ICC Note:

Sri Lanka’s Christian and Muslim communities have decided to work together to strengthen ties and promote harmony between each other following a meeting on November 9. Both religious communities have faced persecution from Sri Lanka’s ultra Buddhist nationalists and building ties between the two communities will better both for potential persecution in the future. Recently, religious minorities expressed concern over Sri Lanka’s new draft constitution in which Buddhism is given a special place of honor. Many fear that this promotion of Buddhism will encourage more ultra Buddhist nationalism and will ultimately lead to increased persecution for religious minorities. 

11/17/2016 Sri Lanka (Asia News) – Sri Lankan Christian and Muslims leaders have decided to work together to strengthen harmony between their respective religious communities.

Sri Lanka’s National Christian Council (NCC) and several Islamic leaders are behind the initiative whereby they commit themselves to a joint ten-point program to build peace and promote social justice.

On 9 November, representatives of various Christian groups (Methodists, Anglicans, Church of Ceylon, lay Catholics) met with Muslim leaders at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Centre to sign the initiative titled ‘In the Name of God, the compassionate, the merciful’.

“On the short run, we will not see the results of this effort,” NCC committee member Ralston Weinman told AsiaNews. “However, it is good step from which one day we shall reap wonderful and fruitful results.”

The ten-point program includes a commitment to honor the best of one’s own traditions, respect the various faiths, promote life together, recognize differences, express oneself in a respectful manner towards the cultures, traditions and scriptures of other religions, develop and sustain friendships, encourage meetings between members of different communities, and renounce violence as well as discriminatory and extremist expressions.

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