Fashion Bug Attacker Anti-Muslim Monk Changes His Robe To Islam Burqa

By Colombo Telegraph -

Three Buddhist monks who had been implicated in the mob attack on Fashion Bug in Pepiliyana had surrendered to the Mirihana Police Station yesterday evening were set free after both parties eventually came to a settlement.

17 suspects including the monks were produced at the Gangodawila Magistrate Court today and the management of the Fashion Bug and the suspects connected over the attack on the premises last week, decided to amicably resolve the issue today.

The picture shows one anti-Muslim attacker Buddhist monk changed from his traditional way of wearing the outer robe to a women’s dress burqa in Islamic culture.

It was another, in a series of attacks against Muslims as Fashion Bug owns by a family of Sri Lankan Muslims. The mob had gone on a rampage setting clothes that were in the store on fire and shouting obscenities at the girls who worked in this complex, saying that they should be ashamed to work in an enterprise owned by Muslims and to never come back. The mob had also manhandled some of the girls.

Tamil Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran told Parliament on March 21, 2013; “Muslim women can’t walk on the streets of this country today in their traditional dress. In Manampitiya, Hon. Minister, a young girl in an abaya, was walking and she was attacked. She has made a complaint to the Polannaruwa police. On the day the Mattala airport was opened, the same night a church in Weerakettiya was attacked by a mob, unfortunately led by religious leaders – by Buddhist monks. And they go and demonstrate before the Indian High Commission saying two venerable monks have been attacked in Tamil Nadu. We condemn those attacks. We don’t support that. No monk should be attacked in Tamil Nadu. But why aren’t they complaining about the church being attacked in Weerakettiya, in your own country, before you look at other countries? Why aren’t they going in processions protesting that Muslim women are being attacked on the road? You don’t go on processions for that, you only have to complain about other countries. Look at yourself, inside, first. You put your house right. If you put your house right no one else will ever be able to point fingers at you. You have this happening in your own country. You treat people who are numerically in the minority like dirt, and then you have the brass to stand up and pontificate about international interference and call that bullying. When you get a little bit of the taste of your own medicine you are smarting but you can’t understand how much we feel being treated like dirt in this country. You talk about changing the goal post.”
A monk is attacking the Fashion Bug

Muslim women can’t walk on the streets of this country today in their traditional dress

WikiLeaks: Political Islam In Sri Lanka And The Maldives

By Colombo Telegraph -April 2, 2013

“At this point, there are three major SLMC factions: SLMC (Hakeem); SLMC (Athaullah); and the National Unity Alliance (NUA). (Note: The leader of the NUA is Ferial Ashraff, another close Mission contact, who is the widow of the founder of the SLMC, M.H.M. Ashraff, who died in 2000.) While they disagree on peace track issues, none of the factions is Islamist-leaning at this time. Other than the SLMC, many Muslims — especially those in Colombo — are supporters of the country’s dominant political parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the People’s Alliance (PA). Both the UNP and the PA are dominated by Sinhalese Buddhists.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

Muslims display the victory symbol as they hold a picture of Osama bin Laden during an anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protest demonstration after Friday prayers in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, July 21, 2006.

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable discusses political Islam as a factor in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.The cable is classified as “Confidential” and written on July 17, 2003 by  Charge d’Affaires Donald A. Camp.

The US Embassy wrote; “Against this backdrop of routine participation by Muslims in the democratic process, there is very little evidence of political Islam in Sri Lanka. During the military campaigns against the al-Qaida/Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001 and more recently against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, there were some anti-U.S. demonstrations in which Muslims played a role. One party active in these demonstrations was the Muslim United Liberation Front (MULF), which has no parliamentary representation and has very few members. In general, the various factions of the SLMC did not participate in these demonstrations, though there was a slight undercurrent of anti-U.S. feeling among mainstream Muslims.”

“There is some information that some disaffected Muslims in the east have formed small anti-Tamil Tiger armed groups with names like “Osama” and ‘Jihad.’ Such groups are not a major factor in the east at this time. Nonetheless, fueled reportedly by money from “charitable foundations” based in the Middle East and remittances from Muslims working in that region, there has been an overall shift in the east toward an Islam with a harder edge. (Note: Across the wide spectrum of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, there is also some indication that more women are honoring hijab norms by covering their hair, etc., than was the case in the past. This could be an indication of a push for prevalence of stricter forms of Islam within the community.) Anecdotally, Mission has heard that some anti-western views may be gaining a limited beachhead in the east where there was none before. The Sri Lankan government is well aware of the potential problem with Muslims in the east and keeps a close watch over the situation.” Charge d’Affaires further wrote.

Read the cable below for further information;