During its civil war, fought against separatists from the Tamil minority, Sinhalese felt outnumbered because of the large Tamil community in nearby India. More recently, Sinhalese Buddhists have seen Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority as vanguards of a global Muslim horde. Last year, Sinhalese fears that Muslims were seeking to outbreed and replace them culminated in riots. Conspiracies about foreign influence or minority birthrates are often driven by fears of a much more real change: a loss of status. In response, more Catholics joined violent republican factions, seemingly validating Protestants’ worst fears.

Source: International New York Times April 30, 2019 18:00 UTC