Abstract:Following the military defeat of LTTE terrorism in May 2009, the relationship between ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka became seriously fragmented as a result of intensified anti-minority sentiments and violence. Consequently, the ethnic Muslims (Moors) became the major target in this conflict. The major objective of this study is to critically evaluate the nature and the impact of the anti-Muslim sentiments expressed and violence committed by the extreme nationalist forces during the process of ethnic reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka. The findings of the study reveal that, with the end of civil war, Muslims have become "another other" and also the target of ethno-religious hatred and violence from the vigilante right-wing ethno-nationalist forces that claim to be protecting the Sinhala-Buddhist nation, race, and culture in Sri Lanka. These acts are perpetrated as part of their tactics aimed to consolidate a strong Sinhala-Buddhist nation-and motivated by the state. Furthermore, the recourse deficit and lack of autonomy within the organizational hierarchy of the Buddhist clergy have motivated the nationalist monks to engage in politics and promote a radical anti-minority rhetoric. This study recommends institutional and procedural reforms to guide and monitor the activities of religious organizations, parties, and movements, together with the teaching of religious tolerance, as the preconditions for ethnic reconciliation and ethnic harmony in post-war Sri Lanka. This study has used only secondary data, which are analyzed in a descriptive and interpretive manner.

Since Sri Lankan ethnic conflict was considered as a confrontation between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, the impact of conflict and civil war on other [minority] ethnic groups has always been sidetracked by major parties involved in resolving conflict. One of the communities severely impacted but always forgotten in the discourse of resolution process is the Muslims who ever resorted to violent agitations and arm rebellion to resolve their problem and achieve their political objectives. However, the constant impact of ethnic conflict and civil war on the lives and livelihoods of the community caused them to search for political and institutional mechanism to protect them. Muslim autonomy demand has emerged on this backdrop in the middle of 1980s and has been advocated by Muslim parties and public in the discourse of ethnic politics in Sri Lanka. There has been changing dynamics, phases of acceleration and sidetracks on the advocacy of the demand. This paper aims to examine the changing dynamics of the Muslim demand for territorial autonomy in the eastern part of Sri Lanka. The study was conducted using both primary and secondary data collected from desk analysis and field survey conducted in three years. Analysis of the study is interpretive and descriptive in nature. Findings reveal that the fragmentation of Muslims politics, demerge of north-eastern province, and the new political context in eastern Sri Lanka not only caused to sidetrack the demand but also made the demand politically contested and irrelevant.

Sri Lankan Muslims, the second largest minority ethnic group with 9.4 per cent (2012) of the total population has been victimized in the cause of ethnic politics, ethno-nationalism, and ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Like other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, the Muslims also have a historical origin that follows a set of distinctive ethno-centric cultural and religious practices. They have contributed much to the communal harmony, socio-economic and political development of the country throughout the history of Sri Lanka. However, the ethnic distinctiveness of Sri Lankan Muslims has always been questioned and the community has been violently targeted in the cause of time. The ethnic politics and ethno-nationalism of both major ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and the Tamils have impacted a lot on the Muslims of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, most of the initiatives adopted to resolve the ethnic conflict have also failed to address the grievances and to accommodate the interests and demands of the Muslims. The devastating effects of the conflict on Muslim community and the continuous neglect of their interests in the discourses of peace process pushed them to politically mobilize for advocacy politics. On this backdrop, this paper pays attention on the historical survival of Muslim community, their position in ethnic politics and peace process in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this paper is to record the historical incidents related with the Muslims in Sri Lanka without pointing fingers at any party in these processes. The analysis of this paper is descriptive and interpretive in nature and only the secondary data is used for the analysis.

Both in Sri Lanka's national as well as in Muslim politics in the recent past, the demand for an administrative district in the coastal belt of Amparai district has been one of the contested topics of debate and discourse and has been an influencing subject in electoral politics. This research attempts to explore the major factors that have induced the emergence of the demand in detail. The finding reveals that four major interconnected causes have been severely influencing on the origin and the advocacy of the demand, namely: (1) the domination of an ethnic group (majority) and their language over the administration of Amparai district, (2) the violation of constitutional provisions on language of administration, (3) the marginalization and (4) discrimination of ethno-linguistic minorities and their rights in resource utilization and other aspects of district administration. All these factors have persuaded the people of the area (referred as 'South Eastern region') to claim and advocate a separate administrative district for the region. The study suggests that the proper implementation of the constitutional provisions on minority language and the institutional restructuring of the district secretariat can reconcile the issues facing by the people of the region in the affairs of district administration which also would challenge the demand to a certain extent.

Abstract:Historically, the politics of Sri Lankan Muslims has been identified as moderate and characterized by alliance-making with other major ethnic groups. Muslims rarely considered to form a strong political movement or party to increase their political influence, until the peak of the civil war in the 1980s. This occurrence helped the Muslim community to be facilitated socially and economically, but it also made them vulnerable in terms of rights and power accommodation in national politics. However, the establishment of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and its distinct form of politics progressively revived the Muslim community and its politics. This study examines the contributions of SLMC and its founder-leader to Muslim politics and community in Sri Lanka. The findings of this study reveal that SLMC under its founder-leader uniquely colored Muslim politics, which in turn strengthened popular support and transformed the Muslim community into "queen-makers" in the national politics. Under its founder-leader Mohammed Hussain Mohammed Ashraff, the SLMC greatly contributed to the transformation of Muslim political culture, and to the uplift of the socio-cultural, economic, and political status of the Muslim community, while voicing Muslims' grievances and fighting for their status, rights, powers, and privileges. By contrast, the party and its founder-leader faced considerable opposition and criticisms on communal and racial bases. Nonetheless, the qualities and contributions of its founder-leader continue to be remembered and still have a significant influence on Muslims politics in Sri Lanka.