhari mosque feast tomorrow. A Beruwala police official said they were conducting inquiries and would meet the trustees of the two mosques in a bid to settle the dispute.
He said the police were also taking extra security measures and deploying the Special Task Force to prevent trouble at the festival which will be attended by several dignitaries, including External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris.
Last Year tension gripped Beruwala after a Thowheed mosque moulavi preached a Friday sermon, which, the majority Suffi sect alleged, provoked them ahead of their annual feast. This led to an attack on the Thowheed mosque and clashes which left two dead and nine injured.
An official of the Thowheed sect denied the allegations and said they would be making a counter complain. |
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