“We wanted to plead not guilty, but we had no opportunity to speak in court.” Is Sri Lanka now a Sharia state, enforcing Sharia blasphemy laws? Free speech is in retreat worldwide before the relentless Leftist/Islamic supremacist onslaught. Will it soon be illegal everywhere to speak critically about the Qur’an or Islam in general, while jihad terrorists continue to point to their holy book to justify violence and supremacism?
“Monks accused of insulting Qur’an,” IOL News, May 5 2014:
Colombo – Four of Sri Lanka’s most senior hardline Buddhist monks appeared in court on Monday accused of insulting the Qur’an, in the first such case following a spate of religious hate attacks.
Police accused the monks, from the nationalist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or Buddhist Force, of making disparaging remarks against the Islamic holy book after bursting into a meeting of religious leaders last month.
At the meeting, the monks also intimidated a moderate colleague who was promoting religious tolerance on the Buddhist-majority island, police said.
“The four priests along with two laymen were summoned by court today and granted bail in the sum of 100 000 rupees each,” police spokesman Ajith Rohana told AFP.
“The magistrate warned them not to indulge in such activities. We will file formal charges when the case is called again next month.”
BBS leader Galagodaatte Gnanasara said that he and the three other monks were not guilty of any offence.
“We wanted to plead not guilty, but we had no opportunity to speak in court. We are told a hearing will be on June 9th,” he told AFP on Monday.
Authorities are attempting to crack down on hate crimes following attacks blamed on monk-led mobs last year and early this year on Muslim-owned shops, a mosque and a Christian prayer centre.
Muslim leaders have complained to the government that the BBS was leading a hate campaign, a charge the group denies.
Last week, Muslim legislators, including government ministers, asked President Mahinda Rajapakse to protect the community from “Buddhist extremist elements” blamed for the attacks.
Police established a new unit last week to investigate hate crimes in the wake of the violence, which raised concerns about religious freedoms.
Nationalist Buddhist groups, including the BBS, accuse religious minorities of having undue political and economic influence on the island….