The Sri Lankan government has decided to demolish a mosque and a Saiva temple located in a Buddhist sacred area.
Thousands of Singhalese, led by Buddhist monks, attacked the mosque in Dambulla on Friday, calling for its destruction as it was constructed illegally. The protest only dispersed after officials promised an answer by Monday.
Videos show Buddhist monks addressing the crowds saying the campaign against the mosque was a success for "those who love the race, have Sinhalese blood and are Buddhists".
The BBC’s Charles Haviland reported a monk was seen exposing himself against the mosque.
Buddhist monks say a total of 72 buildings, including the mosque and a Tamil Saiva temple will be demolished.
Mohammad Saleemdeen, a board member of the mosque, told AP news agency the mosque has been in existence long before the area was declared a sacred Buddhist area around 20 years ago and his father and grandfather were officials at the mosque.
While Muslim coalition partners of Mahinda Rajapakse’s government have condemned the decision to demolish the mosque, Prime Minister D M Jayaratne, who is also Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Minister, instructed officials to to build a new mosque at a different location and said there is no need to create conflict over 'a minor issue'.
Directly contradicting the statement made by Mr Salamdeen the prime minister said,
“This mosque was constructed for traders coming to Dambulla 10 years ago. Nobody gave me information about this mosque,”
Meanwhile, a high level meeting about the Dambulla mosque issue, attended by senior Muslim politicians including Rauff Hakeem and Rishath Bathiutheen, was stormed by individuals who hurled abuse at Muslim MPs.
“Certain hooligans forced their way into the building and started hurling insults on all Muslim ministers and MPs, shouting anti-government slogans and blaming the Jammiyathul Ulema Leader, Moulavi Rizvi Mufthi for proceeding to Geneva to help the Sri Lankan cause – which he successfully did for the good of the motherland”, MP A H M Azwer said.
Monks and the mob in Dambulla (23 Apr 2012)
