A.M.M.Muzammil
COLOMBO :Never in the history has the Muslim community in Sri Lanka was subject to such profound psychological and emotional trauma. Racism, bigotry, and Islamophobia reached their zenith during the repressive regime of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The controversy intensified when a gazette notification issued in April 2020 mandated the cremation of all those who died from COVID-19, citing concerns about potential groundwater contamination. However, this justification has been widely contested as baseless, with no scientific evidence supporting such claims.
Prof. Meththika Vithanage, a geologist without expertise in virology, spearheaded a vicious and baseless campaign. She collaborated with other so-called professionals, including (Prof.) Channa Jayasumana, Dr. Padenjya, Anil Jasinghe, the Health Secretary, and a few others, demanded the cremation of Muslim COVID-19 victims without any remorse. This was despite the scientific understanding that COVID-19 is an airborne disease, not a waterborne one and that viruses require living cells for survival.
Sri Lanka’s sole foreign-trained virologist and Chief Epidemiologist, Dr. Paba Palihawadanawa, consistently and publicly asserted that COVID-19 victims could be buried, as the virus cannot survive outside a living host, thus negating the concern of groundwater contamination.
Additionally, Prof. Malik Peiris, a Hong Kong-based Sri Lankan virologist renowned for isolating the SARS virus, along with Prof. Jennifer Perera, confirmed that there was sufficient scientific evidence indicating that burials posed no threat, as COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and not a waterborne disease.”
Moreover, the World Health Organization’s guidelines permitting the burials of COVID-19 victims were adopted by 194 countries, making Sri Lanka the only country in the world that not only conducted PCR tests on deceased individuals but also enforced mandatory cremations and banned burials.
In fairness, the Sri Lanka Medical Association and the College of Community Physicians issued statements asserting that burials could be safely permitted in cases of COVID-19-related deaths. Another respected virologist, Dr. Tissa Vitharana, who was also a government member, recommended burial as well.
Despite these scientific facts and broad international consensus supporting burials, the regime under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, known for its anti-Muslim stance, stubbornly adhered to mandatory cremation policies. This decision appeared to be a deliberate attempt to traumatize and dehumanize the Muslim community.
As a result, nearly 300 Muslim bodies were subjected to the anguish of forced cremation, a practice that profoundly violated their religious and cultural beliefs, leaving the community in deep distress.
Where else in the world does one witness a 20-day-old infant being cremated against the parents’ wishes? The irony lies in the fact that both parents tested negative for COVID-19, so how could their newborn son, Shaykh, test positive?
Cremation is a deeply sensitive issue for Muslims, as Islamic jurisprudence mandates burial. The human body, created in a perfect shape by God, must be treated with dignity and respect. A proper burial allows families and loved ones to visit graves and honors the deceased, as emphasized in the Quran: “Did we not make the earth a home for the living and the dead?” (77:25-26).
Despite the Muslim community facing challenges, six notable Muslim MPs supported the 20th Amendment, which granted Gota further sweeping powers, specifically enabling policies that included forced cremation. It raises the question: Did these six parliamentarians turn a blind eye and a deaf ear when their leader enforced such measures against their own community?
It is no exaggeration to say that the majority of the approximately 20 Muslim parliamentarians, who ostensibly represent the community, have prioritized their own interests. They not only betrayed the community’s trust but also compromised its values for financial gain, parliamentary perks, and ministerial positions. Indeed, they are glib talkers and experts at shedding crocodile tears without needing to apply menthol tear sticks to their eyes!
Adding insult to injury, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), purportedly the apex body for Islamic scholars, led by Rizvi Mufthi, took an erroneous stance by agreeing to the burial of ashes, contrary to Islamic burial practices.
While these so-called self-proclaimed Muslim leaders acted like Emperor Nero, indifferent to the suffering of their community, leaders from other communities, such as Tamil National Alliance’s R. Sampanthan, MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, raised their voices to defend the Muslim community’s interests during times of crisis. The inaction of these Muslim MPs was even more egregious than the betrayal of Judas.
Ultimately, it was the intervention of Prime Minister Imran Khan that led the government to reconsider and allow burials. However, the victims were forced to endure the indignity of being laid to rest far from their homes, in Ottamawady, located in the Eastern Province.
As the Presidential election draws near, the Cabinet of Ministers has issued a formal apology for the mandatory cremation policy. Justice Mr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Mr. Ali Sabry, once influential cabinet ministers in Gota’s government, are now attempting to deceive the Muslim community and whitewash their government’s grave injustices in a bid to garner votes
This apology appears to be nothing more than a politically motivated gesture, and the Muslim community is no longer easily deceived.
The State had previously appointed fact-finding commissions to investigate the Aluthgama and Digana incidents, but these reports have been consistently ignored by successive governments. Consequently, the Muslim community places its trust in divine justice rather than in these commissions. An illustrative case is the main figure behind the forced cremations, who was disgracefully expelled from Sri Lanka and lost political power.
The forced cremation ordeal stands as one of the most painful and bitter experiences in the history of Muslims in the country. While buildings can be reconstructed, broken hearts endure a different kind of suffering, remaining perpetually unhealed and scarred.
With all due respect to Madame Roland’s timeless words, I would like to conclude with this thought: “O racists! O racists! What crimes have Muslims committed to deserve the injustice of forced cremation?
