MCSL Letter to the Secretary of Defense
06th September 2013
PRESS RELEASE
The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka vehemently refutes the blatant lies and canard spread against the Muslim Community by the Bodu Bala Sena at their press conference held on the 3rd September 2013.
Alcohol, narcotics or any form of intoxicants are totally prohibited in Islam and Muslims cannot engage in any activity related to them. Any Muslim involved in these activities cannot be considered to be following the teachings of Islam. We urge the enforcement authorities to take the strictest possible recourse and punish with the full force of the law any persons involved in destroying the social fabric of society by indulging in trafficking, distributing or trading in any form of narcotics irrespective of their religious belief.
The recent detection of a large haul of Heroin at the Colombo Port has been confirmed by the relevant authorities to be a consignment imported by International drug traffickers and Sri Lanka has been used only as a transit point. Leveling charges against the Muslim community of being part of this criminal act tantamount to inciting hate which can lead to violence against the Muslim community.
Further, a number of other allegations in this press conference including forced contraception of Sinhala women, aborting unborn children, killing children etc. are serious criminal charges, which carry severe penalties. We urge the relevant authorities to conduct an impartial inquiry immediately on these allegations. Meanwhile, we also urge the government and law enforcement authorities to take action against the Bodu Bala Sena for this hate mongering.......
The first group of Sri Lankan Haj pilgrims will arrive at the Haj Terminal in Jeddah on Sept. 13.
The country’s Consul General Adam Bawa Uthumalebbe told Arab News on Wednesday that 2,240 Sri Lankan pilgrims would perform Haj this year. “Last year we had 3,200 pilgrims but the quota was reduced this year by 20 percent because of the ongoing development work in the holy city of Makkah,” he said.
SriLankan airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines are transporting the pilgrims this year, he said.
“Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given special instructions to the Sri Lankan missions in the Kingdom to offer the best facilities and services to the Lankan pilgrims,” Uthumalebbe said
He said the consulate would deploy a team at the Haj Terminal to welcome the pilgrims. The officials would offer refreshments and attend to the needs of the pilgrims until they leave for the holy cities.
He said his mission had formed three teams in Makkah, Jeddah, Mina and Madinah to assist the pilgrims. In addition to the mission’s staff, volunteers have also been brought in to help. A medical team is accompanying the pilgrims.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry has sent two diplomats to the Saudi Embassy in Colombo to issue Haj visas. According to an official from the Saudi Embassy in Colombo, work on issuing visas is taking place smoothly.....