Factors Affecting Ethnic Harmony between Sinhalese and Muslim Communities in Post-war Sri Lanka: A Study Based on South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

Ahamed Sarjoon Razick,Abdul Kalik Mihilar,Mohamed Anifa Mohamed Fowsar

doi:10.5539/jpl.v13n4p1

Abstract

Sri Lanka is home to multi-cultural communities. It is the responsibility of the people across various religions, and communities to develop and maintain harmony with each other. Historically, the Sri Lankan Muslims and Sinhala Buddhists had an excellent relationship. Recently, the ethnic harmony between these two communities has been strained reflecting the fault lines running in a current social structure which lead to ethnic tensions, social animosities, restlessness, and disharmony among communities, amidst diverging political ideologies. Hence, this study focuses on identifying the root causes that wreck the harmony and social stability of the country. Hundred and fifty students from the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka were randomly selected to respond for a structured questionnaire, and fifteen formal interviews with students were also conducted to validate the questionnaire data. The secondary data were collected from various sources of information. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and basic statistical analytic techniques, and findings of the study were presented in the form of table and text. This study underlines the array of reasons, and root causes that prevent the harmony among Sinhala Buddhists and Muslim communities, such as ethnic differences, spreading hatred via social media, extremism that uses religion to forward their extremist ideologies. This study concludes with the argument that the government and people who strive for social harmony should act with commitment and dedication in the efforts to build harmony among religious communities in post-war Sri Lanka.

Highlights

The national security of any country depends on its internal peaceful co-existence of multiple ethnicities and their ability to abide by peace and reconcile to maintain the equilibrium
A tiny island, Sri Lanka is known as home for some of the major ethnic groups such as Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils, Burghers and Malays
The ethnic harmony after the civil war was threatened by the emergence of nationalist social forces severely hampering hopes of the revival

Summary

Introduction

The national security of any country depends on its internal peaceful co-existence of multiple ethnicities and their ability to abide by peace and reconcile to maintain the equilibrium. A tiny island, Sri Lanka is known as home for some of the major ethnic groups such as Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils, Burghers and Malays. The people are further categorized within religions such as Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Based on their archaeological evidence, these ethnic groups have a long history together co-existing among each other despite many unpleasant and hostile events flaring up often (Razick, 2015). Sri Lanka historically had a good track record of maintaining social equilibrium and ethnic harmony between the Sinhalese Buddhists and Muslims. The Muslims too had repaid the faith and trust by uniting with other ethnic groups against the colonial masters to liberate the country and protect its sovereignty and integrity (Ali, 2014)

Methods

Results

Conclusion