Writer and Muslim Convert Detained For Offending Buddhists In Sri Lanka

I had always been under the impression that Buddhists were one of the more rational least fundamentalist adherents of any world religion. With the "zen" of Buddhism, they usually seem cool-headed and at peace. However, it appears that Buddhism too has its dark side and is joining the ranks of other mainstream religions in terms of religious extremism, with intolerance and oversensitivity as two of its very nasty side effects.

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We know that Islam has no tolerance for apostasy, where death is proscribed; however I had no idea that the Buddhists, at least those in Sri Lanka, also have a very negative attitude towards apostates. One expat Sri Lankan writer, Sarah Malini Perera, is the latest victim of religious, fundamentalist excess- Buddhist, this time.

Born in Sri Lanka a Buddhist, 38--year-old Perera moved to Bahrain in 1985 and switched religions to Islam (along with the rest of her family)in 1999. In an interesting twist, while vacationing in Sri Lanka last week, she was arrested for having written 2 books about her conversion from Buddhism to Islam that have been deemed offensive to Sinhalese Buddhists. Ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists make up approximately 70% of the Sri Lankan population, and their nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party has great influence over the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Even though freedom of religion is part of the Sri Lankan constitution, the JHU has been attempting for six years to legally ban religious conversion. Thankfully, they obviously have not succeeded, yet. But one of the major problems is that along with freedom of religion, the constitution also says it “shall give Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the state to protect and foster” the religion.

Perera's arrest isn't the only recent controversy. A Senegalese American singer, Akon, was denied a visa to perform in Colombo in April after Buddhist fundamentalist activists protested over one of Akon's music videos that shows women dancing in bikinis by a pool. But the protest didn't seem to be over the fact that the song is entitled "sexy Bitch", or that there were scantily clad women in the video, but the fact that there was a statue of Buddha in the background.

But people are becoming increasingly concerned over the increasing fundamentalism of Buddhist nationalists.

“Perhaps as a nation, we have reached the stage where the kind of absurd protests that take place in the name of Buddhism need to be critically analysed,” said an editorial yesterday in the Sunday Leader, a pro-opposition newspaper.

“In short, the fundamentalist attitude shown by some has received state approval.” The Sunday Leader quoted a police spokesman saying that the writer had been detained on the orders of the Defence Ministry, which is controlled by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary who is also the President’s brother.

Though officials have refused to divulge the exact nature of her offense, her family has said she was arrested while trying to ship her books on conversion "From Darkness To Light" and "Questions and Answers". Apparently she had them printed there, which seems rather odd to. Then again, perhaps it was cheaper in Sri Lanka than in Bahrain.

There has been an outcry as a result of her arrest, and rightfully so.

Dr Abdulla Al Deerazi, the secretary-general of the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), urged Sri Lankan authorities to free Ms Perera.

“Secondly, there is something called freedom of opinion, if it’s not offending any religion,” he was quoted as saying on the BHRS web site.

“I believe the books written by Ms Perera are not against Buddhism.’’

I agree with Al Deerazi, Perera should be freed. Everyone has the right to convert, just as they have the right to be critical of any religion they please. But I find his second comment disingenuous and hypocritical. First of all, who is to say what is or isn't offensive to an individual, and there's certainly no freedom of opinion in Islam. People take offense at the slightest thing. For freedom of opinion to truly be free, there must be no conditions or preconditions. People choose to be offended, and it is up to them to let things slide. As we used to say as kids: "sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Too bad adults can't remember to do the same thing.