Mecca for the rich: Islam’s holiest site ‘turning into Vegas’

January 17, 2014
Source:World Observer Online
 
 Behind closed doors – in places where the religious police cannot listen in – residents of Mecca are beginning to refer to their city as Las Vegas, and the moniker is not a compliment.

Over the past 10 years the holiest site in Islam has undergone a huge transformation, one that has divided opinion among Muslims all over the world.

Once a dusty desert town struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of pilgrims arriving for the annual Hajj, the city now soars above its surroundings with a glittering array of skyscrapers, shopping malls and luxury hotels.

To the al-Saud monarchy, Mecca is their vision of the future – a steel and concrete metropolis built on the proceeds of enormous oil wealth that showcases their national pride.

Yet growing numbers of citizens, particularly those living in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have looked on aghast as the nation’s archaeological heritage is trampled under a construction mania backed by hardline clerics who preach against the preservation of their own heritage. Mecca, once a place where the Prophet Mohamed insisted all Muslims would be equal, has become a playground for the rich, critics say, where naked capitalism has usurped spirituality as the city’s raison d’être.

Few are willing to discuss their fears openly because of the risks associated with criticising official policy in the authoritarian kingdom. And, with the exceptions of Turkey and Iran, fellow Muslim nations have largely held their tongues for fear of of a diplomatic fallout and restrictions on their citizens’ pilgrimage visas. Western archaeologists are silent out of fear that the few sites they are allowed access to will be closed to them.

But a number of prominent Saudi archaeologists and historians are speaking up in the belief that the opportunity to save Saudi Arabia’s remaining historical sites is closing fast.

“No one has the balls to stand up and condemn this cultural vandalism,” says Dr Irfan al-Alawi who, as executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, has fought in vain to protect his country’s historical sites. “We have already lost 400-500 sites. I just hope it’s not too late to turn things around.”
Sami Angawi, a renowned Saudi expert on the region’s Islamic architecture, is equally concerned. “This is an absolute contradiction to the nature of Mecca and the sacredness of the house of God,” he told the Reuters news agency earlier this year. “Both [Mecca and Medina] are historically almost finished. You do not find anything except skyscrapers.”

Dr Alawi’s most pressing concern is the planned £690m expansion of the Grand Mosque, the most sacred site in Islam which contains the Kaaba – the black stone cube built by Ibrahim (Abraham) that Muslims face when they pray.

Construction officially began earlier this month with the country’s Justice Minister, Mohammed al-Eissa, exclaiming that the project would respect “the sacredness and glory of the location, which calls for the highest care and attention of the servants or Islam and Muslims”.

The 400,000 square metre development is being built to accommodate an extra 1.2 million pilgrims each year and will turn the Grand Mosque into the largest religious structure in the world. But the Islamic Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of key historical sites that they believe are now at risk from the ongoing development of Mecca, including the old Ottoman and Abbasi sections of the Grand Mosque, the house where the Prophet Mohamed was born and the house where his paternal uncle Hamza grew up.

There is little argument that Mecca and Medina desperately need infrastructure development. Twelve million pilgrims visit the cities every year with the numbers expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.
But critics fear that the desire to expand the pilgrimage sites has allowed the authorities to ride roughshod over the area’s cultural heritage. The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of Mecca’s millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades alone.

The destruction has been aided by Wahabism, the austere interpretation of Islam that has served as the kingdom’s official religion ever since the al-Sauds rose to power across the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th century.

In the eyes of Wahabis, historical sites and shrines encourage “shirq” – the sin of idolatry or polytheism – and should be destroyed. When the al-Saud tribes swept through Mecca in the 1920s, the first thing they did was lay waste to cemeteries holding many of Islam’s important figures. They have been destroying the country’s heritage ever since. Of the three sites the Saudis have allowed the UN to designate World Heritage Sites, none are related to Islam.

Those circling the Kaaba only need to look skywards to see the latest example of the Saudi monarchy’s insatiable appetite for architectural bling. At 1,972ft, the Royal Mecca Clock Tower, opened earlier this year, soars over the surrounding Grand Mosque, part of an enormous development of skyscrapers that will house five-star hotels for the minority of pilgrims rich enough to afford them.

To build the skyscraper city, the authorities dynamited an entire mountain and the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress that lay on top of it. At the other end of the Grand Mosque complex, the house of the Prophet’s first wife Khadijah has been turned into a toilet block. The fate of the house he was born in is uncertain. Also planned for demolition are the Grand Mosque’s Ottoman columns which dare to contain the names of the Prophet’s companions, something hardline Wahabis detest.

For ordinary Meccans living in the mainly Ottoman-era town houses that make up much of what remains of the old city, development often means the loss of their family home.

Non-Muslims cannot visit Mecca and Medina, but The Independent was able to interview a number of citizens who expressed discontent over the way their town was changing. One young woman whose father recently had his house bulldozed described how her family was still waiting for compensation. “There was very little warning; they just came and told him that the house had to be bulldozed,” she said.

Another Meccan added: “If a prince of a member of the royal family wants to extend his palace he just does it. No one talks about it in public though. There’s such a climate of fear.”

Dr Alawi hopes the international community will finally begin to wake up to what is happening in the cradle of Islam. “We would never allow someone to destroy the Pyramids, so why are we letting Islam’s history disappear?”

Under Threat

Bayt al-Mawlid
When the Wahabis took Mecca in the 1920s they destroyed the dome on top of the house where the Prophet Mohammed was born. It was thenused as a cattle market before being turned into a library after a campaign by Meccans. There are concerns that the expansion of the Grand Mosque will destroy it once more. The site has never been excavated by archaeologists.

Ottoman and Abasi columns of the Grand Mosque
Slated for demolition as part of the Grand Mosque expansion, these intricately carved columns date back to the 17th century and are the oldest surviving sections of Islam’s holiest site. Much to the chagrin of Wahabis, they are inscribed with the names of the Prophet’s companions. Ottomon Mecca is now rapidly disappearing

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi
For many years, hardline Wahabi clerics have had their sites set on the 15th century green dome that rests above the tomb holding the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar in Medina. The mosque is regarded as the second holiest site in Islam. Wahabis, however, believe marked graves are idolatrous. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that “the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet’s Masjid”.

Jabal al-Nour
A mountain outside Mecca where Mohammed received his first Koranic revelations. The Prophet used to spend long spells in a cave called Hira. The cave is particularly popular among South Asian pilgrims who have carved steps up to its entrance and adorned the walls with graffiti. Religious hardliners are keen to dissuade pilgrims from congregating there and have mooted the idea of removing the steps and even destroying the mountain altogether.

Link:  http://worldobserveronline.com/2014/01/17/mecca-rich-islams-holiest-site-turning-vegas/.

The power struggle within the Egyptian army heading toward crisis

21 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Day after day, and as the date of the presidential elections in Egypt approaches, power struggle within the Egyptian military establishment intensifies. According to information circulating at the highest levels in Cairo, conflict is increasing and is intensifying within the Egyptian military establishment so much so that it has now become a major source of concern for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates who fear that such power struggle may lead to a coup against Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi once he becomes president.

A source close to the Egyptian army top command has told Asrar Arabiyah website that the power struggle happens to be over the position of the defence minister. Al-Sisi finds himself in a critical position having immunised the position of the Defence Minister in the constitution lest he failed to become President. But now, and since he is very close to become President, he fears the man holding that immunised position (of defence minister), Sidqi Subhi. The source says that Al-Sisi has endeavoured to keep to himself both the position of President and the position of Defence Minister. Yet, a strong current within the army, headed by Sidqi Subhi, refused (to allow this) and thwarted it. This was the reason why announcing Al-Sisi's nomination for the presidential elections was delayed. When Al-Sisi failed to keep both positions he tried to favour his own relative and close friend General Mahmoud Hijazi with the position (of Defence Minister). But he failed too and a deal was struck according to which Mahmoud Hijazi was appointed Chief of Staff while Sidqi was appointed Minister of Defence. However, the source affirms that the battle is far from over. Al-Sisi is still trying to unseat Sidqi from the Ministry of Defence in the hope of replacing him with Hijazi although the constitution does not grant him that right. There is widespread belief that this file will top his agenda once he becomes President of Egypt.

It is worth noting that General Mahmoud Hijazi was an obscure army officer until he was promoted by Al-Sisi to become Director of Military Intelligence and then Chief of Staff. Although, according to some sources, Hijazi's appointment as Chief of Staff was part of a deal that included the appointment of Sidqi Subhi as Minister of Defence, the latter realises that Al-Sisi will continue after he assumes the presidency his endeavour to remove Subhi from the Defence Ministry so as to turn it over to his own perfectly loyal associate Jijazi.

Sidqi Subhi represents a wide trend within the top army command and enjoys within the security agencies the support of the former Director of General Intelligence Brig. Murad Muwafi who was previously rumoured to have wanted to stand for the presidency in the upcoming elections but eventually withdrew from the battle a few days ago.

This power struggle represents one of the fiercest bone breaking battles facing Al-Sisi. It was also one of the reasons why his nomination for the presidency was delayed because he was looking for a solution to (the problem arising from his loss of) the position he had immunised and rendered the most important of all positions in Egypt but had eventually to abandon so as to become President of Egypt.

Source: Asrar Arabiya 

Link:  .middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/11012-the-power-struggle-within-the-egyptian-army-heading-toward-crisis.

Arabi 21 - Yahya Hamid: We count on the Egyptian people to defeat the coup

21 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Yahya Hamid, President Morsi's Minister of Investment, has said that the anti-coup forces count not on any foreign factor but principally on the awareness and determination of the Egyptian people as well as on the increasing rejection within the people's ranks "of the attempts by the coup perpetrators to return Egypt to the era of the despotic military state".

In an exclusive interview given to Arabi 21, Hamid said that there has been some negative impact on the anti-coup forces due to what some media disseminated in the aftermath of the signing of the Riyad Document by the Gulf states to the effect of alleging that personalities and currents that support legitimacy - and at the heart of which happens to be the Muslim Brotherhood - will be the main victims of any Gulf concord. He also said that London and not the Muslim Brotherhood will be the real loser as a result of succumbing to the dictates of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and ordering an inquiry into the Brotherhood.

Hamid added: "Such (media) analysis is nothing but wishful thinking on the part of those that support the coup or act at its behest. Our stance is unwavering and it emanates from purely internal Egyptian reckoning. We shall continue to resist the coup until it is toppled and until the attempts to return Egypt to the era of military rule are thwarted. It is the people of Egypt living on the proud land of Egypt who will decide and not any external state whether hostile or friendly."

Hamid, who was the second youngest minister in Egypt's modern history, alluded to the importance of the role played by the youth in the Egyptian revolution and said: "The conscientious Egyptian youth are the ones who lead the revolution on the streets. In pursuing peaceful change, we count on the efforts made by these youth who are aware of the magnitude of the challenges (facing them) and they know full well the volume of the foreign aid accorded to the coup perpetrators. Yet, these (youth) are determined to continue the revolution until they bring the coup down and regain freedom and restore dignity for the Egyptian citizen."

Asked by Arabi 21 about (why) the Egyptian (military) regime is still continuing (to be there) despite the passage of more than nine months since the coup, Hamid answered: "Revolutions require patience and peaceful change requires time. As it has been said ‘victory is the fruit of an hour's patience'. We are ready to be patient for as long as it takes. Thanks to our faith in God, to our confidence in the justness of our cause and to the support of our people, we are capable of confronting all the internal and external conspiracies and of enduring until we achieve victory for our people. We shall pursue peaceful struggle for the sake of our country no matter how long this takes or how much effort and sacrifices it requires. The march of the Muslim Brotherhood along several decades has proven this (to be the case). Victory is inevitable, God willing. Once this is accomplished our people will not forget who stood by them and who conspired against them.

Link:  middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/11013-arabi-21-yahya-hamid-we-count-on-the-egyptian-people-to-defeat-the-coup.

Egypt: More than 20,000 detainees to start 'uprising'

19 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

For the first time since the July 3 coup, thousands of Egyptian prisoners announced they would join an "uprising" against the politicization of justice in post-coup Egypt.

In a statement obtained by Middle East Monitor Friday, the detainees claimed their numbers exceed 20,000. According to the statement, the detainees include 1232 medical doctors, 2574 engineers, 124 university professors and scientists, 5342 Al-Azhar University affiliates, 3879 students, 704 women, 689 children and thousands of workers in different sectors. All of them are facing a myriad of charges, including terrorism and violence, brought against them by "a bunch of power-hungry killers and coup commanders who carried out a bloody coup that claimed the lives of thousands."

The statement slammed the unprecedented repression by "military coup militias", citing arbitrary arrests and trumped-up charges brought against "patriotic citizens".

The statement condemned Egyptian judiciary for becoming a tool for the military, politicizing courts and issuing verdicts based on the whims of military coup leaders.

"Court rulings are based on fake, unsubstantiated charges, which leads to verdicts that contravene the law, constitution, and all international standards of fair trials. For instance, one court, in two sessions, sentenced 529 detainees to death over the killing of one police officer. Another court handed down a life sentence for other defendants from the first session. Such speedy justice are illegal but above all illogical," the statement added.

According to the statement, the "torture machine" employed by the military included electrical shocks, removing nails, severe beating and cutting parts of the body. The statement claims that 21 prisoners died of torture inside detention centers since the July 3 coup, 618 are suffering serious diseases, including 53 children suffering from Parotitis but authorities still refuse to release them.

Based on the above, the prisoners declared an uprising in all Egyptian prisons to bring down the coup. "It's time to declare anger," the statement read. The uprising will start with a hunger strike and a sit-in inside all cells, boycotting prosecution hearings, and personal visits. It is slated to start on April 30.

Link:  middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/10992-egypt-more-than-20000-detainees-to-start-uprising.

Muslim village not in Wilpattu

By Latheef Farook
Source: latheeffarook.com

A small minority of Muslim families were living peacefully for centuries in the Marichchikatti village in the Musali division in the Mannar District. They were involved in paddy cultivation and other such work. In keeping with their religious requirement they built their own mosque there. To help continue with their cultivation work, the government even built a

dam – before 1970.

Life was simple and they remained a contented lot.

In 1990, with the Tamil Tiger terrorists' ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the North, these families too were driven out, and they lost all their belongings and ended up empty-handed in camps for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Puttalam, where, like other IDPs, they languished in poverty, besides facing numerous other problems.

They were all happy when the government forces defeated the LTTE in May 2009 hopeful that they too could return to their own soil and rebuild their lives.

With the situation improving after the war they started returning to their ancestral village of Marichchikatti only to realize that the entire village had become jungle as it had been neglected for almost two decades.

Yet, they did not lose hope. All what they wanted was to clear the jungle and live in their own soil. Pinning their hope on Allah they jointly and individually cleared the jungle, which was no easy task. They did so with the support of the government and the Divisional Secretary.

They were all poor and did not possess the money to rebuild proper houses. However, they built mud-walled huts covered with palm leaves and settled there. A non-governmental organization helped them put up these huts.

Today there are around 150 families and about 500 people.

This has nothing to do with the Wilpattu National Park. However, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), which is spearheading a fierce anti-Muslim campaign, tearing apart communities and pushing the country towards a disastrous path, began a vicious campaign saying that Marichchikatti is located in Wilpattu and Industries Minister, Rishad Bathiudeen is colonizing the Wilpattu Sanctuary with Muslims.

This was misleading as the Marichichikattu village belongs to the Musali division in the Mannar District.

With the BBS campaign intensifying, a group of eight Buddhist monks led by the Secretary Jathika Bala Sena, Ven Watareka Vijitha Thera, visited Marichchikatti village on a study tour, while so-called Muslim parliamentarians, who have sold their souls for positions and perks, were busy watching cricket.

Contrary to BBS propaganda, they found that Muslims were living in their own village in Marichchikatti and not inside the Wilpattu Sanctuary.

These Muslims have also produced deeds and all other relevant documents for their lands. They had also shown evidence of an old mosque there before they were evicted. This mosque is now under Navy control.

Meanwhile, refuting the BBS allegations, Minister Bathiudeen has said these houses were built with the knowledge of the government.

There is nothing illegal in building these houses as they have acquired permission from the relevant line ministries and this is sanctioned by the government.

Meanwhile, squatters vowed to commit suicide and Mannar District Secretary, M.Y. Deshapriya, has promised some relief. About 70 displaced families squatting at the location said the location was their original residences before they were evicted by the LTTE in 1990

Courtesy: Ceylon Today

Link:  latheeffarook.com/index.php/9-sri-lanka/957-muslim-village-not-in-wilpattu.

Have GCC countries reached reconciliation?

19 April 2014
Source: alarabiya.net

Statements released following the latest meeting between foreign ministers of the GCC countries in Riyadh said the diplomats conducted “an overall review of the procedures in place pertaining to foreign and security policies,” and that the group “agreed to adopt mechanisms to guarantee a collective framework and to ensure that policies of any of the GCC countries would not affect the interests, security and stability of the countries, nor undermine their sovereignty.”

In this regard, the diplomats have confirmed their respective countries' agreement on the ways to implement the Riyadh agreement, which is based on the principles of the GCC statute.
Of course, it is impossible that anyone can truly understand these statements without using an interpreter. Vagueness is our preferred language in the Gulf, relying on signs, and a sign is all that a free man needs to understand.

The stability of the GCC countries is a very important element, not only to its people, but to the region as a whole; a region that’s in desperate need for a safety net and stability. And if these forces, which might look weak and calm, decided to join hands and unify their policies, they could change the face of the region for the better.
Abdulrahman al-Rashed

In fact, decrypting the statement is quite a difficult task. How would someone understand the meaning of “agreeing on the importance of the strict implementation of the commitments undertaken” when the statement doesn’t define what should be implemented and what commitments were made?

Kuwaiti mediation

It goes without saying that Kuwait played a positive role to stop the defragmentation of the GCC council, the last stable entity in the region.

Prior to Kuwaiti mediation, the dispute was quickly slipping into a point of no return after three countries recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in protest and there were plans to impose sanctions, a move which would extend far beyond the previous symbolic and diplomatic measures.

The expression of “strict implementation” shows us that there are specific measures that need to be taken and that there is a team who is responsible for overseeing the implementation. Without announcing the annexes of the agreement, the door will remain open to speculate on the banned and tolerated activities.

Gulf stability

Some of the reasons behind the dispute between Qatar and its three GCC peers, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain, are known and publicly debated, and are possibly the easiest to resolve. Others, however, are less palpable and could lead to the collapse of the GCC and the Gulf front.

The disputes between GCC countries are as wide as the map of the Middle East; from Egypt to Yemen, Syria, Libya and Tunisia, but the hidden disputes can go as deep as sovereignty itself!

Whether the Riyadh agreement represents a true reconciliation between the countries or is just simply pacification, the leaders of the GCC countries have a major responsibility to admit that the value of their council is greater than their trillions’ rich investment funds, established for rainy days. In the days of calm, it’s easy to mess with relations and turn differences into greater disputes and political games, but nobody knows when the dark clouds will accumulate and a storm will hit.

The stability of the GCC countries is a very important element, not only to its people, but to the region as a whole; a region that’s in desperate need for a safety net and stability. And if these forces, which might look weak and calm, decided to join hands and unify their policies, they could change the face of the region for the better.

This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on April 19, 2014.
____________________
Abdulrahman al-Rashed is the General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel. A veteran and internationally acclaimed journalist, he is a former editor-in-chief of the London-based leading Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, where he still regularly writes a political column. He has also served as the editor of Asharq al-Awsat’s sister publication, al-Majalla. Throughout his career, Rashed has interviewed several world leaders, with his articles garnering worldwide recognition, and he has successfully led Al Arabiya to the highly regarded, thriving and influential position it is in today.

Last Update: Saturday, 19 April 2014

Link:  alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2014/04/19/Have-GCC-countries-reached-reconciliation-.html.

BBS-Ashin Wirathu Alliance

By Latheef Farook
Source:latheeffarook.com

Is Sri Lanka heading towards a Rohingya type attack on island’s besieged Muslims?

The alliance between anti Muslim Sri Lankan racist outfit Bodu Bala Sena and Burma’s   blood thirsty Buddhist Monk Ashin Wiruthu, responsible for slaughtering thousands of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, spells disaster for the island.

This extremely dangerous alliance, brought together by their common hatred towards Islam and Muslims,

perhaps trained and financed by their new found  Israel and United States friends , has all the ingredients to turn the island into a killing field from which it may unlikely to recover for decades  to come  under the existing  local and global political environment.

This unholy alliance fits into the Zionist sponsored and United States led global anti Muslim campaign to justify the invasion and destruction of   Muslim countries. This is the reason why the Muslims suspect the hate mongers as mercenaries of foreign forces.   

The growing fear among the island’s besieged Muslim community is that “BBS-Asin Wirathu Alliance” may lead to a Rohingya type attack on the island’s Muslims.  

Already the Sinhalese extremists led by Jathika Hela Urumaya and what is perceived as its fronts such as BBS, Sihala Ravaya and Ravana Balakaya managed to poison the minds of Sinhalese against Muslims to justify such an attack on Muslims. In fact JHU’s Udaya Gammanpila even stated once that “a 1915 type Sinhala-Muslim riot is inevitable”. 

It appears this hate campaign unleashed during the past two and half years   had already dented the centuries old traditional harmonious relations between Sinhalese and Muslims.

However there are signs of hope for the island. Responsible elements among the Sinhalese started waking up to the threat posed by these extremists to their society. Many   admit that extremists have already caused considerable damage to the image of Buddhism and the Sinhalese community.

 On the other hand the Muslims begin to realize that this is not a conflict between Sinhalese and Muslims, but the work of few hundreds of extremists who do not represent   the Sinhalese community as they claim. It was under this atmosphere that the BBS leaders met Myanmar’s Monk Ashin Wirathu, described by Time magazine as the “Monk of Terror”. 

Local mainstream media which usually give wide publicity to Sinhalese extremists and help promote their agendas were quiet. However breaking the news website COLOMBO Telegraph   stated on 12 March 2014 under the headline ‘Buddhist Bin Laden’ To Visit Sri Lanka: “We’ve Not Signed Any Agreement with 969 Movement”: BBS

 

“We have not signed any agreement with Burma’s Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu or the 969 movement”, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bodu Bala Sena Dilanthe Withanage told Colombo Telegraph. He said the caption of the photograph, which is circulating via social media saying “the BBS has come to an agreement with Burma’s terrorist 969 movements”, is a slander. “This picture was taken while our secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara signing the visitors’ book.” he said. Ashin Wiruthu, widely known as the Burma’s ‘Bin Laden of Buddhism’ has been invited to Sri Lanka.

Nine days later on 21 March 2014 Ceylon Today published a report by Ruwan Laknath Jayakody under the headline”BBS invites Ashin Wirathu Thera to visit SL “

The man that Time Magazine dubbed 'The Face of Buddhist Terror,' Leader of the 969 Movement in Myanmar, who is notorious for his anti-Islam rhetoric, Ven. Ashin Wirathu Thera, will be arriving in the island on an invitation by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). 

BBS General Secretary, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera said, "There is no need for a hullabaloo yet. We will let the relevant people know in due course. We have invited him and he will come and we will have a meeting. That is all. The media does not need to know for how long he will stay here. We will plan it and reveal it at the appropriate time." BBS Education and Research Unit Chief Coordinator, Chamila Liyanage, said, "Even though the dates are not confirmed yet, he is definitely coming.

"Buddhist countries in the Asiatic region are facing difficulties and even violence from the Muslims and the other religions in the region. The best example comes from Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh. This is the very reason why Ven. Wirathu decided to start the 969 Movement in Myanmar. We visited Thailand and Myanmar and we will be visiting other countries in East Asia. We will definitely be starting an international network with global reach with likeminded Buddhist civil society institutions, Buddhist scholars and Buddhist activist organizations in these countries. With Ven. Wirathu Thera we will be discussing strategic plans for at least a regional network for the time being, for which we need a concrete plan," he added.

These reports disturb specially Muslims.

Ashin Wirathu, leader of the anti-Muslim movement in Burma, has been a "notorious chauvinist”. In its cover story the TIME magazine described Ashin Wirathu: The Monk behind Burma’s “Buddhist Terror”. His apartheid-like speech stirred shocked reaction on Twitter, with users calling the monk a "neo-Nazi" inciting anti-Muslim pogroms in Burma.  

His 969 Anti Muslim organization, together with the Myanmar armed forces, killed thousands of Muslim men, women, children and the aged, burnt Muslim localities and indiscriminately raped Muslim women besides looting Muslim properties and belongings. They   threw bodies of hundreds of Muslims killed into the Bay of Bengal and covered the dead bodies with clothes usually worn by Buddhists   and claimed that they are the remains of Buddhist people who became victims. 

It is this Ashin Wirathu whom the BBS is inviting to Sri Lanka. This is like inviting Hitler, Mussolini, Ariel Sharon or Menachem Begin,

Sri Lanka is not Myanmar. Myanmar is a country which lived in isolation for decades.  It was cut away from the world. However Sri Lanka has a long history of civilization and played a dynamic role in the Third World affairs and earned a name for itself.

Muslim world has traditionally been friendly   with Sri Lanka.

Our economy is tied to many Muslim countries. Almost a million Sri Lankans are employed in the Gulf States and their annual remittance exceeds   six billion dollars. This brings relief to millions of   families.   In fact employment opportunities abroad have become the largest foreign exchange earner to the island. 

Muslim countries always came to rescue Sri Lanka in times of crisis. For example  in the   United Nations sponsored United Nations Human Rights  Council resolution   on March 27 in Geneva calling for a comprehensive investigation    into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights, committed by both parties in Sri Lanka,  of the 12 countries voted against five were Muslim countries. This included Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Maldives If not for these five Muslim countries Sri Lanka would have got only seven votes. Four out of 12 countries abstained were Muslims and no Muslim country voted for the resolution in the 47-member UNHRC

Do the Sinhalese extremists who have unleashed an unwanted destructive campaign against Muslims understand the seriousness of their madness?

Burning Muslim villages	Muslim families thrown out of their homes
Body of a Muslim child burnt and another child throat cut

Under the circumstance do we need to jeopardize these friendly relations for the sake of few hundreds of extremists?  Under such circumstance is it wise for Sri Lanka to allow these extremists to hijack the country and hobnob with mass murderers of Myanmar Muslims. 

On the other hand Muslims worldwide are carefully watching the ongoing anti Muslim campaign in Sri Lanka. We are not living in the pre colonial era. We are part of the world and the world is not part of Sri Lanka as these extremists think.  

The price the country will be made to pay for the ongoing attack on the island’s Muslim community will be unpredictable.  

Link:  http://www.latheeffarook.com/index.php/9-sri-lanka/861-bbs-ashin-wirathu-alliance.