Sri Lanka to allow COVID burials for Muslims after outcry
Sri Lanka will begin giving permission for Muslims who die of COVID-19 to be buried following an outcry over the government’s decision to cremate all those who died of coronavirus.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa gave the assurance on Wednesday in response to a question from a lawmaker in Parliament.
Muslims and representatives of other faiths have protested against this rule over the past year, as it contradicts traditional Muslim religious beliefs.
The United Nations also expressed concern about the situation. The World Health Organization and Sri Lankan medical groups have said that COVID-19 victims can either be buried or cremated.
Sri-Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country, and both Buddhists and Hindus, the second largest religious group, cremate the deceased.
Muslim lawmaker Rishard Bathiudeen said while he was happy with Rajapaksa’s assurance, the government should implement it by withdrawing the compulsory cremation rule.
“Many people have been cremated before and their families are living in great agony. I am happy that they showed some compassion even at this stage, but it has to be implemented soon because people are dying every day,” said Bathiudeen.
UN special rapporteurs have twice called on Sri Lanka’s government to reconsider its policy in letters sent to authorities in January this year and last April.
In their latest note, UN experts said the practice ran contrary to the beliefs of Muslims and other minority communities in Sri Lanka, and could “foment existing prejudices, intolerance and violence”.
"Of course, we must be attentive to the serious health problems associated with the pandemic, but the measures taken in connection with COVID-19 must also respect and protect the dignity of the deceased, their cultural and religious traditions or beliefs, and their families around the world," the UN experts said in January.
Muslims make up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million people, and they have had strained relations with the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, which have been particularly tense in the years since the end of the civil war in 2009. During which radical Buddhist groups were blamed for several attacks on Muslims and places of worship.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa gave the assurance on Wednesday in response to a question from a lawmaker in Parliament.
Muslims and representatives of other faiths have protested against this rule over the past year, as it contradicts traditional Muslim religious beliefs.
The United Nations also expressed concern about the situation. The World Health Organization and Sri Lankan medical groups have said that COVID-19 victims can either be buried or cremated.
Sri-Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country, and both Buddhists and Hindus, the second largest religious group, cremate the deceased.
Muslim lawmaker Rishard Bathiudeen said while he was happy with Rajapaksa’s assurance, the government should implement it by withdrawing the compulsory cremation rule.
“Many people have been cremated before and their families are living in great agony. I am happy that they showed some compassion even at this stage, but it has to be implemented soon because people are dying every day,” said Bathiudeen.
UN special rapporteurs have twice called on Sri Lanka’s government to reconsider its policy in letters sent to authorities in January this year and last April.
In their latest note, UN experts said the practice ran contrary to the beliefs of Muslims and other minority communities in Sri Lanka, and could “foment existing prejudices, intolerance and violence”.
"Of course, we must be attentive to the serious health problems associated with the pandemic, but the measures taken in connection with COVID-19 must also respect and protect the dignity of the deceased, their cultural and religious traditions or beliefs, and their families around the world," the UN experts said in January.
Muslims make up about 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million people, and they have had strained relations with the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, which have been particularly tense in the years since the end of the civil war in 2009. During which radical Buddhist groups were blamed for several attacks on Muslims and places of worship.