Building Religious Harmony - Pilot Project, 2014

 

In view of the growing tension in the country due to the radical acts of extreme religious groups, through promoting and perpetrating violence against minority religious groups while the authorities remained inactive, as seen in the Aluthgama incidents in June 2014, SAPRI decided to commence             a programme on Building Religious Harmony without delay.

 Therefore, using its own resources, SAPRI initiated a pilot project in three different districts, to promote inter-religious unity and create an awareness of its necessity, through a process of awareness raising and capacity           building.

 The project was conducted in Attanagalla, Negombo and Kurunegala, having different religious groups; varying degrees of political interest; and diverse employment and economic patterns.

 While Attanagalla is predominantly an agricultural and industrial area, it has a politically sensitized         population due to it having been the home of two former Prime Ministers, i.e. the late Hon. SWRD Bandaranaike and the late Hon. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. It is also the home of the country's first woman President, H.E. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The majority of the    people are Buddhists while there is a presence of Muslims, Hindus and Christians.

Negombo has a majority of Catholics with Muslims comprising the second largest religious group  and Buddhists the third. This has been a strong Catholic area and is considered the centre of catholic cultural activity in the country. Fishing is the main occupation as well as tourism which is a  key source of income in Negombo.

Agriculture plays an important role in Kurunegala's economy. The area also has the presence of a  large number of Defence Services personnel who were involved in the war against the LTTE, as such the people are highly motivated politically. There is a considerable segment of professionals          visible as well. Buddhists comprise the larger percentage of the population while other religious  groups too are present in smaller numbers. 

Negombo and Kurunegala have been recognized as having the potential to be locations for religious disturbances.

The very first capacity building workshop on Religious Harmony was organized and hosted by SAPRI in Attanagalla in August 2014. Addressing the well attended event, SAPRI Chair, President         Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, focused on the necessity to initiate efforts to build tolerance in society in view of the rapidly deteriorating peace and harmony due to religious disturbances. She expressed the hope that the workshop would not only lead to a change in mindsets and attitudes of the participants but also that the participants would take the lead in disseminating the message of harmony in their communities.

The Attanagalla workshop had the participation of senior Buddhist, Hindu, Islam and Christian religious leaders, professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, school principals, school teachers,  private sector members and other multi-stakeholders, with a gender and youth balance.

SAPRI selected Negombo as the venue for the next workshop held the following month, in September  2014, which also had the participation of multi-religious clergy, community leaders and  multi-stakeholders. Negombo being a predominantly Catholic area, the majority of the participants   were Catholics. There was a significant presence of Muslims too and Hindus and Buddhists were attending in somewhat smaller numbers.

The third capacity building workshop on Building Religious Harmony was held in Kurunegala at the Bishop Lakshman Wickramasinghe Memorial Centre. Active participation by youth, both male  and female was significant on this occasion, while the usual attendance of religious and community  leaders, professionals, the private sector and multi-stake holders, both women and men contributed  to a lively one day workshop.

At the end of the capacity building workshops of the pilot project conducted in Attanagalla, Negombo and Kurunegala, it was encouraging to have comments and observations from participants who considered the exercise a great learning experience and an exposure to messages of equality and harmony, similarly articulated in all religions. While recognising the necessity for          peaceful co-existence to achieve economic development, they emphasized the need to expand the programme to other districts and pledged to carry it forward in their own communities, work places  and schools.

The demonstration of acceptance of the project by the people and their encouraging reaction to efforts of a multi-religious nature, together with the positive vibrations the project generated, gave      confidence to SAPRI to continue with the work related to Building Religious Harmony more widely and deeply, across the country.

This resulted in the conduct of 38 capacity building workshops subsequently, in nine areas in different districts, in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

 

* * * * * * * * *

BUILDING RELIGIOUS HARMONY - PROJECT LOCATIONS AND PARTICIPANTS' PROFILES

Locations Chosen for the Project

SAPRI chose its target locations from the areas where religious tensions were known to have increased      in        the past decade while giving due consideration to the potential for future outbreak of hostilities.

Profile of participants

• Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Catholic & Christian clergy
• Political leaders & political activists of all political parties, with a religious and gender        balance          
• Community leaders and the grassroots level representing the different religions, with a gender  and youth  balance
• Multi-stakeholders comprising government representatives, the civil society, private sector and professionals of different religions with a gender and youth balance 

                               

Remembering Aluthgama 2014 after 2 Years: Equality, Social Justice and a New Constitutional Order

                                                                                

                                                Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga                                                                                                delivering the keynote adddress

It was a significant moment for the South Asia Policy and Research Institute (SAPRI) to participate in the Panel Discussion on “Remembering Aluthgama 2014: Equality, Social Justice and a new Constitutional Order”, in August 2016, to mark the second anniversary of the anti-Muslim violence in June 2014, in and around Aluthgama. It is these incidents of religious violence and hate speech as seen culminating with the Aluthgama incidents that urged SAPRI to commence an interfaith dialogue in an effort to build Religious Harmony in the country, with the first capacity building session taking place in Attanagalla in Gampaha District on August 2^nd2014.

The Law & Society Trust (LST), together with the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), led the Panel Discussion on,“Remembering Aluthgama 2014”. The Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies(BCIS) hosted the event. Former President  Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

The Panel Discussion was conducted by reflecting on the local and national ramifications of religious intolerance and the significance of constitutional reforms and transitional justice processes as a solution.The Discussion referred to the series of events that led to the culmination of Sinhala -Muslim ethnic unrest in Aluthgama, and reviewed its socio-political aftermath. 

The first panel comprising Dr.Farzana Haniffa, from the University of Colombo; Ms. Darisha Bastians, Journalist; and Mr. A.R.M. Badiuddeen from Aluthgama;, focused on the conflict areas, highlighting the aspects that need addressing and placing them in relation to wider claims for justice, equality and inclusivity.

Building on this, the second panel with Prof. Savitri Goonesekere former Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya of the Open University of Sri Lanka and Ms. Wije Nagaraj as panelists, reflected on some of the challenges and prospects in relation to the realization of justice, minority rights and formal and substantive equality through the on-going constitutional reforms and transitional justice processes.

The Panel Discussion, not only had contributions of prominent academics, media representatives, the civil society and minority community leaders but also, activists, politicians, diplomats as well as legal personalities, who voiced their opinions regarding the Aluthgama incidents and their aftermath.

Former President Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, made the keynote speech on this occasion. Addressing the gathering, Madam Kumaratunga emphasized the importance of initiating a societal change to address religious and ethnic tensions. “We need to change the hearts and minds of people. It is of paramount importance to make people accept the necessity to live in harmony with each other, by accepting and celebrating diversity rather than rejecting it. Sri Lanka has so far failed to achieve harmony because the leaders were afraid to speak to the people on the need for harmony for a better society”.Madam Kumaratunga said.

The unrest between Sinhala and Muslim factions in Aluthgama took place in June 2014, which resulted in several deaths and destruction of property belonging to both Muslim and Sinhala communities.

The occasion of the panel discussion also provided the opportunity for the formal launching of the publication, “Where have all the neighbours gone? Aluthgama Riots and its aftermath: A Fact Finding Mission to Aluthgama, DhargaTown, Velipanna and Beruwela”,an initiative of the Law & Society Trust.

 

 

 

SAPRI's Program on Building Religious Harmony at Policy, Advocacy and Grassroots Level- 2013

 Introduction

Succeeding a prolonged ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, the transitional period has been challenging due to a variety of reasons. Incidents of hate and violence related to religion have been significant as they pose a serious threat to the harmonious coexistence of the society. Extremist and radical groups have been harassing minority religious communities and executing physical attacks on places of worship, property and even commercial establishments. Hostile rumors critical of minority religions spread through the use of social media caused a mindset change particularly in   the youth who frequented the social media.

Therefore it became imperative to encourage and build pluralistic values among the citizens in order to strengthen the ongoing ethnic reconciliation efforts targeting the preemption of reversal   to the former state of violence which prevailed prior to 2009. It became essential therefore, to create awareness among the people,  of the importance of safeguarding religious harmony and through a process of capacity building, encourage the society to co-exist peacefully, as a conflict free society is essential for the development of a country.

Background: SAPRI's Initiative on Building Religious Harmony 

Given the hostility in the country due to religious intolerance, SAPRI, in 2013, decided to embark              on a process to build religious harmony, in conformity with its Conflict and Peace Building theme. Thus, SAPRI became one of the first organizations in the country to commence an initiative on Building Religious Harmony.

 Senior members of the Clergy of the main religions of Sri Lanka, academics, professionals, the legal community and the civil society were invited by SAPRI to conduct a study to ascertain the challenges to religious harmony in the country and suggest measures to address them. The study group, named the Forum for Inter-Faith and Dialogue (FIFAD) began an intense dialogue for this purpose from June 2013. A colloquium was held in Colombo in early January 2014 with the participation of eminent experts from the South Asia region and beyond on “Challenges to Pluralism in South Asia”, to give an impetus to the FIFAD process.

Following the study, on  January 28th,2014, SAPRI launched a publication on “Building Religious Harmony “with the patronage of leading religious leaders and non clergy from all walks of life.

An outstanding feature on this occasion was Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Catholic and Christian religious leaders converged together on one platform conveying the message of unity.

This process prepared the ground for SAPR's grassroots program to build Religious Harmony in the following years. To commence the program, SAPRI designed a project on building religious harmony and planned for   its implementation through policy making, advocacy, and awareness creating at grassroots level.

Colloquium on ‘Challenges to Pluralism in South Asia'- January 2014

 

Colloquium on ‘Challenges to Pluralism in South Asia’

7th January 2014, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Organized by the South Asia Policy & Research Institute (SAPRI)

            Session Abstract

The resurgence of acts of religious intolerance in South Asia with increased intensity and numbers was a matter of grave concern, as such incidents posed a serious threat to the peaceful co-existence among communities in plural societies in the countries of the region. These situations of religious intolerance inevitably lead to the undermining of social cohesion while creating challenges to economic progress and political stability.

Recognizing the interfaith dialogue that South Asia Policy & Research Institute (SAPRI) had already initiated in Sri Lanka to conduct a study of this issue as a positive measure, partners of SAPRI in the other South Asian countries joined together with SAPRI in a Colloquium in Colombo, to seek similar processes to be implemented in their respective countries.

The Colloquium on the one hand was intended to stimulate the series of SAPRI’s activities on building religious harmony, while on the other, to create awareness in the region of the necessity to address religious intolerance through identifying the root causes and formulating recommendations to mitigate/eliminate them.

The Colloquium therefore endeavored to understand the causes leading to religious intolerance and evolve means towards alleviating the issue, by identifying best practices and measures that can be engaged in. The objective of the process was to create secular and plural societies in the region.

Methodology

The Colloquium comprised two working sessions; Session 1 on Religion and Politics in South Asia was moderated by Dr.  Deepika Udagama, Senior Lecturer, University of Peradeniya while Dr. Savitri Goonesekere moderated Session 2 on Secularism on Trial in South Asia.

Prof. Rajeev Bhargava from India and Prof. Radhika Coomaraswamy from Sri Lanka presented papers to Session 1 and Ms. Asma Jahangir from Pakistan and Dr. Christophe Jaffrelot, a French academic focusing on South Asia contributed to Session 2.

With the objective of eliciting a wide range of views, suggestions and recommendations, each session had a discussion among the panelists, followed by interaction between panelists and the audience through a Question & Answer session.

 

Highlights of the Speeches

RELIGION AND POLITICS IN SOUTH ASIA

Secularism after Western Hegemony

Rajeev Bhargava

·     Secularism entails, it was assumed, that religion ought to be a private matter.  Defenders believed that it was a worthy ideal.  Opponents, that it was undesirable, unworkable in the cultural context of India or both.

·     So  when institutionally secure secularism was born – this, as I mentioned, didn’t really  occur  this  20th century – it meant  deconfessionalization  in single-religion societies and  involved a further  weakening of ties of the state with the church. 

·     Fostering better quality of social relations with an emancipatory agenda, to not only respect all religions and philosophies but to protect individuals of the oppressive features of their own religions or religious communities – or to put it differently, to confront and fight both inter-religious and intra-religious domination, simultaneously.

·      Substantive secularization of European societies has brought about the extensive secularization of European states; regardless of their religious affiliation, citizens have a large basket of civil and political rights unheard of in religion-centred states, past or present.

 Exploring Spirituality while Limiting Religion in the Public Space

Radhika Coomaraswamy

•          The question of religion and politics is related to the greater issue of pluralism and the way a state and society deal with diversity.
•        The nature of religion is not static whether at the local or national level. It evolves over time.  … Any institutional arrangement for religion in the realm of politics today should not entrench present forms of religion and pre-empt the possibility of change in the nature and other expression of spirituality in the future
•          Religion should as far as possible remain in the private sphere
•       The only institutional structure in the public sphere that should be accepted is a procedural mechanism for conflict resolution, or interfaith dialogue and consultation for reconciliation… This should be done through education, the media and social networks. In this the role of the state and political leadership is key

SECULARISM ON TRIAL IN SOUTH ASIA

Presentation of Asma Jahangir 

•  Pluralism, rather than undermine that Pluralism?  That is why Secularism is on trial in South Asia.  Pluralism does exist in this region…..The question is how do we begin to respect that   
• …the State must remain neutral. It must have a nondiscriminatory status towards people and people belonging to different religions. 
•          More importantly, I think that this is the time to ask that impunity be ended to violence that is perpetuated in the name of religion! 
•      Religious intolerance and religious extremism also impinge upon economic prosperity….
•         It is a myth that if you talk about religious minorities that the majority will stop voting for you, because the ordinary majority person does not like oppression, does not  like cruelty.
•          ….. education of pluralist values is key and that must be introduced in every school and in every college.
•          We have to build partnerships… in South Asia.  This is such a big disease that only a larger partnership can challenge.        

Indian Secularism and its Challenges

Christophe Jaffrelot 

•       After India’s independence in 1947, secularism became so well established there that the adjective “secular” was finally enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution in 1976.
•         Indian secularism thus allows – even implies – the presence of religions in the public sphere where the state treats them equally without committing itself to any form of equidistance; freedom of conscience, expression and worship being individual as much as collective rights.
•          Yet, the Hindu nationalists were the first to dispute Indian secularism, to such a point that Nehru viewed them as his main enemies….
•          After the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid, a 16th-century mosque located in Ayodhya ……., it took the Commission of Inquiry in charge of assigning responsibility for the event 17 years to hand in its report.
•           The erosion of secularism in India can first be explained by the action of Hindu nationalist political entrepreneurs whose aim it is to turn the majority community into a vote bank. They have been working toward this explicitly at least since 1979…

Colloquium  Concluding speech 

Clem McCartney 

·         The Colloquium has stimulated a discussion on alternative discourses, such public discussions engaging a wide range of people to explore issues together are important

·         SAPRI will work not only at a national level, but also at district and community levels. The need for the involvement of people at local and district levels is imperative as real issues are faced at those levels and the way problems are perceived by those people

·         To identify issues in order to respond positively and appropriately to them, in a continuous manner

·         Shared Societies, where everyone feels they actually belong to their society; they are respected and can find fulfillment; can be focused on during the process of building harmony

·         Divided societies are not economically successful; they do not take in the talents and full potential of everyone and every group in society

·         States and judiciaries need to uphold the rule of law. Is it implemented without bias and discrimination? In a pluralist society the state will treat all the people equally

·         It is necessary to recognize that there are different religions within societies with different structures and the observances. It is important to learn and understand the different aspects of other religions as it helps the process of dealing with people observing different religions

·         Religion has a capacity to mobilize people. Religion binds people together in a group and those groups can be mobilized to initiate movements and conduct various activities

·         The relationship between political leaders and religion needs to be taken into consideration. Do political leaders hijack religion or are they being hijacked by religion? 

·         In Sri Lanka, is this a post-war phenomenon? With the end of the war have the people found means of adapting to the change? Some people appear to have resorted to religious fundamentalism

·         SAPRI plans to make progress by engaging with the people. Issues require to be discussed by people through dialogue, by exploring and learning from each other. This will lead to their playing a full role in the society.

Media Coverage on the Colloquium

SAPRI brings eminent international panel for colloquium on ‘Challenges to Pluralism in South Asia’
Financial Times - Sri Lanka

Challenges to pluralism in South Asia

Financial Times - Sri Lanka

KUMARATUNGA AND THE SHARED SOCIETIES PROJECT ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES TO PLURALISM IN SOUTH ASIA
Club de Madrid News