Cremating Muslim Covid Dead Bodies; Sri Lanka Is Right – Whole World Is Wrong?

By Latheef Farook –DECEMBER 18, 2020

Latheef Farook

In a video interview with CHAMUDITHA early December 2020, Dr Nihal Abeysinghe, Senior Government Virologist and Epidemiologist explained that corona Virus dead bodies could be either buried or cremated. He said there was no question of germs spreading through water in the grave and causing health hazards to the livin

The World Health Organization (WHO) advice was followed by countries all over the world. However Sri Lanka remains hell bent on cremating Muslim corona virus dead dismissing their religious sentiments.

The government claims that its decision was based on the health ministry technical committee advise which does not have a virologist. This was endorsed by Professor Tissa Vitarana who said there is no virologist in the committee set up to deal with this issue.

Prof Tissa Vitarana,a specialist in the fields of bacteriology and virology, was not in the committee.

The question is how a committee, without a virologist, advise the government on this extremely sensitive issue without realizing the consequences.

Even India run by extremist leaders, hostile to minorities had allowed burial.

To Muslims worldwide burying their dead bodies is a religious duty and Islam has told how it should be done. To a Muslim death means the end of life in this world and the beginning of life in the hereafter.

Up to now Muslims who died of corona virus were cremated arbitrarily in Sri Lanka while loved ones had no say at all. They were also denied the chance to do a PCR test in private to confirm the government tests as there were reports in circulation that many who died natural death were also cremated.

Throughout the country and beyond there were severe criticisms against cremating corona dead bodies. Muslims were seething in anger claiming that this policy has nothing to do with health or medical reasons, but to harass Muslims and make them radicalised. Some even suspect that this perhaps may be an effort to provoke those who are believers in their faith.

This matter was taken up in Parliament by both Muslims and non-Muslim members alike appealing to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the government to change this policy. No response from the government.

A team led by former parliamentarian Ali Zahir Moulana took up the issue in the Supreme Court where it was rejected without giving any reason. We citizens are unaware why the Supreme Court rejected the plea of the minorities. We do not know whether the Petitioners had not complied with the Court rules when filing Petitions.

In the midst of all these comes the shocking cremation of a 20 day old baby who was admitted to hospital at 10.45 am on December 7. The baby died at 4.15 pm following day on December 8 and was cremated at 4 pm on December 9. They even failed to inform the parents when the baby died, but was told about the death only when they rang up.

Baby’s father was keen to do a PCR test at a private hospital, the hospital staff refused and forced the father to sign the paper – perhaps authorizing cremation .

Later they were told to go to Borella cemetery for cremating the body without his consent. When the father asked why this rush to cremate the baby’s body while number of bodies  were awaiting cremation there was no response from the doctors and others.

“I have no say and the doctors and others did not even bother to answer my questions but all out to cremate the baby with no human feeling” said the baby’s father in a video interview.

In another video clip in circulation on Wednesday 16 December 2020 a Muslim complained that his wife died at Kalubowila Hospital and was not allowed for him and his children to see the body and not allowed to do a PCR test in private. They were only adamant demanding his signature for cremation.

Meanwhile the cremation of the 20 day old baby was given wide publicity worldwide especially in Muslim countries, the most sincere friends of Sri Lanka and helped the island in times of crisis. In the gulf countries baby’s posters were displayed in vehicles. These are countries from where a million Sri Lankans are sending for the economic survival of our debt ridden country US $ 20 million EVERY SINGLE DAY, on an average!

Sri Lankan Muslims living in European countries staged a demonstration last week in front of the Sri Lankan High Commission in London protesting against cremating Muslim corona dead .

The negative publicity to the country was such that a religious scholar spoke about this in the grand mosque in Nigeria. Do the extremists who think the world is part of Sri Lanka and not Sri Lanka is part of the world, realize the devastating impact of this negative publicity on Sri Lanka.

Since the end of the ethnic war the government has abandoned Muslim countries and established close ties with violently anti-Muslim countries such as America, India, Israel and China and suspected to be implementing their evil agendas against the island’s Muslims. What the so called racist patriots who divided communities and destroyed communal harmony fail to understand is that these countries are here with their own agenda.

Their common agenda is to promote hatred towards Islam and violence against Muslims and divide communities in the island.

This is the reason why many fear that Sinhala Buddhist theocratic government will not work in a multi-racial, multi religious, multi linguistic, multi-cultural country like Sri Lanka. Our neighbor India under RSS front BJP is a classic example where all opposition parties have got together to defeat the BJP Hindutva forces which brought nothing but disaster to India.

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