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Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses www.rsis.edu.sg ISSN 2382-6444 | Volume 10, Issue 4 | April 2018 A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM RESEARCH (ICPVTR) Sinhala-Muslim Riots in Sri Lanka: The Need for Restoring Communal History Rohan Gunaratna Foreign, Political and Financial Influences on Religious Extremism: A Study of Madrassas in Punjab, Pakistan Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri Analysing Use of Sharp Weapons in Terrorist Attacks in Indonesia V. Arianti Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses Volume 9, Issue 4 | April 2017 1 Building a Global Network for Security Editorial Note Preventing Violent Extremism through Madrassa Reforms and Counter-Narratives The evolving concept of Preventing Violent In the second article, Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Extremism (PVE), as part of ongoing counter- Qadri examines the madrassa (Islamic terrorism and counter-extremism efforts, has seminaries) education system in the context of to address various social, economic, political growing radicalisation and religious extremism religious and individual factors that attract or in Pakistan. The piece studies the madrassas’ push youth from activism towards extremism. relationship with various political groups, and Social media platforms and religious their local and foreign funding sources. The Winstitutions are crucial mediums of influence study relies on published reports as well as that can be used to minimise and eventually quantitative data collected from over one eliminate the exploitation of these two hundred madrassas in Punjab. The study finds domains by violent-extremist groups for that several madrassas in Punjab have links recruitment, propaganda and legitimation of with local and foreign militant organisations their extremist agendas. Articles in this issue that render them vulnerable to external give an insight into the roles played by social manipulations and interference. However, media and madrassas as well as religious madrassas which purely dedicate their leaders and extremists in Sri Lanka, Pakistan energies to learning and teaching are and Indonesia. generally free of such manipulations. To meet the challenges and overcome the The first article by Rohan Gunaratna analyses controversies facing the religious seminaries, the recent riots between the Sinhalese and the article recommends reforming the Muslim communities in Sri Lanka. It observes educational curriculum, providing quality the historical development of relations education, reviewing funding sources of between the two communities, specifically madrassas, banning political affiliations of focusing on the role of Sinhala ultra- madrassas and monitoring foreign influences nationalists in advancing their communal and on them. political agenda in the island state. In 2012 and 2013, the ultra-nationalists’ intolerant Lastly, V. Arianti probes the use of sharp rhetoric against Muslims and Christians weapons in terrorist attacks by Indonesia emboldened supporters to engage in mob militant groups. She argues that IS’ emphasis violence targeting both minorities. Communal on knife attacks in its online publications, riots had erupted in 2014 and intermittent frequent employment of vehicle-ramming and bomb attacks on Muslim establishments stabbing by lone-wolf attackers in Europe and occurred in 2017. To restore communal local jihadist groups’ efforts to seek harmony, the author prescribes a cohesive recognition from IS central contributed to the approach that combines laws criminalising steady rise of knife attacks in Indonesia. The intolerant rhetoric and propaganda in cyber author believes that while knife attacks will and physical space, arrests of those involved continue to be an attack tactic in Indonesia in mob violence, and building structures at militant landscape, bombings and shootings national and grassroots level to foster will be the preferred tactics because of their communal harmony. relative potential to cause mass casualties. ADVISORY BOARD Editor Sara Mahmood Dr. Rohan Gunaratna Dr. Fernando Reinares Associate Editor Abdul Basit Professor of Security Studies Director, Program on Global Terrorism, Head of International Centre for Political Elcano Royal Institute Professor of Security Copywriters Jennifer Dhanaraj Studies, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Violence and Terrorism Research Teertha Samal Madrid, Spain Sylvene See Dr. John Harrison Associate Editor Journal of Transportation Design and Layout Okkie Tanupradja Dr. Stephen Sloan Security Professor Emeritus, The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and Dr. Kumar Ramakrishna The University of Oklahoma not of ICPVTR, RSIS, NTU or the organisations to which the Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses authors are affiliated.Volume Articles 9, may Issue not be4 |reproduced April 2017 without prior Associate Professor Lawrence J. Chastang, permission. Please contact the editors for more information at Head of Policy Studies & Coordinator of Distinguished Professor of Terrorism Studies, [email protected]. The editorial team also welcomes any feedback National Security Studies Programme The University of Central Florida2 or comments. Sinhala-Muslim Riots in Sri Lanka: The Need for Restoring Communal History – Rohan Gunaratna Sinhala-Muslim Riots in Sri Lanka: The Need for Restoring Communal History Rohan Gunaratna The March 2018 Sinhala-Muslim riots in Sri communities and the rise of Sinhala ultra- Lanka underline growing communal schisms nationalism. in the island state. This article examines the Background to Sinhalese-Muslim rise of Sinhala ultra-nationalism and the Communal Tensions violent groups primarily responsible for Sinhala-Muslim unrest since 2012. The Sinhalese resentment against Muslims has establishment’s insufficient and delayed been growing slowly. Despite the fact that the response to anti-Muslim violence for fear of Sinhalese are a majority in Sri Lanka, they alienating the Buddhist Sinhala population suffer from a minority complex because the has complicated matters further. The population growth of the Muslims surpasses communal strife necessitates stricter law- that of the Sinhalese. The population growth enforcement against groups practicing of the Buddhist community stands at 1.1 violence and preaching hatred as well as percent since 1948 whereas the population measures to restore communal harmony. growth of Muslims is 1.9 percent.1 The Muslim landscape in Sri Lanka has been Introduction changing since the last decade. Muslims constitute about 9.7 percent of Sri Lanka’s The Sinhala-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka in population. Buddhists form 70 percent of the March 2018 erupted following a traffic population. Meanwhile, 12 percent are Hindus accident in which four Muslim youth attacked and 7 percent are Christians. Before the a Sinhala driver in Kandy on 22 February recent riots in the Sinhala majority areas of 2018. The driver was seriously injured and Western and Central Provinces, the Muslims died in hospital in Kandy on 3 March 2018. residing in the Tamil-dominated northern and The police detained 14 suspects, including the eastern areas had been attacked by Tamil four youth who attacked the driver. separatists. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an erstwhile ethno-separatist Overall, the violence that ensued killed two group fighting to create an independent Tamil people, injured 15 others, and damaged 45 state, had subjected the Muslims and businesses, homes, and four places of Sinhalese to ethnic cleansing. For instance, in religious worship. Following the communal August 1990, the LTTE killed 147 Muslims in unrest, a ten-day emergency was imposed mosques in Kattankudy. The Muslims did not and the military was deployed in aid of police. withdraw from the east, but worked with the Kandy’s Digana and Teldeniya areas were the Sri Lankan security forces to fight back main hotspots of violence until the police and against terrorism. Muslims also served in the military restored normalcy. Nonetheless, the units of the Sri Lankan security forces. The frictions between the Sinhalese and Muslims end of the conflict after LTTE’s defeat in 2009 still persist, with tensions likely to grow in the created space for Muslims and Sinhalese to future. Against this backdrop, this article reassert themselves. chronologically analyses communal tensions between the Sinhalese and Muslim The Muslim community underwent some changes as indigenous Islamic practices were slowly being influenced by practices from 1 Izeth Hussain, “Islam, Contraception and Myths on contraception-and-myths-on-muslim-population- Muslim Population Growth in Sri Lanka,” Colombo growth-in-sri-lanka/ Telegraph, September 20, 2014, https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/islam- Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses Volume 10, Issue 4 | April 2018 1 Sinhala-Muslim Riots in Sri Lanka: The Need for Restoring Communal History – Rohan Gunaratna parts of the Middle East. The growing advocated for the presence of monks in influence of Salafism and Wahabbism had led government schools to teach history. Sinhalese hardliners to develop suspicions On occasion, BBS supporters had used and prejudices against the local Muslim violent tactics to advance its ultra-nationalist community. They attributed developments agenda. For instance, on 4 October 2012, such as the three dozen Muslims who protestors threw stones and bottles at the travelled to Iraq and Syria to join the so-called Bangladeshi High Commission in Colombo ‘Islamic State’ (IS), the emergence of Jamaat over the destruction of Buddhist
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