Paper short abstract

Notwithstanding international condemnation of Bodu Bala Sena as an extremist movement, this paper evaluates its critique of Muslims and Islam in Sri Lanka by concentrating on selected cases on the basis of primary materials in the Sinhala language, which are not often used in most investigations.

Paper long abstract

Though a controversial activist movement today, Bodu Bala Sena did not emerge in mid 2012 with a well-planned, confrontational, systematic agenda against either Muslims or minorities in Sri Lanka. In the course of its political activism well into 2013, Bodu Bala Sena was targeted as an 'ultra-nationalist' Buddhist group by local and international media highlighting it as an organization that was implementing a violent campaign against Muslims and Islam in Sri Lanka. Notwithstanding international condemnation of Bodu Bala Sena as an extremist movement, this paper aims to evaluate its critique of Muslims and Islam in Sri Lanka by concentrating on selected cases on the basis of primary materials in the Sinhala language, which are not often used in most investigations. As case studies, this study will use Bodu Bala Sena's controversial activism in restoring Kuragala as a historic archaeological site and its opposition to the government and a Muslim MP with regard to the destruction of forest in the Wilpattu National Park.