Sri Lanka’s apex body of Islamic scholars, All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), urged Muslims to avoid visits to the central district that contains Kandy on Sunday. In recent years, Buddhist hardliners, led by BBS, have stoked hostility against Muslims. Buddhists make up about 70% of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people while Muslims account for 10%. Gnanasara, a hardline monk who is accused of inciting violence against Muslims and has been leading the campaign, and has called for as many as 10,000 Buddhist clergy to attend the meet, in an effort to “unite” Sinhala Buddhists. “We will either mold our political leaders, or we will send them home,” he said at a press conference on June 21.

Source: Pakistan Today July 06, 2019 13:18 UTC