"We are too scared to tell her. I’m waiting until we’re reunited at home, she has heart disease and we don't want to risk it,” says Fayaz, who lives in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, as he hides the truth of his father Bishrul Hafi Mohammed Joonus‘s cremation from his vulnerable mother.

Fayaz, along with the rest of the Muslim minority of Sri Lanka, was left devasted when the Health Minister, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, announced that "the corpse of a person who has died or is suspected to have died, of... COVID-19 shall be cremated,” as this goes against the fundamental beliefs of Islam.

 FREEDOM OF RELIGION VS. PUBLIC INTEREST

Under Chapter II, Article 9 of the constitution of Sri Lanka, freedom of religion is a protected right, yet the authorities are being accused of violating essential Islamic burial rites. Whilst the government’s decision may seem to be in the interest of public health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised otherwise. 

The WHO has declared that both burials or cremations are permissible and under these conditions “the families' needs and social customs for funerals should be respected,” leading many to question the Sri Lankan government’s decision.

 INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY

Amnesty International has released a press statement, which urges the Sri Lankan government “to ensure that religious rites and practices are respected in line with international guidelines”. Amnesty states that the government failed to give adequate justification in its decisions, and the impacted community should have been consulted before changes to the guidelines were issued.

 In response to a similar worry over COVID-related cremations in the UK earlier this year, Naveed Anwar created a petition to “protect Muslim burial according to Islamic Law”, calling any alternative “totally unacceptable”.

The petition has more than 283,000 signatures at the time of writing. MP Naz Shah proposed an amendment to the British government’s Coronavirus Bill to ensure that the burial of a deceased individual should be “in a way that appears consistent with the person’s religion or beliefs, if known.” The proposed amendment was accepted by the government. 

In an open letter to the president titled Mr President, Please Respect The Wishes Of Muslims, Haaris Mahmud of the Colombo Telegraph has urged that a similar response be taken by Sri Lanka; “unfortunately, in the guise of fighting this deadly virus, human dignity and rights have been taking a bashing as well.”

 THE UNSETTLING RISE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA

Islamophobic sentiment in Sri Lanka has been on the increase since April 2019, when the Easter bombings killed over 250 people. Three of the suicide bombers specifically targeted churches. Authorities believed it was caused by an Islamist group called National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), with IS also claiming to have ordered the bombings. With the one-year anniversary last month, evidence of islamophobia has continued.

According to Mujibur Rahman from the United National Party, “The ban on burials is a political move, with parliamentary elections round the corner”, playing on islamophobia. 

Not only have Muslims faced public animosity in relation to the bombings, the media has accused Muslims of spreading COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, backed by the state. Public Health Inspector Upul Rohana made a comment on a Sinhalese television channel that people would be unable to celebrate the Sinhala New Year due to 3 COVID-19 patients in Muslim villages, stoking anti-Muslim sentiment. Although he later issued an apology, people have been outraged and taken to twitter to claim that “it is not an apology. Just an expression of regret if Muslims were inconvenienced.”

Being deprived of the essential rights to freedom of religion (Article 18 ECHR) and protection from discrimination (Article 14) in these unprecedented circumstances, Muslims around the world have condemned the government’s actions:

 “The sudden loss of a loved one is painful enough on its own, but being arbitrarily deprived of the right to perform our religious duties towards them doubles the trauma.”

Athena is currently an LLB student at the University of Leeds. She has a keen interest in International Law and Justice and Cyber Rights. She believes in being the change you want to see in the world and aspires to raise awareness about human rights issues worldwide. 

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