Buddhists and Muslims interaction in post-war context of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a small pluralistic state. This is a multi-racial social environment, members of all communities lived in peace and harmony with social integration with one another. Each community practiced and its own religious cultural values. This situation has changed aftermath of the government’s victory in the war (1983-2009) against the Liberation Tigers Tamil Elam (LTTE). Now there is a series tense between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist Nationalist Groups (BNGs) have been questioned the social and religious fabric of the Muslims, and their religious obligations with provocations. In this background, the study attempts to explore the religious interaction between Muslims and Buddhists in Sri Lanka. This is a study that has employed mixed methods such as qualitative as well as quantitative techniques In order to measure the quality of interaction, some indicators such as religious understandings, mixed interaction, sharing work place, sharing leisure time together. The questionnaire survey used as a key tool, and also the semistructured interview conducted among the Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka. The findings of the study shows that the relationship between the two communities appears to be healthy. However, the few notable features have exacerbated the tension between the two communities. Although the maintain a close relationships with their neighbours, participants sometimes refrains from engaging in family interaction, lack of knowledge or awareness of other religions and also both communities have no appetite or inclination to learn other religions, Lack of religions understanding is a threat to maintaining a harmonious relationship in the workplace, some of the participants have a reactionary mind-set and a tendency to be religiously esteemed, which has led to scepticism and marginalization of people of other faiths. As this situation continues to escalate, it is likely that in the future the two communities will clash and a state of war will develop, and the expectation of some fundamentalist movements may be fulfilled