She was perceived strongly as a Sri Lankan – the unifying attribute of our national identity. Dressed modestly as most young Sri Lankan females, and speaking the language of the masses fluently and confidently, she came across as yet another daughter of Mother Lanka quite easily.
by Bisthan Batcha
By simply being herself, the remarkable young lady who won the Quiz conducted by one of private television channels in Sri Lanka has demonstrated to the Muslim community exactly what is needed to neutralise and nullify the anti-Muslim sentiments that have gripped Sri Lankan society since 2012–sentiments that have brought out the bigotry at various levels of society – among the educated and the not-so-educated, the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy, those who-should-know-better and those who don’t, and among professionals at every level.
What made it easy for the masses to rally around her during the competition, and heap praises and accolades after her victory, was the fact that the lady successfully projected herself spontaneously as just another young SRI LANKAN teenager, bubbling with excitement as she drew closer to the prize. Her facial expressions reflected the happiness many if not most viewers would have felt at that time.
She was perceived strongly as a Sri Lankan – the unifying attribute of our national identity. Dressed modestly as most young Sri Lankan females, and speaking the language of the masses fluently and confidently, she came across as yet another daughter of Mother Lanka quite easily. Would the young lady have received the same amount of praise and adulation if she was dressed in a full face covered nikab like an Arab Muslim?
This is exactly what the Muslim community has to do if it is to counteract the growing anti-Muslim sentiment in our Motherland. They need to strengthen their image as (Muslim) Sri Lankans and not as (Sri Lankan) Muslims. This is not merely a matter of semantics, it is by far the most important first step that the community should take, towards establishing a harmonious and mutually-respectful relationship with the majority community.
In any name-label, the (stronger) noun is an identifying and unifying term, while the (weaker) adjective is a descriptive and differentiating term. If we are really concerned about strengthening our National Identity, then it is imperative that in all our verbal and written communications we refer to ourselves as ‘Sri Lankans’ first. Our identity as ‘a pluralistic, multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-religious tolerant society’ will be reinforced and strengthened around the common national attribute.
When we refer to ourselves as ‘Sri Lankan Muslims’, we are only calling attention to what differentiates us from the other communities and sustains the divisions in society. We are sending the message that we are ‘Muslims’ (noun) first and then ‘Sri Lankan’ (adjective).
If the Muslims find it difficult to give pride of place to their nationality by identifying themselves as ‘Muslim Sri Lankans’, but choose to give their nationality secondary importance by identifying themselves as ‘Sri Lankan Muslims’, can you then blame the majority community for perceiving Muslims as ‘second-class citizens’ when the Muslims themselves are guilty of doing so?
Is the moment opportune for the members of the Islamic faith to de-Arabize the Muslim community in our Motherland? Or, should we wait until we are compelled to do so like the Muslims in France, when Emmanuel Macron recently announced a law against religious “separatism” aimed at freeing Islam in France from “foreign influences”?
Seize the moment, my brothers and sisters, exemplified by the ‘Shukra Effect’ on our Sri Lankan Community.
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