Nearly two weeks after the mosque attack in Dambulla, the issue, whether or not to relocate the mosque, is yet to be resolved.
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader Rauff Hakeem, following a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa last Monday (30), told the media that the President had promised to resolve the dispute amicably.
The SLMC leader strongly opposed the relocation of the mosque, and so did other Muslim leaders within the Government.
Senior Minister A.H.M. Fowzie who also opposed the relocation, said that the status quo has been established in the area, “now the mosque is functioning smoothly,” he asserted.
However, devotees engage in religious activities in the mosque with a “change of heart,” a trustee said.
“Most devotees who patronise the mosque feel insecure, not the usual feeling of safety associated with it,” mosque trustee Attorney-at-Law M. Amanullah said.
He added that the mosque holds its religious observances five times a day, with special prayers conducted on Friday at noon.
However, he lamented that there was no communication whatsoever from the Government, and hoped that the President would intervene to resolve it amicably.
“Now we feel that we are a minority, which was not so earlier.”
When asked of the concerns of the devotees, as they were not contacted by any government official, Minister Fowzie said that the Government has taken steps to amicably resolve it, but to date, there hasn’t been any committee appointed to look into the matter, as expected by some sections of the Muslim Community.
The Sunday Times was not successful in its attempts to contact SLMC Leader cum Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem for his comments. “Since government ministers are involved in the matter, the Prime Minister has opted to leave the issue to them,” an official from the PM’s office said. He said that the Prime Minister had tried his best to find a solution, while the President was abroad.
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Deputy Leader Udaya Gammanpila said that, although they represent Buddhists and their rights, the JHU is not a party to the issue. “We are not a party, nor is the Muslim Congress. It is an issue between the Dambulla Temple and the Mosque. We only react to the action,” he said, explaining the JHU stance on the issue.
He also said that, even if the Ven. Sumangala Thera decided to stop demanding the removal of the mosque, it was up to the concerned parties to decide. “We will respond accordingly,” he clarified.
However, he said that the issue would be best resolved by legal action. “This is the simplest and most civilised way to resolve it, because no one is above the law,” the JHU deputy leader opined.
The Sri Lanka Wakfs Board, the legal body which addresses issues regarding mosques, had directed the Department of Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs to seek the assistance of the IGP to provide police security to the Dambulla Mosque, its trustees and devotees, Wakfs Board Chairman Haleem Deen Sabri said.
Mr Sabri said he visited the mosque on April 20 and had met with the trustees.
He said the Board keeps records of all the registered mosques, and this particular incident too had been recorded. According to Board records, the Dambulla police had failed to respond to the complaint made by a trustee, prior to the incident on April 19. “The trustee had complained of some leaflets distributed in the area, regarding a procession on April 18, two days prior to the incident. Had the Police taken proper action, the incident could have been easily averted,” the chairman said.
He also charged that the Dambulla Divisional Secretary had also acted beyond her powers to seal the mosque on April 20. He claimed that she had no legal power to do so. The Wakfs Board had also issued another directive to the Department of Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs to issue a communication to the Divisional Secretary not to act beyond her powers.
Although the Dambulla Mosque had been duly registered with the Wakfs Board in 2009, the Wakfs Board has documentary evidence indicating the existence of the mosque since 1964, the chairman said. The Board is established under the Wakfs Act, and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Buddha Sasana & Religious Affairs.
He also pointed out that the Board had instructed the mosque leaders not to allow the issue to spread to other areas in the country.
Meanwhile, Dambulla Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman K.G. Somathilake said that the district committee meeting scheduled for last week was put off for the coming week. “Then we will take a decision to remove the illegal structures within the Dambulla sacred area,” adding that, alternative lands identified for relocation, would be discussed at the meeting.
The controversy arose when hundreds of Buddhists, including monks, came in procession to the vicinity of the Masjidul-Khairiyah Jumma mosque on April 20, hours before the Friday prayers.
The protesters demanded that the mosque and a Hindu shrine in the neighborhood be shifted to another place. The mosque was damaged in a mob attack, warranting the police to seal the mosque. No Jumma prayers were held on April 20.
The mosque was reopened the following day, after officials promised that steps would be taken by Monday (23), to shift the mosque. However, the deadline was later extended to three-months, with protesters insisting that the mosque should be removed before that. |
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