Identity, political perspectives and communal relations of Muslim minority of Sri Lanka: an analytical survey on contemporary discourse

Abstract

This paper reviews key findings of existing scholarship about the question of identity, political thinking, and inter-community relationships of the Muslim minority in Sri Lanka. By doing so, this review aims to explore the broader dynamics of the socio-political and religious life of the community. As such, the findings show that the increasing religious consciousness and puritanism of contemporary Muslim societies emerged as a response to the general concern of preserving identity that existed among all communities in the colonial and post-colonial political contexts. Furthermore, those identity concerns had shaped the Muslim community’s political strategy and demand to a greater extent. The irony is that their identity concerns helped to fracture the community from within more than to confront other communities in the long run. In addition to that, the findings of contemporary works further highlight that the increasing religious visibility of the Muslim community has helped to trigger anti-Muslim sentiments in the country. Yet, the exclusive ethnic-nationalisms and global Islamophobic tendencies have also played a vital role in making the phenomenon. Finally. this survey finds that current scholarship on the Sri Lankan Muslims minority still did not make any notable scholarly intervention in understanding civil society activism of Sri Lankan Muslims. Moreover, it finds a lack of available comparative studies between Muslims and other communities in terms of identity-making, political strategy, and inter-community relationships.