COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and close more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country’s Muslim minority.
Public security minister Sarath Weerasekera told a news conference that he had signed a paper on Friday for government approval to ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women for “national security” reasons.
“In our early days, Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa,” he said. “It is a sign of religious extremism that has emerged recently. We are definitely going to ban it. “
The wearing of the burqa was temporarily banned in the majority of the Buddhist nation in 2019 after the bombing of churches and hotels by Islamic militants that killed more than 250 people.
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 pledging to fight extremism.
Rajapaksa is charged with widespread rights violations during the war, allegations he denies.
Weerasekera said the government plans to ban more than a thousand Islamic madrassa schools that he says ignore national education policies.
“No one can open a school and teach the kids whatever you want,” he said.
The government’s moves on burqas and schools follow an order last year mandating the cremation of COVID-19 victims – against the wishes of Muslims who bury their dead.
This ban was lifted earlier this year after criticism from the United States and international rights groups.
Reporting by Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo; Written by Alasdair Pal; Editing by William Mallard