SLMC decides to support mosque protest

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(Srilankamirror) – The SLMC led by minister Rauff Hakeem yesterday (Apr. 28) decided to support protests against a decision to relocate the mosque situated in the Dambulla sacred area.

The high command of the SLMC met for several hours to decide its position on the mosque issue.

Following the meeting, party leader Hakeem told the media that his party had decided the mosque should not be relocated without a consensus from the Muslim religious leaders.

The government decided to relocate the mosque in Dambulla after monks in the area protested and stormed the premises last week, claiming it was an unauthorized building.

The monks demanded that the mosque be relocated as it was operating within an area declared as sacred Buddhist land.

However, the SLMC said it will oppose any move to shift the mosque and will raise its opposition with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“We have taken a public position that the mosque should not be relocated without consensus among the Muslim leadership,” he said.