Problem between Orthodox Sunni Muslims and followers of two Islamic heretics settled after 25 years
If someone managed to establish the presence of Islamic fundamentalists behind the recent clashes in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, the agenda of many groups would have been served.
The extent to which certain parties - both local and international - went to, in order to give sinister twists to the recent clashes in Kaththankudi, shows that there are quite a few parties out there, eagerly waiting to give the 'fundamentalist' tag to the Muslims here, for a variety of reasons.
The latest bout of the long drawn-out, yet not so organized clashes between the orthodox Sunni Muslims and followers of two Islamic heretics in the predominantly Muslim Kaththankudi, provided an ideal opportunity for the alarmists to propagate their unfounded theory.
While the clashes had caused considerable damage to property and left followers from both groups injured, in the final analysis however, it brought home the point that violence in the Muslim majority town had nothing to do with fundamentalism. It was part of the tensions between the moderate Sunni Muslims and the followers of two heretics who give a more modern but seemingly challenging interpretation to Islam.
Violence, irrespective of the causes, should be condemned and the perpetrators should be brought to book. There are no two words about it.
However, the recent escalation of tension between the orthodox Muslims and the followers of these heretics appear to have finally paved the way for a resolution of the conflict which had run for nearly three decades.
A 25-year-old controversial decree, excommunicating the most popular of the two heretics, Rauf Moulavi of Division 6 of Kaththankudi was repealed on Sunday evening by the Orthodox Ulemas.
Heralding the repeal as a genuine goodwill measure and that the Orthodox Muslim religious leaders are finally for a reconciliation, five Moulavis representing the Orthodox Muslims visited Rauf Moulavi's mosque and performed prayers there.
By that time there had already been public announcements on the agreement reached by the two conflicting groups.
Rauf Moulavi's interpretations that God has different forms and is in everything is a deviation from the concept of the omnipresence of God.
He along with the now octogenarian Pailvan, the other heretic to be excommunicated, propagated this teaching despite the anathematization.
Today, Rauf Moulavi has about 6,000 followers in Kaththankudi alone, with an all-island following close to 15,000. He is also the President of the All Ceylon Spiritual Movement.
Pailvan, who hails from Marathamuani, however, was never so popular. His teaching was limited to Kalmunai and Kaththankudi and he is learnt to have had just about 400 followers.
What really triggered the recent acts of violence was an anti-Pailvan leaflet distributed in Kaththankudi by one of his defectors - one Haneefa - among the Orthodox Muslims, after Friday prayers on October 29.
The day after the distribution of the scurrilous leaflets Haneefa was forcibly taken to one of Pailvan's mosques down Deen Road in Kaththankudi by a group of Pailvan's followers and released later.
It was this incident that led to the attacks on Pailvan's Mosque and houses belonging to his followers on Sunday.
On Monday night, in what appeared to be a counterattack, a grenade was lobbed at the Orthodox Irumbuthaika mosque during evening prayers, injuring over 20 people who were inside the mosque at the time.
Rumours began to be spread that the attack was carried out by Rauf Moulavi's men who were enraged by the attack on Pailvan's mosque.
However, Rauf Moulavi's followers strongly denied any involvement and said that it was the work of a group which was out to pit the orthodox Muslims against the followers of the heretics.
Despite this, a group of Orthodox followers went ahead and attacked two theological schools - madrasas - run by Rauf Moulavi.
The escalation of violence saw M.L.A.M. Hisbullah and newly appointed Minister of Rehabilitation for Batticaloa, Ameer Ali, one time arch rivals, flying together to Kaththankudi on November 2 in a bid to defuse the tension in the area.
By this time, moves were also under way by various other independent groups to reach a settlement and representatives of both conflicting groups were at the Divisional Secretariat.
However the arrival of Hisbullah saw the representatives of Rauf Moulavi walking out of the Secretariat.
While one cannot group the religious factions on party lines, with supporters of main political parties found in the Orthodox as well as the heresy, it was a known fact that Rauf Moulavi threw his weight behind a candidate of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress during the April general elections.
Despite the initial setback, Hisbullah however had his own contribution to the final settlement reached on Sunday between the Orthodox Muslims and the heretics which saw the rescinding of the decree passed some twenty five years ago.
While the 55,000-strong Muslim township appeared to have returned to normalcy following Sunday's settlement, the kind of distorted versions made of the clashes have opened the eyes of the community of the presence of a number of elements which are hell-bent on portraying them as fundamentalists.
Senior military officers in the area, on the other hand, say that they are only wondering as to who was behind the misinterpretations since there are no extremist groups in the area according to their knowledge.
As Civilian Affairs Officer of the Batticaloa Brigade, Major Berty Perera points out the whole situation 'has been blown out of proportion' making it difficult for anybody to guess what exactly happened.
Among those who gave the fundamentalist twists to the clashes, is the pro-LTTE media.
The Muslim townships in the Batticaloa district have always been viewed as a major threat by the LTTE, which along with the Tamil civilians in the district appear to be suffering from a majority-complex. With Batticaloa being the only Tamil majority district in the entire Eastern Province, the struggle to establish dominance has resulted in several anti-Muslim moves in the district, the last major one being the Valachchenai riots in July 2002.
Kaththankudy itself is somewhat synonymous with LTTE atrocities against the Muslims following the brutal killing of 141 Muslim devotees inside the Kaththankudi mosque during a prayer session on August 3, 1990.
All these only go to explain why the LTTE and the pro-Tiger media make it a point to brand the Eastern Muslims as fundamentalists. Given the developments in the international arena, especially after 9/11, attributing any violence where Muslims are involved, to Islamic fundamentalism, they know, is a sure way to divert elsewhere the sympathy the Sri Lankan Muslims have earned so far from the international community.
In addition to this, one can also trace part of the anti-Muslim propaganda during the last few days, to South Asian regional politics.
One may remember the manner in which a section of the Indian media rang alarm bells a few months ago, over the appointment of Pakistani High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Bashir Wali, a former chief of the Pakistan Intelligence Bureau (IB). Mammoth efforts were made to stop him assuming duties in Colombo with the preposterous allegation that one of the aims of his appointment would be to expand the Pakistani intelligence network through Eastern Muslims, among whom the Indian media said there were several extremist groups.
The Indian obsession of threats from Pakistan, have especially had its toll on the reputation of the Eastern Muslims.
Paranoid by its insecurities, the regional power has become ultra sensitive to even the negligible development in any part of the region and this has seen a section of its media giving totally misleading interpretations even to minor incidents.
The prevailing peace in Kaththankudi following Sunday's agreement does not at all mean that things will remain the same even in the months and years to come. There are still possibilities of eruption of violence in the area since it takes time to heal the wounds and for attitudes to change.
While the agreement between the two factions has been a landmark one, however what is perhaps more important is the lesson learnt during the clashes - the fact that there is a whole host of groups which are all out to tarnish the reputation of the Muslims in the East.
