The Muslims and Sri Lanka
By Kamalika Pieris
Every Non-Muslim should read this
The first wave of Muslims to arrive in Sri Lanka came
from West Asia. Therefore let us briefly look at the Muslim achievements
in West Asia. Islam originated in the Arab Peninsula, where the Prophet
Mohammed preached in 622 AD. Islamic religious teachings are held in
the Koran and the Islamic social life is guided by the Islamic Sharia
Law. The Arabs, once converted to Islam, went on an expansionist spree
which eventually swallowed up Egypt, Syria, Persia, Iraq and finally,
in 711 AD, Spain. Virtually all those countries had their own civilisations
prior to Islamisation. Persia had developed the Persian script and had
the Zoroastrian religion. But they all converted to Islam and accepted
the Arabic language. By the end of the 8th century, the Islamic empire
extended from Persia to Spain and included parts of Northern Africa
as well. There were two political centres. Firstly, Damascus (660-750
AD) and thereafter Baghdad (750-1258 AD).
Between the 8th and 12th centuries, there developed a great Islamic
civilisation, intellectually brilliant, wealthy and enterprising. This
Islamic civilisation developed an urban civilisation well before Europe,
which got there several centuries later. Cairo in Egypt, Damascus in
Syria and Baghdad in Iraq were very advanced cities with paved streets,
tiled floors, public baths, bookshops, libraries, and universities.
There developed a distinct Islamic art and architecture, which is visible
even today. There were great scholars, best known of whom is Avicenna,
of Persian origin, (980-1037 AD). His medical writings were used in
medical schools in France, Spain and Italy as late as 1650.
Western Europe owes much of its knowledge of mathematics, medicine,
astronomy and philosophy to Arabic writings. These writings preserved
Greek thought as well. The Arabic writers also functioned as a conduct
for the transmission of ideas from India and China. The Arabic scholars
formulated the oldest known trignometric tables, introduced Indian numerals,
known Arabic numerals, and compiled astronomical tables. They established
obsrvatories to study the heavens. In the field of optics and physics,
they explained phenomena such as refraction of light, and the principle
of gravity. They made significant advances in chemistry. They discovered
potash, alcohol, silver nitrate, nitric acid, sulphuric acid and mercury
chloride. They originated processes such as distillation and sublimation.
Arabic scholars made significant advances in medicine. Many drugs now
in use are of Arab origin. They established hospitals with a system
of internees. Discovered causes of certain diseases and developed correct
diagnoses of them, proposed new concepts of hygiene, made use of anesthetics
in surgery with newly innovated surgical tools and introduced the science
of dissection in anatomy. They furthered the scientific breeding of
horses and cattle, and improved upon the science of navigation. They
also developed a high degree of perfection in art of textiles, ceramics
and metallurgy. (Most of this information has been taken from references
in Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 ed. 1995).
Christian scholars were greatly impressed by Arabic scholarship. There
was considerable cultural interaction between the two groups, with much
of it taking place in the Mediterranean shoes, particularly Spain and
Sicily. It is not generally known that Arabic culture influenced French
culture as well. There are words of Arabic origin in the French language.
More importantly, voluminous Latin translations were made in the 12th
century, of major Arabic writings. These were studied successively at
the major emerging intellectual centres of Europe, such as Italy, France
and later England and Germany. It should also be noted that during this
time, Arabic had become, not only a religious language, but also the
main international language of the region. (lingua franca). It was also
the main language for scholarship.
The Arabs also expanded eastwards, towards India and China, in search
of trade. In the 9th and 10th centuries, an assortment of Persians,
Arabs, Abyssinians, all Muslims, speaking Arabic and therefore conveniently
called 'Arabs' dominated the overseas trade from Baghdad to China. The
Muslims of Sri Lanka were a part of this trade operation. There is evidence
that there were Muslim merchant settlements in Sri Lanka as early as
the 7th century. M. A. M. Shukri has used the Arabic (Kufi) inscriptions
in Sri Lanka to throw light on the origins of Sri Lanka's Muslims. He
says that the Sri Lanka Moors originally came from Aleppo, a city in
Syria. ('Sri Lanka and the Silk Road of the Sea' p181). Apparently there
is an Arabic document in the possession of one of the oldest Moor families
in Beruwela. It said that in 604 AD two sons of the Royal family of
Yemen came to Lanka, one settled in Mannar the other in Beruwela (Daily
News 25.9. 98. p 16).
Muslim settlements started in Mantai, and thereafter spread systematically
in the trading ports. Archaeological evidence, such as tomb stones,
indicate that there were Muslim settlements in 10th century, in Anuradhapura,
Trincomalee and Colombo. Thereafter, there were Muslim settlements in
the port towns along the southwestern seaboard, such as Beruwela and
Galle.
Lorna Dewaraja, in her book "The Muslims of Sri Lanka, 1000 years
of ethnic harmony 900-1915 AD" (Lanka Islamic Foundation, 1994)
has studied the situation of the Muslims in Sri Lanka, with particular
reference to the Kandyan Period. She makes several important points.
Firstly, she makes a comparison between the way Muslim settlers were
treated in Sri Lanka and the way they were treated in Burma, China and
Thailand. In Burma, Thailand and China, Muslim traders established trading
posts which eventually became permanent settlements. Every Burmese Muslim
had two names, one, Burmese and the other Arabic. For all practical
purposes, only the Burmese name was used. Further the Burmese king forbade
the slaughter of goats and fowl and forced the Muslims to listen to
Buddhist sermons. In China too, the Muslims had two names. They used
the Chinese name and spoke Chinese and used their Arabic names only
with fellow Muslims. In Thailand too, the Muslims were obliged to camouflage
their Muslim identity from hostile eyes. (Dewaraja. p 6, 13, 15). In
Sri Lanka, the Muslims had no such problems. As we all know, the Muslims
use their Arabic or Persian names very openly and proudly. Even today,
the Muslims in Kandyan areas have 2 names, a traditional Sinhala family
name denoting the person's ancestry and profession and an Arabic name.
For all practical purposes, only the Arabic name is known and used.
The Sinhala name is used only in legal documents and is useful in proving
long residence in the island and ownership of land. (Dewaraja. p 12-13).
In the latter half of the 13th century, with the decline of the Caliphate
of Baghdad, Arab commercial activity in the Indian Ocean decreased.
This trade was taken over by the Indian Muslims of Gujerat and other
Indian centres. Hindu merchants did not travel. They were based in India.
They exported their marchandise in Muslim owned vessels. Thus colonies
of Islamised Indians came up in the ports in India's south western (Malabar)
and south eastern (Coromandel) coasts right up to Bengal. Thus thriving
centres of Muslim commercial activity studded the Indian coastline.
Subsequently, colonies of such Indo-Arabs emerged along the coasts of
Sri Lanka. These settlements were described by the Dutch and British
as 'Coast Moors'. (Dewaraja p 41, 43).
The second wave of Muslims came to Sri Lanka from South India. They
were the descendants of earlier Arab traders who had settled in South
Indian ports and married local women. Thus Tamil and Malayalam came
to be written in Arabic script, and was known as Arabic Tamil. The Koran
was translated into Arabic Tamil. It was translated into Sinhala only
recently. Since it was compulsory for Muslim children to read the Koran,
they had to know Arabic Tamil. This partly explains why Muslims who
have lived for centuries in wholly Sinhala speaking areas retained Arabic
Tamil as their 'mother tongue'. Generations of Sri Lankan Tamils went
to theological institutions in Vellore to study Islamic learning. It
has also been suggested that Muslims speak Tamil because Tamil was widely
used in maritime commerce in the Indian Ocean (Dewaraja p 17).
Lorna Dewaraja points out that during the time of the Sinhala kings,
from the ancient period, right upto the Kandyan Period, there was racial
amity between the Sinhalese and the Muslims. The reason was that the
Muslim traders were economically and politically an asset to the Sri
Lankan king. The King therefore provided protection and permission for
the traders to settle in Sri Lanka (Dewaraja p 4).
"Right through from the Anuradhapura period to Kandyan times there
was a Muslim lobby operating in the Sri Lankan court. It advised the
king on overseas trade policy. They also kept the king informed of developments
abroad. The Muslim trader with his navigational skills and overseas
contacts became the secret channel of communication between the court
and the outside world" (Dewaraja p 8). The Sri Lankan kings encouraged
the Muslims to maintain their links with the Islamic world as this was
mutually beneficial. In the 13th century, Al Haj Aby Uthman was sent
by the Sri Lankan king, Bhuvanekabahu I to the Mamluk Court of Egypt
to negotiate direct trade. They were sent on important and confidential
missions to South India right up to Kandyan times. The Muslims of Sri
Lanka spoke Tamil and other South Indian languages and some even spoke
Portuguese (p 8, 16).
Dewaraja says that when the Portuguese first appeared off the shores
of Sri Lanka, the Muslims warned the king, sangha, nobles and the people
of the potential threat to the country's soveriegnty. When the Portuguese
tried to gain a foothold in Colombo, the Muslims provided firearms,
fought side by side with the Sinhalese and even used their influence
with South Indian powers to get military asistance to Sinhalese rulers.
Through the intervention of the Muslims, the Zamorin of Calicut sent
three distinguished Moors of Cochin with forces to help Mayadunne (p
50).
When the Dutch appeared and persecuted the Muslims in their coastal
settlements, the Muslims ran to the Kandyan Kingdom. Senerat (1604-1635)
and Rajasimha II (1635-1687) settled these Muslims in the Eastern coast.
Senerat settled large numbers of Tamils and Muslims in Dighavapi area
of Batticaloa to revive the paddy cultivation. There were roads leading
from Kandy to Batticaloa passing through Minipe and Vellassa (p 127).
Dewaraja points out that it is clear from the writings of Pybus that
even in 1762 the authority of the King of Kandy was strongly felt in
areas around Trincomalee even among his Muslim and Tamil subjects. It
is necessary for us to bear in mind that the Kandyan Kings saw themselves
as kings of the whole country. Through Kottiyar in Trincomalee, Batticaloa,
Kalpitiya and Puttalam they traded with India, and the Muslims and Chetties
acted as the middlemen. From Kottiyar (Trincomalee) to Kandy there was
a land route following the Mahaweli. Muslims had pack oxen and caravans
and travelled this rout. The resting places on this route became the
nucleus of later Muslim settlements (Dewaraja p 91, 125, 126).
Muslims were made welcome in the Kandyan Kingdom. They were integrated
into Kandyan society primarily by giving them duties which related to
the King's administration. They were made a part of the Madige Badda
or Transport Department. They were allowed to trade in arecanut, which
was a royal monopoly. The Muslims from Uva, which was near the salterns,
had to bring salt as part of their obligatory service (Dewaraja p 100-101).
In addition to this, select Muslims were involved in the Maligawa rituals
and were given Maligagam lands. Their duties included salt, hevisi,
silversmith (acari) also the higher function of kariya karavanarala.
Therefore the Muslims were involved however minimally in the administrative
and ritual aspects of the Dalada Maligawa as well (Dewaraja. p 107-8,
110). In addition, Muslims also functioned as weavers, tailors, barbers,
and lapidarists (p 137-138).
Muslims also functioned as physicians, and presumably they practised
Unani medicine. Dewaraja states that at this time, Unani had been practised
in its pure form in towns like Colombo, Galle and Beruwela (p 128).
A Muslim physician named Sulaiman Kuttiya who was practising in Galle
was invited to the Kandyan court, taken into royal service and given
land near Gampola. His descendants who lived till 1874 carried the prefix
"Galle Vedaralala" (p 91). The most renowned of these Muslim
physicians were the Gopala Moors of Gataberiya in the Kegalle District.
The family traces its pedigree to a physician from Islamic Spain, whose
descendants migrated to the Sind in Northern India, from where they
were ordered to come to Sri Lanka to attend on King Parakramabahu II
of Dambadeniya (1236-1270) (p 128). The Gopala descendants continued
to function as physicians to the king, during reigns of Rajadirajasinghe
(1782-1798) and Srivickrama Rajasinghe. (1798-1815). The Dutch also
appointed two Muslims as local physicians in their hospitals, and one
of them, Mira Lebbe Mestriar was thereafter appointed as Native Superintendent
of the Medical Department in 1806 by the British (p 133).
Another important function of he Muslims in the Kandyan Court, was
that they acted as envoys to the King. One Muslim envoy had been sent
to the Nawab of Carnatic. Another had been sent to Pondicherry soliciting
French assistance against the Dutch, in 1765. The King also made use
of his Muslim subjects to keep abreast of developments outside his kingdom.
The Muslims were useful in this respect because of their trade links
and knowledge of languages (p 135-136).
The Muslims were received favourably in the Kandyan Kingdom, as far
as can be seen. Robert Knox says that charitable Sinhala people giftd
land to Muslims to live (Dewaraja p 115). Muslims adopted the outward
appearance and dress and manners of the Sinhalese. Even James Cordiner
couldnot see the difference (p 120). In Galagedara there are yet two
villages occupied only by Muslims, surrounded by Sinhala villages. These
two villages had Masjids (p 104). Masjids were built on lands donated
by the king. Present Katupalliya and Meera Makkam Masjid in Kandy were
built on land gifted by the king. The architcture of the Katupalliya
is Kandyan. (p114-115). Ridi Vihare in Kurunegala gave part of its land
for a Masjid and allocated a portion of land for the maintenance of
a Muslim priest (p 113).
In 1930, in Rambukkana many Muslim boys had received their education
in Buddhist monasteries. Many of them studied Sinhala and idigenous
medicine. Facilities were provided for the Muslim boys to say their
prayers and attend Koranic classes, while living in the temple. In this
remote village in Rambukkana, Muslims made voluntary contributions towards
the vihara and they participated in the Esala Perahera. The drumers
voluntarily stopped the music when they passed Masjid (Dewaraja p 113).
Between Hammer and Anvil: Sri Lanka's Muslims
Adam's peak, a symmetrically conical mountain set in the gorgeous hill
country of southern Sri Lanka, is sacred to all of the island's main
faiths. There is a strange indentation set in the living rock of the
summit. To the majority Sinhalese Buddhists (69% of the total population)
it is the footprint of the Buddha Gautama. The Tamil Hindus (21%) know
better - it is, of course, the sacred footprint of the God Shiva. Then
again, the island's Muslims (7%) insist, it is the footprint left by
Adam when, cast out of the Garden of Eden by a wrathful God, he fell
to earth in the place nearest to that celestial grove in terms of beauty,
fertility and climate - Sri Lanka.
In happier times Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim - together with the island's
Catholic Christians, who believe the footprint to be that of St Thomas
- were content to disagree amicably, sharing the pilgrimage season between
December and April each year, when every night thousands of people climb
the seemingly endless stairs to the 2,224 metre summit and await the
sunrise.
As the whole world knows, those days of inter-racial and inter-denominational
harmony are long gone - though not at Adam's Peak, secure in the government-dominated
Sinhala heartland. Rather the troubles are at the other end of the island,
where for twenty years, ever since the simmering hostility between Buddhist
Sinhalese and Tamil Hindu exploded into open warfare, the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have pursued their struggle for a separate
Tamil state.
As the third, and smallest, of the island's racial-religious communities,
the Sri Lankan Muslims - generally if confusingly known as "Moors"
- have become the forgotten losers in this vicious struggle. The Tamils,
evidently misclassified by the British during their long hegemony in
South Asia as a "non-martial race", have fought with an extraordinary
fanaticism under the cold command of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakharan.
From the earliest days of the war they did not hesitate to employ "ethnic
cleansing" - that late 20th century euphemism for genocide - against
Sinhalese villagers living in the north. Subsequently, and with the
same ruthlessness, the same tactic has been used against Muslims.
To understand why this should be so, it is necessary to examine the
anomalous situation of the Sri Lankan Moors - Tamil speakers who yet,
for the most part, support the Sinhalese-dominated government of Chandrika
Kumaratunga.
There have been Muslims in Sri Lanka for well over a thousand years.
Trading dhows plied the waters between the Middle East and the island
known to Arab sailors - like the legendary Sinbad - as Serendib even
in pre-Islamic times. The first Muslim merchants and sailors may have
landed on its shores during the Prophrt Muhammad's life time. By the
10th century this predominantly Arab community had grown influential
enough to control the trade of the south-western ports, whilst the Sinhalese
kings generally employed Muslim ministers to direct the state's commercial
affairs. In 1157 the king of the neighbouring Maldive Islands was converted
to Islam, and in 1238 an embassy to Egypt sent by King Bhuvaneka Bahu
I was headed by Sri Lankan Muslims.
From about 1350 onwards the predominantly Arab strain in Sri Lankan
Islam began to change as Tamil Muslims from neighbouring South India
moved to the island in increasing numbers. By the late 15th century,
when Portuguese vessels first arrived in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka's
Muslims were truly indigenous to the island, representing a mixture
of Sinhalese, Arab and Tamil blood, and speaking Tamil with Arabic overtones,
sometimes known as "Tamil-Arabic". None of this made any difference
to the newly-arrived Portuguese, for whom all Muslims were "Moors"
- the name given to their traditional enemies in Morocco and southern
Spain. The name Moro - employed as a derogatory designation by the Portuguese
- stuck, and is today "worn with pride" by Sri Lankan Muslims,
in much the same way as the "Moros" of the southern Philippines.
In Sri Lanka, as everywhere they went, the Portuguese made a special
point of persecuting the Muslims. As a consequence, many fled the western
littoral which had passed under Portuguese control, and settled in the
north and east of the island where their descendants live to the present
day. A hundred years later, in 1656, when the Dutch replaced the Portuguese,
a third (and final) element was added to the island's Muslim population
- the Malay. Malay sailors had been visiting Sri Lanka for centuries
using long-distance outrigger canoes; now, with the arrival of the Dutch,
many more were brought from Java to serve their Dutch colonial rulers
in Sri Lanka. In time they were absorbed into the island's ethnically
diverse Muslim community, though even today many Sri Lankan Muslims
identifying themselves as "Malays" rather than "Moors"
can be found living in Western Province, and especially in Colombo.
Today Sri Lanka's Muslims live scattered throughout the island, from
Galle in the south to the Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula in the north.
Generally they are involved in commerce, from running local dry goods
stores to dominating the wealthy gem business associated with Ratnapura
- "Jewel City" and much of the capital's import-export business.
In the disputed north and east of the country, where the LTTE are currently
battling the Sri Lankan armed forces, many Muslims are farmers or fishermen,
living in small villages far from the protection of government forces.
It is these people - the poorest of the island's "Moors",
descendants of the orginal refugees displaced by the Portuguese four
hundred years ago - that are now caught up in the struggle for "Tamil
Eelam".
Most Moors speak Tamil as their first language, regarding Sinhalese
and English as languages of commerce to be used in their business dealings.
Despite this linguistic affinity they do not consider themselves Tamil,
however, and have precious little sympathy for the Tamil Tigers' cause.
Rather they tend to support the government, albeit passively, wishing
simply to pursue their business interests with the full freedom of religion
they have long been accustomed too. Unfortunately, this is no longer
possible. In those areas contested by the LTTE with a substantial Muslim
population - for example, Northern Province's Vavuniya District, and
Eastern Province's Tricomalee and Batticaloa Districts - they are under
serious pressure.
Initially, it seems, the Tamil separatists hoped to enlist the Tamil-speaking
Moors in their struggle for an independent Tamil state encompassing
all of Northern and Eastern Provinces. When the Moors remained aloof
- and even indicated support for the government position - they became
identified as enemies. Worse than that, as Tamil-speakers there seemed,
to Tiger minds at least, an element of treason in their lack of support.
Subsequently, as the LTTE struggle for secession developed into open
warfare with the government in Colombo, Prabhakharan, showing characteristic
ruthlessness, targeted the Moors for "ethnic cleansing" -
that is, physical expulsion or elimination - from the lands sought by
the Tigers as a Tamil homeland.
The Tigers first began to attack the Moors on a systematic basis over
a decade ago. In August, 1990, in two separate incidents, more than
230 Muslims were massacred at prayer at towns near Pulmoddai, in the
north-east of the island. At the same time Prabhakharan gave notice
that the entire Muslim population of Northern Province, including the
then rebel-held capital of Jaffna, should leave contested areas forthwith
or face being killed. An estimated one hundred thousand people were
affected by this threat, many of who have since fled to government-controlled
areas in the centre and south of the island. Tens of thousands were
made destitute, the majority of whom still eke out a living in refugee
camps. Following this incident, Muslim fishermen became a favourite
target of LTTE maritime patrols, and Muslim businessmen a preferred
target for abduction and ransom.
Muslim leaders in the north and east have responded by voicing their
own claims for autonomy in the region, making it clear that - should
the LTTE reach an agreement with Colombo on autonomous status - they
would seek to opt out from Tamil control. Prabhakharan's response has
been as vigorous and ruthless as ever. If the Muslims won't accept Tamil
rule, they must be expelled from Northern Province and Eastern Province
en masse.
Caught in the intricate and seemingly endless web of violence between
Tamil Hindu and Sinhalese Buddhist, Sri Lanka's Muslims are increasingly
desperate, unsure which way to turn, and whom to trust. Forgotten victims
of a particularly vicious war, they are trapped between hammer and anvil,
a long way indeed from the Garden of Eden.
A brief history of the Muslims of Sri Lanka
Introduction
Sri Lanka, known to the ancients as Ceylon, has been recorded in history
books as a country that has had many visitations from foreign travellers
throughout the ages. The people are mainly Buddhist, with a complex
mixture of Hindus, Muslims, Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations.
The main race are the Sinhalese while the Tamils, Muslims and Burghers
(Anglo-Sri Lankans) form the remaining. The Muslims of Sri Lanka are
a very small minority amounting to approximately 10% of a total population
of 16 Million people. They claim descendancy from the Arab traders,
who made Sri Lanka their home even before the advent of Islam. The Tamils
comprise around 25% of the population.
Sri Lankan Muslims can be categorized into two distinct sub groups,
the Moors and the Malays. The former is the name given to them by the
Portuguese colonial rulers who used the word Moros to identify Arabs
in general. The Malays are a group of Muslims who originated from Java
and the Malaysian Peninsula. They differed from the Moors, both, in
their physical appearance as well as in the language they spoke which
was a mixture of Malay and local dialects.
The Muslims of Sri Lanka have a colorful history behind them punctuated
by a long spell of hardship suffered during the Portuguese and Dutch
ocupation of the Island. It is much to their credit that they withstood
the onslaught of economic constraints, political intrigues and religious
persecution to stay behind and survive. Most other peoples may have
packed their bags and left for good. They not only saved their religion
from the Christian enemies but also rebuilt the economy, slowly and
steadily, by the 18th century when the British took over control of
the island from the Dutch.
Being geographically isolated from the main centers of Islamic culture
and civilization the Muslims of Sri Lanka were forced to interact closely
with their neighbours, the Muslims of South India, in order to preserve
their identity. Had they been denied this slender link, it is possible
that, they may have lost their distinct Islamic character completely.
However, it must be observed that this link has also caused many Indian
(Hindu) traditions and rituals to creep into their culture and life
style, some of which, even though vehemently anti-Islamic, are still
practised to date. Lack of a correct understanding of the teachings
of Islam has been the main cause of this sad situation.
Having adapted to the local conditions in various ways and also contributing
largely to the Islands economic prosperity, the Muslim community of
Sri Lanka, unlike the Hindu Tamils of the Northern Province, has saved
itself from any major clash with the indigenous Sinhalese population.
They have also been able to receive a fair share in the countrs Politics
and Administration by virtue of their hard work and also of being an
important minority whose support has been vital to all the political
groups in the country. Although it may be said that the Muslim community
was not politically dominant at any stage, yet, it is certainly true
that they manouvered their political activity without much noise, unlike
the Tamils.
This work attempts to present a brief history of the Muslims of Sri
lanka from their early Arab trader beginnings to the present day minority
community that is fully integrated into the Sri
Lankan society.
Historical Background
Sri Lanka (previously known as Ceylon) lies of the south-east of the
Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The pear shaped island, often referred to
as the pearl of the east is separated from mainland India by a narrow
strip of water called the Palk Straits.
Being in such close proximity to and having such easy access from India,
it might be expected that Sri Lanka received a large number of migrants
from its neighbour from pre-historic times. The original inhabitants
of the island are believd to be an aboriginal tribe called the Veddahs.
The Sinhalese, presently the majority community, are supposed to be
the descendants of the colonists, led by Vijaya, from the valley of
the Ganges who settled in the island around the 6th century B.C. Sinhala,
the language of the Sinhalese, is an Aryan language, closely related
to Pali. Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka during the reign of King
Devanampiya Tissa during the period 307-267 B.C.
Trade relations between India and Sri Lanka are traced to the 3rd century
B.C. Historians have not been able to pin-point the actual date of establishment
of Tamil settlements in Sri Lanka. However, during the 3rd century B.C.
a Tamil General, Elara, set up a Tamil Kingdom at Anuradhapura, in the
North Central Province, and ruled there for 44 years. He earned a reputation
for his just and impartial administration among the Sinhalese and Tamils
and was thus called Elara the Just.
The strategic location of the island, in the Indian Ocean, together
with some of the coveted goods it produced, resulted in a fair degree
of foreign trade even from ancient times. The Romans discovered the
commercial value of Sri Lanka in the first century A.D. and the island
was visited by Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, and Chinese traders.
Sri Lankas trade offering included Cinnamon, which grew wild in the
forests of the wet zone, precious stones, pearls, elephants and ivory.
While most of the traders were only visitors to the island, who made
their fortunes and left, it was the Arabs who settled down, making Ceylon
their home. Furthermore as the Muslims of Sri lanka claim their desecndancy
from the Arabs it is imprtant to look at the information available on
the advent of the Arabs to the island.
The Arabs:
The Tamils of Sri Lanka, throughout history, have attempted to categorize
the Sri Lankan Muslims as belonging to the Tamil race. This has been
mainly for selfish reasons in a bid to eliminate the minority Muslim
community from having its own unique identity. The Government of Sri
Lanka, however, treats the Muslims as of Arab origin and as a distinct
ethnic group from the Tamils.
Fr. S.G. Perera in his book -History of Ceylon for Schools- Vol. 1.
The Portuguese and Dutch Periods, (1505-1796), Colombo (1955), The Associated
Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., p 16, writes,
-The first mention of Arabs in Ceylon appears to be in the Mahavansa
(Ancient Sri Lankan history) account of the reign of the King Pandukabhaya,
where it is stated that this king set apart land for the Yonas (Muslims)
at Anuradhapura-
With the decline of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century A.D., Roman
trade also died out and the Arabs and Persians filled up the vacuum;
engaging in a rapidly growing inter-coastal trade. After the conquest
of Persia (Iran), Syria and Egypt, the Arabs controlled all the important
ports and trading stations between East and West. It is estimated that
the Arabs had settled in Sri Lanka and Sumatra by the 1st century A.D.
K.M. De Silvas, Historical Survey, Sri Lanka - A Survey, London (1977),
C. Hurst & Co. Ltd., p 50, states,
-by about the 8th century A.D., the Arabs had formed colonies at the
important ports of India, Ceylon and the East Indies. The presence of
the Arabs at the ports of Ceylon is attested to by at least three inscriptions
discovered at Colombo, Trincomalee and the island of Puliantivu-
The manner in which Islam developed in Sri lanka is very closely similar
to that on the Malabar coast of India. Tradition has recorded that Arabs
who had settled down on the Malabar coast used to travel from the port
of Cranganore to Sri lanka on piligrimage to pay homage to what they
believed to be the foot-print of Adam on the top of a montain, which,
until today, is called Adams Peak.
Ibn Batuta, the famous 14th. century Arab traveller, has recorded many
facets about early Arab influence in Sri lanka in his travelogues.
Before the end of the 7th. century, a colony of Muslim merchants had
established themselves in Ceylon. Fascinated by the scenic splendour
and captivated by the traditions associated with Adams Peak, Muslim
merchants arrived in large numbers and some of them decided to settle
in the island encouraged by the cordial treatement they received by
the local rulers. Most of them lived along the coastal areas in peace
and prosperity, maintaining contacts, both cultural and commercial,
with Baghdad and other Islamic cities.
According to Tikiri Abeyasinghe in his Portuguese Rule in Ceylon, 1594-1612,
Colombo (1966), Lake House Investments Ltd., p 192, tradition has it
that,
-the first Mohammadans of Ceylon were a portion of those Arabs of the
House of Hashim, who were driven from Arabia in the early part of the
8th. century by the tyranny of the Caliph, Abdel Malik bin Marwan, and
who proceeding from the Euphrates southwards made settlements in the
concan in the southern parts of the peninsula of India, on the island
of Ceylon and Malacca. The division of them which came to Ceylon formed
eight considerable settlements along the Nort-East, North and Western
coast of that island; viz., one at Trincomalee, one at Jaffna, one at
Colombo, one at barbareen, and one at Point de Galle.-
It is perhaps reasonable, therefore, to assume that the Arabs, professing
the religion of Islam, arrived in Sri Lanka around the 7th./8th. century
A.D. even though there was a settled community of Arabs in Ceylon in
pre-Islamic times.
The circumstances that helped the growth of Muslim settlements were
varied. The Sinhalese were not interested in trade and were content
in tilling the soil and growing cattle. Trade was thus wide open to
the Muslims. the Sinhalese Kings considered the Muslim settlements favorably
on account of the revenue that they brought them through their contacts
overseas both in trade and in politics. The religious tolerance of the
local population was also another vital factor in the development of
Muslim settlements in Ceylon.
The early Muslim settlements were set up, mainly, around ports on account
of the nature of their trade. It is also assumed that many of the Arab
traders may not have brought their womenfolk along with them when they
settled in Ceylon. Hence they would have been compelled to marry the
Sinhalese and Tamil women of the island after converting them to Islam.
The fact that a large number of Muslims in Sri Lanka speak the Tamil
language can be attributed to the possibility that they were trading
partners with the Tamils of South India and had to learn Tamil to successfully
transact their business. The integration with the Muslims of Tamil Nadu,
in South India, may have also contributed to this. It is also possible
that the Arabs who had already migrated to Ceylon, prior to Islam, had
adopted the Tamil language as a medium of communication in their intercourse
with the Tamil speaking Muslims of South India. The Muslims were very
skilful traders who gradually builtup a very lucrative trading post
in Ceylon. A whole colony of Muslims is said to have landed at Beruwela
(South Western coast) in the Kalutara District in 1024 A.D.
The Muslims did not indulge in propagating Islam amongst the natives
of ceylon even though many of the women they married did convert. Islam
did attract the less privileged low caste members of the Tamil community
who found the factor of equality a blessing for their status and well-being.
There is also a report in the history of Sri Lanka of a Muslim Ruler,
Vathimi Raja, who reigned at Kurunegala (North Central Province) in
the 14th. century. This factor cannot be found in history books due
to their omission, for reasons unknown, by modern authors. Vathimi Raja
was the son of King Bhuvaneka Bahu I, by a Muslim spouse, the daughter
of one of the chiefs. The Sinhalese son of King Bhuvaneka Bahu I, Parakrama
Bahu III, the real heir to the throne was crowned at Dambadeniya under
the name of Pandita Parakrama Bahu III. In order to be rid of his step
brother, Vathimi Raja, he ordered that his eyes be gouged out. It is
held that the author of the Mahavansa (ancient history of Ceylon) had
suppressed the recording of this disgraceful incident. the British transaletor,
Mudaliyar Wijesinghe states that original Ola (leaf script) was bodily
removed from the writings and fiction inserted instead. The blinded
Vathimi Raja (Bhuvaneka Bahu II or Al-Konar, abbreviated from Al-Langar-Konar,
meaning Chief of Lanka of Alakeshwara) was seen by the Arab traveller
Ibn Batuta during his visit to the island in 1344. His son named Parakrama
Bahu II (Alakeshwara II) was also a Muslim. The lineage of Alakeshwara
kings (of Muslim origin) ended in 1410. Although all the kings during
this reign may not have been Muslims, the absence of the prefix -Shri
Sangha Bodhi- (pertaining to the disciples of the Buddha) to the name
of these kings on the rock inscriptions during this hundred year period
may be considered as an indicator that they were not Buddhists. Further
during Ibn Batutas visit a Muslim ruler called Jalasthi is reported
to have been holding Colombo, maintaining his hold over the town with
a garrison of about 500 Abyssinians.
In spite of this the Mulsims have always been maintaining very cordial
relationships with the Sinhalese Royalty and the local population. There
is evidence that they were more closer to the Sinhalese than they were
to the Tamils. The Muslims relationship with the Sinhalese kings grew
stronger and in the 14th. century they even fought with them against
the expanding Tamil kingdom and its maritime influence.
By the beginning of the 16th. century, the Muslims of Sri Lanka, the
descendants of the original Arab traders, had settled down comfortably
in the island. They were evry successful in trade and commerce and integrated
socially with the customs of the local people. They had become an inseparable,
and even more, an indispensable part of the society. This period was
one of ascendancy in peace and prosperity for the Sri Lankan Muslims.
The Malays:
Sri Lankan Muslims include the Malays although they form a separate
group by themselves. Even the earliest census of Sri Lanka (1881) lists
the Muslims as Moors and Malays separately. Malays too, follow the Islamic
religion just like the Moors.
The real beginning of the Malays in Sri Lanka dates back to the 13th.
century. Husseinmiya writes,
-The definite arrival of Malays in Sri Lanka took place in the 13th.
century. Chandra Bhanu, the Malay King of Nakhon Sri Dhammarat in the
Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Peninsula invaded Sri Lanka in A.D. 1247,
with Malay soldiers. He was determined to possess the relics of the
Buddha from the Sinhalese kingdom. In a second invasion he brought soldiers
from India-.
Chandra Bhanus 50 year rule of northern Ceylon in the 13th. century
is remembered by such place names as Java Patnam (Jaffna), Java Kachcheri
(Chavakachcheri), Hambantota etc. Most authors have, yet, linked the
origin of the Malays in Ceylon to the period when the uisland was ruled
by the Dutch. Murad Jayah in -The plight of the Ceylon Malays today-,
MICH Silver Jubilee Souvenir, 1944-1969, Colombo (1970), p 70, writes,
-In 1709 Susana Mangkurat Mas, king of Java, was exiled to Sri Lanka
by the Dutch with his entire retinue. He was followed in 1723 by 44
Javanese princes and noble men who surrendered at the battle of Batavia
and exiled to this country with their families. These familes formed
the nucleus from which the Malay community grew.-
-The Dutch continued to bring more -Java Minissu- (Malay people) as
exiles, and employed them to fill the ranks of the army, the police
force, the fire brigade, the prison staff and other services. They formed
the bulk of the servicemen during the Dutch occupation and the early
British times. The British too imported Malay families for settlement
in Ceylon with the idea of raising a regiment. The Kings colors were
awarded in 1801 to the Ceylon Malay Regiment, the first Asian to receive
that Honor.-
The unsuccessful attempts of the British to attract more Malays from
overseas, the meagre salaries paid to the malay soldiers coupled with
more avenues for lucrative employment in the plantation industry, resulted
in the disbandment of the malay Regiment in 1873. The Malays released
from the army were absorbed into the police and the fire brigade services.
The mother tongue of Malays is Malay (Bahasa Melayu). Murad Jayah writes,
-Bahasa Melayu has been preserved in this country for over 250 years
due to the fact that the original exiles from Indonesia were accompanied
by their womenfolk and it was not necessary for them to find wives among
Sinhalese and Tamil women, unlike the Arab ancestors of the Ceylon Moors.-
"Invite (all) to the way of the Lord With wisdom and Beautiful
preaching And arue with them in ways that are Best and most gracious"
Peace Be Upon All Of You
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