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Sri Lanka: Hardline Buddhist monk jailed for anti-Islam remarks

January 12, 2025 at 2:46 pm

Two Buddhist monks are walking at the Galle Face Beach in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 31, 2024. [Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images]

A Sri Lankan court has sentenced Galagodaatte Gnanasara, a hardline Buddhist monk, to nine months in prison for insulting Islam and inciting religious hatred. The sentence handed down by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court stems from remarks made during a 2016 media conference, marking a rare conviction of a monk in the Buddhist-majority country.

Gnanasara, leader of the nationalist group Bodu Bala Sena, has faced repeated accusations of hate crimes and anti-Muslim violence. According to the Sri Lankan news website Newswire, he was also fined 1,500 Sri Lankan rupees (£4), with an additional month of imprisonment if the fine is not paid. Gnanasara has filed an appeal against the latest sentence, but his request for bail during the process was denied.

On Thursday, the court emphasised Sri Lanka’s constitutional commitment to freedom of belief for all citizens, regardless of religion. This is Gnanasara’s second prison term; in 2018, he was sentenced to six years for contempt of court and intimidation, but served only nine months after a presidential pardon by then-President Maithripala Sirisena.

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Gnanasara’s political ties remain significant. He was closely allied with former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country amid protests over Sri Lanka’s economic crisis in 2022. During Rajapaksa’s tenure, Gnanasara headed a task force on legal reforms to safeguard religious harmony, despite his controversial past.

The monk was arrested in December for his 2016 remarks while out on bail appealing a separate four-year sentence for hate speech against Muslims. His actions and recurring legal battles reflect the deeper challenges Sri Lanka faces in addressing tensions and fostering coexistence with its Muslim minority.

Sri Lanka’s Muslim community constitutes approximately 9.7 per cent of the island nation’s population, with the majority identifying as Sri Lankan Moors. This group traces its lineage to Arab traders who began settling in Sri Lanka between the 8th and 15th centuries.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has previously criticised the country over “clear manifestations of Islamophobia,” urging stronger measures to promote religious harmony.

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