News
‘48 extremist Muslim groups active in Sri Lanka’
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Globally 72 extremist Muslim groups operated against traditional Islam believers, and of them 48 were active in Sri Lanka, a Sufi moulavi who wished to remain anonymous told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks on Wednesday.
The moulavi said that he had been under serious and continuous threats because he had been speaking out against fanatical Wahabism. The witness said that he had received higher education on Sufi Islam in India and Egypt.
He said that while Sufis were traditionally dominant in Sri Lanka, Wahabist groups, such as Tablighi Jamaat, Thowheed jamaat, Jamaat-e-Islami, Shabab, and Salafi had spread rapidly as they were well funded.
Those groups had first entered Sri Lanka after 1945, when members of extremist groups arrived from India and Pakistan. The witness said that although those groups operated under different names, they believed in Wahhabis ideology.
Wahabist groups misinterpreted the Quran, Hadith and Qiyas, the Moulavi said, adding that those who followed Wahabism had tried to silence him, using force on many occasions. “In 1991, I was assaulted by members of Tablighi Jamaat during a pilgrimage to Mecca for speaking out against Wahabists. I was stabbed, punched and kicked while I was on my way to have dinner. At that time late Alavi Moulana, trade unionist and politician, was also in Mecca. I went to a police station with him to lodge a complaint. But the Saudi police refused to accept the complaint, saying that they had received reports that I was working against them in Sri Lanka. Later, I came to know that the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) had complained against me.”
The moulavi said that on another occasion he had been abducted at Kohuwala in 2007 and kept in an undisclosed location for three days before being dumped somewhere near his house.
“I spoke to a Muslim intelligence officer and he observed me for several weeks and told me that my abductors were members of the Tabligh Jamaat. He asked me not to criticize the Wahabists,” he said.
When a commissioner asked whether a complaint had been lodged with the Police about the abduction, the witness said that they didn’t complain as extremist Muslims had more power in the country at that time. The witness said that he had been shot at when he was preaching at a Mosque in Akkaraipattu.
Members of the PCoI also questioned him on the Jamiah Naleemiah Islamic Institute, Beruwala. The witness said that Wahhabism was taught in the institution and Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the controversial Egyptian theologian, who justified suicide bombers, had visited the school.
“I also learned that NTJ leader Zahran Hashim had visited the school on three occasions,” the witness said.
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
It has been reported that Attorney at Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged links with the underworld.
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