Well two weeks after the attacks on churches and Hotels in Sri Lanka, representatives of the Central Council of Muslims for solidarity visit there. Secretary-General Abdassamad El Yazidi calls for more dialogue between the religions.
DW: Mr Yazidi, have you visited the three churches in which, on Easter Sunday in attacks by Islamist terrorists, many Christians died. What is your impression?
Abdassamad El Yazidi: We have seen particularly in Colombo, such as the reconstruction of the Church goes on. And we got to talking with believers and priests. It was not for us, the Central Council of Muslims, it is very important to condemn the attack wave of the past weeks and months, but to give an adequate answer to that. And the answer to that can only mean one thing: the meeting. Even more meeting, more dialogue, more Cohesion. These people are enemies trying to a split in the society. You want to stir up resentments between religions. We have to stand in the way. And the visit to the victims is seen as a sign of solidarity, of brotherhood and mercy.
ZMD-Secretary-General El Yazidi (l.) and the scholar of Islam Hibaoui (R) with a Catholic priest in Colombo
What moves you?
The great suffering – the shock, the people moved. It gave Sri Lanka a good coexistence between the different religious communities. The unprecedented bloody attack has ripped the people from this harmonious with each other. You can feel it. The people are unsettled, anxious. The more important it is that we have taken the long way to us, to come into the conversation and the people respect and empathy.
How did their solidarity visit to the Church representatives?
The conversations with the clergy, showed us the very great uncertainty and fear. Nevertheless, we have felt gratitude for the partners, the representatives of the churches. Gratitude and satisfaction about the Initiative of the Central Council of Muslims. It is simply more important than ever to strengthen the bridges of Dialogue and not cancel.
The Church in Negombo, to the Terror on Easter Sunday. Here alone killed over a hundred people
After the weekend, there were reports of violent clashes between Muslims and Christians in the city of Negombo. Alone there at Easter, more than a hundred people had been killed. They fear violent tensions between the religions?
Yes, unfortunately, tensions are present. And there are in all groups of extremists that use these events to sow more hatred and violence in the society. Only an Alliance of the religion of all sensible people in communities oppose it. The positive is that, until now, both the policy as well as by representatives of the various religions calls for prudence and for the purposes of the Act against hatred, violence and Terror. Nevertheless, The sources of conflict are everywhere. Where these terrorist strikes, are potential flashpoints for further violence and other excesses.
How do the Muslims there with the Situation?
We have been careful not to stress the Joint. The Muslims are frightened himself very much. Because there is certainly anger on the streets. We were asked not to wear Islamic looking clothes – from fear of new uncertainty or acts of revenge. Currently, the mosque communities in Colombo and elsewhere are hardly used. The last Friday prayers were clearly empty. Now Ramadan is. There was also here in the country in recent years, great evening events for Iftar, the breaking of the fast. The was restricted for security reasons, because you are afraid that such events could extremists to put on and there are new acts of violence.
The Yazidi (2. v. li.) with Buddhist and Muslim religious representatives
What is your impression: How important is such a gesture of solidarity, such as your visit?
Such a visit has its effect – both in the public perception, as well as a Statement of the respective Communities. Not infrequently, people’s behavior only your own faith brothers and sisters belonging or solidarity. Then the will be a violence against the other, and weighed. Our journey shall be a sign to the inside and the outside, that every human life of equal worth and violence is never and in no way can be accepted. Such actions should be the rule. The haters, terrorists, and splitters need to notice that you will trigger counter-reactions. Love, respect, tolerance are the weapon of the Reasonable. This should make school a place where all the boundaries of Religion.
Your trip falls in the month of Ramadan. What is the significance of that for you?
Abdassamad El Yazidi’s since 2016, the Secretary-General of the Central Council of Muslims
Ramadan is the month of mercy, of Contemplation. Of the month, the people pay more than in other months of the grant to other people, to the service of other people. This is also why we travelled at the beginning of this month here. And we want to correct the image that fasting leads to inefficiencies and less actions. The opposite is the case. Ramadan is also the month of the performance and of togetherness. The previous history of our journey shows, that the blessings of the Ramadan will lead this trip to success.
Abdassamad El Yazidi, Secretary General of the Central Council of Muslims (ZMD), and the tübingen-based Islamic scholar Abdelmalek Hibaoui from the ZMD-science Committee inside up Friday in Sri Lanka. After Meeting with Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, a meeting with the bishops ‘ conference, to Thursday in addition to a Meeting with the Minister of Christian religious Affairs of Sri Lanka, John A. E. Amaratunga, yet.
The Interview was conducted by Christoph Strack.