COLOMBO – Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burka face mask and close more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the Muslim population of the minority country.
Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera said at a news conference on Friday that he had signed a paper for cabinet approval to ban the full face-covering worn by some Muslim women on the grounds of ‘national security’.
“In our early days, Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa,” he said. ‘This is a sign of religious extremism that has recently emerged. We will definitely ban it. ‘
The wearing of the burka in the majority Buddhist nation was temporarily banned in 2019 after the bombing of churches and hotels by Islamic militants that killed more than 250.
Later that year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, best known for crushing a decades-long uprising in the north of the country as secretary of defense, was elected president after promising action against extremism.
Rajapaksa is accused of widespread rights violations during the war, charges he denies.
Minister Weerasekera said the government intended to ban more than a thousand Madrassa Islamic schools which he said were in conflict with national education policy.
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“No one can open a school and teach the children what you want,” he said.
The government’s moves on burkas and schools follow an order that forced the cremation of Covid-19 dead last year – against the religious wishes of Muslims, who bury their dead. The ban was lifted earlier this year following criticism from the United States and international rights groups.