Talks to iron out religious differences

by S. Selvakumar

Representatives of Bodu Bala Sena and All Ceylon Jammiyaathul Ulama, on an initiative by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently, had a wide range of discussions and decided to have regular meetings from next month to iron out differences, if any.

“We will meet and discuss issues, topic by topic, so that any misunderstandings or misconceptions between us could be overcome, ”spokesman for Jammiyaathul Ulama Ash Shaik Fazil Farook said.

There were verbal tirades between these two factions which started with the Halal certification issue.

Earlier Halal certification was issued by the Muslim religious body and later the Government was asked to issue the certificate. Finally, when nobody wanted to issue the certification, it petered out to be a 'no issue'.

Recently, when a clothes store, Fashion Bug at Pepiliyana, owned by a Muslim businessman, came under attack, it was speculated that Bodu Bala Sena was instrumental in it, but a thorough police investigation proved it to be otherwise. A love affair between a Muslim employee and a Sinhala girl in the neighbourhood of the clothes store was the cause of the attack, police investigations revealed.

Since there was a Buddhist temple close to the clothes store, Bodu Bala Sena was implicated.

The latter fervently denied the accusations that it was behind the attack.In the ensuing uneasy atmosphere, the two organisations decided to continue to hold regular talks from next month to overcome all misunderstandings.