26 May 2024
Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
JIHAD
& LAWMAKERS
[Tamil lawmaker M A Sumanthiran called out the hypocrisy of Sri
Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem in parliament this week, as the
former Sri Lankan justice minister who lobbied against international
accountability for the Tamil genocide, demanded his government cut ties with
Israel over the “genocide in Gaza”.]
Sumanthiran calls out hypocrisy of Sri Lanka Muslim
Congress leader over ‘genocide in Gaza’
What is the Truth embedded in this above report?
In this instance I oppose Mr Sumanthiran and identify
with Mr Rauff Hakeem. They are both lawmakers, who have the duty to follow the
law. Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution states:
‘ 9. The Republic of Sri
Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the
duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to
all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e)’
‘10. Every person is entitled to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a
religion or belief of his choice.’
14. (1) Every citizen is entitled to – … (e) the
freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public
or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance,
practice and teaching;
The question here is – who was within the Sri Lankan
law? - Mr
Rauff Hakeem or Mr Sumanthiran?
My response is : It is Mr Rauff Hakeem
The Parliament has the duty to follow the law. In
this instance, according to Wikipedia,
Jihad is an Arabic word which
literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially
with a praiseworthy
aim. In an Islamic context, it can
refer to almost any exertion of effort to make personal and social life conform
with God's guidance, such as internal struggle against one's evil
inclinations, proselytizing, or efforts toward the betterment of the Muslim
community (Ummah), though in non-Muslim societies the term
is most often associated with armed conflict.
In Sri Lanka, it is a Constitutional right to express one’s belief
that the sovereign borders of one’s nation is being damaged. These borders are invisible. The leader of a
structured group, has the authority to give form to the borders, until a higher
authority rules otherwise. The believer
knows that s/he is right through feeling of calmness. At the wider level, Truth
manifests Itself to confirm the stronger belief. Tamils of Sri Lanka declared
their borders through Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976. Truth confirmed this through
1977 Parliamentary elections, when Tamil political group became Equal Opposition
in National Parliament.
In the case of Muslim Nation,
this has been facilitated by Article 9. But this claim to Sovereignty is lost,
when armed groups attack those outside their own sovereign borders. Sri Lankan
Tamil Nationalism as well as Sri Lankan Muslim Nationalism were seriously
damaged by those who resorted to arms to ‘show’ others without official authority
of the People. Belief, like Truth/Love is Absolute and is invisible. Once visible, it becomes relative and qualifies
to be measured by ‘outsiders’.
Before Mr Sumanthiran questions the Sri Lankan
government, he needs to ask himself why
he did not take action against LTTE when they assassinated Tamil politicians,
thereby the proctors eliminating Border force and seriously weakening our claim to National status.
No comments:
Post a Comment