Sri Lankan Monks Occupy Religious Ministry Building in Colombo

Last updated on: May 29, 2014 at 3:17 pm by dannyfisher

Sri Lankan Monks Occupy Religious Ministry Building in Colombo 2014-05-29T15:17:49-07:00 dannyfisher

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Ravana Balaya has been accused of attacking mosques, churches and Muslim shops.” Image via the Associated Press.

This via Al Jazeera English:

Protesters led by Buddhist monks from the right-wing Ravana Balaya group have occupied the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

The Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist group protested on Wednesday against the creation of a new religious police unit, which was created in April this year in the wake of rising number of religious conflicts in recent years.

The general secretary of the group, Iththakande Saddhatissa Thero, said that they were protesting against the formation of the unit as it undermined religion in the island nation located at the southern tip of India…

Police spokesperson Ajjith Rohana told Al Jazeera that more than a 1,000 complaints had been lodged with the religious police unit, of which nearly 60 of them are currently being investigated.

He added that this unit had been formed with the sole intention of maintaining religious harmony in the Budhist majority country, with Hindus and Muslims comprising a quarter of the total population. He dismissed speculation that it would undermine the religious integrity of the country.

The last couple of years have seen an increase in attacks against Muslims and Christians in the country. Groups such as the Bodu Bala Sana and Ravana Balaya have been accused of attacking mosques, churches and Muslim business establishments.

Read the whole story here. I’ll post developments as they occur…

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 29, 2014

Watch the Entire 1st Annual Symposium for New Scholar-Practitioners in Buddhist Chaplaincy Online

Next Post

May 29, 2014 Kenan Malik's New York Times Op-Ed "Myanmar's Buddhist Bigots"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2015 December 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a coat of many colors that sparked jealousy among brothers. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jacob's robe A royal garment Joseph's coat The priests robe