All Muslim Parliamentarians, including the government and the opposition, have requested the Minister of Religious Affairs, Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, to intervene for the immediate release of the unlawfully detained consignment of the Holy Qur’an (Tamil translation) by the Sri Lanka Customs, which they said violated Fundamental Rights.
The request has been made via a letter to the Minister of Religious Affairs, signed by all Muslim Members of Parliament, including the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Muneer Mulaffer.
In the letter, they said a consignment of Holy Qur’an copies (Container No. FSCU 8233306) was unlawfully detained by the Sri Lanka Customs on 16th May 2024, following the interference of the former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, purporting to act on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka.
The said consignment of the Holy Qur’an (Tamil Translation) was printed by the King Fahd Glorious Qur’an Printing Complex of Saudi Arabia, the world’s most recognized authority for Qur’anic publications. All previous consignments of the Holy Qur’an in Tamil, gifted through the same authority, have been duly cleared by the Sri Lankan Customs and other relevant state institutions without restraint or objection. Identical copies are currently available in numerous Sri Lankan Muslim homes and widely available on the digital platform and the mobile Apps.
The continuous detention of the Holy Quran wrongfully and unlawfully is in violation of and infringement of the fundamental rights of Sri Lankan Muslims guaranteed under Chapter III of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, they pointed out.
The Muslim MPs further said on all previous occasions the identical Holy Quran (in Tamil) have been cleared by the Customs without any unlawful or wrongful restraint, detention or obstruction and the continued detention from 16th May 2024, only in respect of the principal religious text of Islam, with no such or similar restriction on any of the texts of the other religions constitute an arbitrary and irrational denial of equality before the law, equal protection of the law and discrimination on the grounds of ‘religion’ and ‘language’.
Furthermore, the Holy Quran in Arabic has hitherto always been permitted, while the Holy Quran in Tamil has been discriminated against this time in violation of the Constitution, the MPs revealed.
The Muslim MPs strongly urged the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately release the detained consignment of the Holy Qur’an (Tamil Translation) and dissolve the ad-hoc review committee arbitrarily appointed to review Islamic publications in a discriminatory manner. (Newswire)
