By Skandha Gunasekara
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks was told this week that the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamaath (SLTJ) had aided the security forces, the Ceylon Thowheed Jamaath (CTJ) had warned authorities of terrorist mastermind Zahran Hashim, and the Kattankudy Police were not given any warning of the Easter Sunday attack by the security establishment.
Al Haj Abdul Jawadh Alim Waliyullah Trust Secretary Sufi Moulavi K.R.M. Sahlan, testifying before the PSC on Tuesday (18), said his organisation had sent written complaints to the President’s Office on 27 March 2017 against Hashim’s calls for deaths of people of other faiths.
“We have also submitted compact discs containing copies of three speeches and warned that there would be a disaster if Hashim was allowed to continue in that manner,” he said, adding that copies of the same complaint were sent to then Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, then Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake, State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene, IGP Pujith Jayasundara, the Attorney General’s Department, and Terrorist Investigation Division Chief DIG Nalaka de Silva.
“In his speeches, Hashim called to wet the earth of this country with the blood of people of other faiths,” Sahlan said.
When MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka inquired as to whether they got any response to the complaints, Sahlan said that the Prime Minister’s Office and the AG’s Department had acknowledged the receipt of the complaints and responded that they would look into the issue.
Sahlan, echoing words of testimonies of previous witnesses, said that Hashim had supported the campaign of common candidate Maithripala Sirisena during the 2015 presidential election.
Thereafter, in a startling revelation, the PSC was informed that Hashim’s close confidante “Army Mohideed” was in fact an Army informant.
Former Kattankudy Police OIC Chief Inspector (CI) Ariyabandu Welagedara said that Army Mohideen had close links with the Army.
He said there were many Muslim religious groups in the Kattankudy area, but Hashim was the most radical.
“There were several Muslim religious groups in Kattankudy. There were rival groups; there was an ideological conflict. The majority were from traditional Muslim religious backgrounds. A new radical group emerged and all other religious groups were against it. That group of radicals was led by Hashim.”
CI Welagedara said that during his tenure, he had received many complaints of Hashim’s extremist activities but had only witnessed one incident of violence, which had taken place in 2017.
“There was a clash between two religious groups. One of the groups was Hashim’s. I went to the scene and dispersed the crowd. There were around 100-150 involved in the clash. We made arrests on the same day as well as the following day. Hashim was there. Some escaped. Among those who escaped was Hashim, his brother Rilwan, and Army Mohideen. We produced nine others before courts. Since then, Hashim was not seen in the area.”
Meanwhile, current Kattankudy OIC IP Nishantha Kasturiarachchi, testifying before the PSC on the same day, said that while prior intelligence reports of Hashim’s terror attack had been sent to many divisions, none had reached Kattankudy – Hashim’s base of operations.
OIC Kasturiarchchi said that he did not receive any intelligence reports or warnings of the Easter Sunday attack, although such reports had been circulated among other police divisions.
He went on to say that Hashim, his brother Rilwan, and Army Mohideen had been evading police arrest.
“They had fled the area at the time I assumed duties as the Kattankudy OIC. There was no information about them.”
Echoing testimonies
During Thursday’s (20) sitting of the PSC, the SLTJ said that it had provided information to intelligence operatives.
SLTJ President A.K. Hisham said that his group submitted intelligence of Hashim’s operations to Army Intelligence.
“I provided information of Hashim and his group to Army Intelligence. It is I who gave Hashim’s telephone number to them. I gave Hashim’s information to Army Intelligence.”
He then went on to say that SLTJ had no links with Hashim.
“It is said everywhere that Hashim was in the SLTJ and then deserted us. The same is said about Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath. That is wrong. Hashim was in another organisation – Darul-Athar – and later, he was expelled.”
He went on to say that his group warned authorities even before 2016.
“Even before 2016, we provided information to the Police. We have given them videos, CDs, and other documents. During the period of 2016-2017, we continued to supply information. We gave information to TID and Army Intelligence. We helped them develop contacts and informants. We introduced them to sources. In 2017, we warned intelligence members about Hashim. Hashim’s statement calling for the deaths of non-Muslims was also informed to them. We have given information of Hashim’s subversive operations in the East. One-and-a-half months ago, we gave information on Hashim’s operations. I gave the information about Hashim to Army Intelligence. We are the ones who fought against extremism. We are the ones who supported the Government and its intelligence. Now we are branded as extremists”
In a final statement to the PSC, Hisham asserted that SLTJ had no links with former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“There is an opinion that we were sponsored by Gotabaya Rajapaksa. We have no links with him. In 2013, we even published articles accusing him of setting up the Bodu Bala Sena against Muslims.”
Another witness before the PSC, Rishwin Ismath, who identified himself as an atheist who had received death threats from Hashim’s group, said that Islam textbooks which stipulated the death sentence for those offending Islam were published in Sinhala and Tamil by the Educational Publications Department of the Ministry of Education.
Ismath said that he had complained of Hashim’s activities to the Police in 2016.
“I first informed of Hashim and his group threatening to kill me and lodged a complaint at the Police Headquarters on 20 July 2016. On two following occasions, on 21 July 2017 and 26 August 2017, two more complaints were made and statements were provided. Nothing happened till the Easter Sunday disaster. In the aftermath of the attacks, the Police contacted me on 21 May 2019 to check whether my address was correct. On 21 May, I was asked to be present at the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) on 27 May. There, I was told that four suspects, now in custody for their links with Hashim’s group, had confessed that they followed me to kill me. I provided some more information.”
He said that he had received death threats as he had campaigned against teaching material published by the Department of Education which stated that Islam called for the death penalty for those who left the religion.
“In Islam textbooks for grade nine and 10, it is stated that those who leave the religion should be killed. The book was published in 1982 and 1984. So, I do not need to do anything. The schools themselves have taught children to kill persons like me. This is not in the Quran. When there are such teachings in the textbook itself, there is no need to bring in IS ideology from Syria for people like Hashim to kill non-Muslims,” he said, submitting copies of the Islam school textbooks published between 1980 and 1990 as well as a Sinhala language Islamic textbook from 2017.
The rest of his testimony was taken in the absence of the media.
Added forewarning
Ceylon Thowheed Jamath (CTJ) General Secretary Razik Rafeekdeen alias Abdul Razik said that his group had links with Achchi Mohammadu Hasthun – the Katuwapitiya suicide bomber, and Sara Pulasthini –who died during the fight between security forces and Islamic terrorists in Sainthamaruthu on 28 April.
“We have met Achchi Mohammadu Hasthun. In 2015, he came to meet us with his girlfriend Sara Pulasthini, who was a Hindu. Sara wanted to convert to Islam. Since both of them were over 18 years of age, we arranged that. She embraced Islam. But we could not give them lodging facilities. They were not even married then. Sara’s mother wanted to take her home. So, on 5 August 2015, we escorted them to the Maligawatta Police Station to solve their issue. Sara went with her mother but came back to us in September 2015. She said that her mother did not let her practise Islam, and she wanted to get married to Hasthun. They married after that. But in December 2015, she sent us a letter saying that she wanted to divorce Hasthun and left Islam.”
Razik then said that he was against Islamic State.
“I have always condemned them and stated in public that IS is a terrorist group. I have copies of paper statements and an audio clip of my statements condemning IS and anyone taking arms to propagate religion.”
When MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe questioned whether CTJ had been funded by any source, Razik denied it.
Prof. Marasinghe: Has anyone supported your campaigns?
Razik: I have not been funded by any other agencies – not by the Government, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, or any intelligence agencies.
Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne: Why did you mention those names? We have not asked whether they supported you.
Razik: Many have described me as a confidante of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. I wanted to make use of this forum to clear my name.
Prof. Marasinghe: You did not answer my question. From where did you receive your funding?
Razik: Our followers gave us donations. Rival Islamic groups have affixed various labels on us. That is wrong. For example, Azath Salley, while endorsing our campaigns, had reported against us. We filed a fundamental rights case before the Supreme Court against him on 5 December 2015.
Dr. Wickramaratne: Salley insisted that you should be behind bars to ensure communal harmony.
MP Rauf Hakeem: Salley stated that you made public statements promoting IS and Baghdadi.
Razik: We have rejected Baghdadi and IS since 2015. Our standpoint is that Jihad is not waging war. We do not preach armed campaigns.
Prof. Marasinghe: Was Zahran a member of SLTJ when you were there?
Razik: No. He was not a member of SLTJ although some people imply. But there is no evidence for that.
Minister Ravi Karunanayake: But Zahran himself had said so.
Razik: He had not. He preached that SLTJ and TNTJ should be eliminated.
Prof. Marasinghe: Have you worked with Zahran at any point?
Razik: Never. He was a famous person because of his preaching videos. But we had differences in the ideologies we followed.
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks was told this week that the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamaath (SLTJ) had aided the security forces, the Ceylon Thowheed Jamaath (CTJ) had warned authorities of terrorist mastermind Zahran Hashim, and the Kattankudy Police were not given any warning of the Easter Sunday attack by the security establishment.
Al Haj Abdul Jawadh Alim Waliyullah Trust Secretary Sufi Moulavi K.R.M. Sahlan, testifying before the PSC on Tuesday (18), said his organisation had sent written complaints to the President’s Office on 27 March 2017 against Hashim’s calls for deaths of people of other faiths.
“We have also submitted compact discs containing copies of three speeches and warned that there would be a disaster if Hashim was allowed to continue in that manner,” he said, adding that copies of the same complaint were sent to then Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, then Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake, State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene, IGP Pujith Jayasundara, the Attorney General’s Department, and Terrorist Investigation Division Chief DIG Nalaka de Silva.
“In his speeches, Hashim called to wet the earth of this country with the blood of people of other faiths,” Sahlan said.
When MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka inquired as to whether they got any response to the complaints, Sahlan said that the Prime Minister’s Office and the AG’s Department had acknowledged the receipt of the complaints and responded that they would look into the issue.
Sahlan, echoing words of testimonies of previous witnesses, said that Hashim had supported the campaign of common candidate Maithripala Sirisena during the 2015 presidential election.
Thereafter, in a startling revelation, the PSC was informed that Hashim’s close confidante “Army Mohideed” was in fact an Army informant.
Former Kattankudy Police OIC Chief Inspector (CI) Ariyabandu Welagedara said that Army Mohideen had close links with the Army.
He said there were many Muslim religious groups in the Kattankudy area, but Hashim was the most radical.
“There were several Muslim religious groups in Kattankudy. There were rival groups; there was an ideological conflict. The majority were from traditional Muslim religious backgrounds. A new radical group emerged and all other religious groups were against it. That group of radicals was led by Hashim.”
CI Welagedara said that during his tenure, he had received many complaints of Hashim’s extremist activities but had only witnessed one incident of violence, which had taken place in 2017.
“There was a clash between two religious groups. One of the groups was Hashim’s. I went to the scene and dispersed the crowd. There were around 100-150 involved in the clash. We made arrests on the same day as well as the following day. Hashim was there. Some escaped. Among those who escaped was Hashim, his brother Rilwan, and Army Mohideen. We produced nine others before courts. Since then, Hashim was not seen in the area.”
Meanwhile, current Kattankudy OIC IP Nishantha Kasturiarachchi, testifying before the PSC on the same day, said that while prior intelligence reports of Hashim’s terror attack had been sent to many divisions, none had reached Kattankudy – Hashim’s base of operations.
OIC Kasturiarchchi said that he did not receive any intelligence reports or warnings of the Easter Sunday attack, although such reports had been circulated among other police divisions.
He went on to say that Hashim, his brother Rilwan, and Army Mohideen had been evading police arrest.
“They had fled the area at the time I assumed duties as the Kattankudy OIC. There was no information about them.”
Echoing testimonies
During Thursday’s (20) sitting of the PSC, the SLTJ said that it had provided information to intelligence operatives.
SLTJ President A.K. Hisham said that his group submitted intelligence of Hashim’s operations to Army Intelligence.
“I provided information of Hashim and his group to Army Intelligence. It is I who gave Hashim’s telephone number to them. I gave Hashim’s information to Army Intelligence.”
He then went on to say that SLTJ had no links with Hashim.
“It is said everywhere that Hashim was in the SLTJ and then deserted us. The same is said about Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath. That is wrong. Hashim was in another organisation – Darul-Athar – and later, he was expelled.”
He went on to say that his group warned authorities even before 2016.
“Even before 2016, we provided information to the Police. We have given them videos, CDs, and other documents. During the period of 2016-2017, we continued to supply information. We gave information to TID and Army Intelligence. We helped them develop contacts and informants. We introduced them to sources. In 2017, we warned intelligence members about Hashim. Hashim’s statement calling for the deaths of non-Muslims was also informed to them. We have given information of Hashim’s subversive operations in the East. One-and-a-half months ago, we gave information on Hashim’s operations. I gave the information about Hashim to Army Intelligence. We are the ones who fought against extremism. We are the ones who supported the Government and its intelligence. Now we are branded as extremists”
In a final statement to the PSC, Hisham asserted that SLTJ had no links with former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“There is an opinion that we were sponsored by Gotabaya Rajapaksa. We have no links with him. In 2013, we even published articles accusing him of setting up the Bodu Bala Sena against Muslims.”
Another witness before the PSC, Rishwin Ismath, who identified himself as an atheist who had received death threats from Hashim’s group, said that Islam textbooks which stipulated the death sentence for those offending Islam were published in Sinhala and Tamil by the Educational Publications Department of the Ministry of Education.
Ismath said that he had complained of Hashim’s activities to the Police in 2016.
“I first informed of Hashim and his group threatening to kill me and lodged a complaint at the Police Headquarters on 20 July 2016. On two following occasions, on 21 July 2017 and 26 August 2017, two more complaints were made and statements were provided. Nothing happened till the Easter Sunday disaster. In the aftermath of the attacks, the Police contacted me on 21 May 2019 to check whether my address was correct. On 21 May, I was asked to be present at the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) on 27 May. There, I was told that four suspects, now in custody for their links with Hashim’s group, had confessed that they followed me to kill me. I provided some more information.”
He said that he had received death threats as he had campaigned against teaching material published by the Department of Education which stated that Islam called for the death penalty for those who left the religion.
“In Islam textbooks for grade nine and 10, it is stated that those who leave the religion should be killed. The book was published in 1982 and 1984. So, I do not need to do anything. The schools themselves have taught children to kill persons like me. This is not in the Quran. When there are such teachings in the textbook itself, there is no need to bring in IS ideology from Syria for people like Hashim to kill non-Muslims,” he said, submitting copies of the Islam school textbooks published between 1980 and 1990 as well as a Sinhala language Islamic textbook from 2017.
The rest of his testimony was taken in the absence of the media.
Added forewarning
Ceylon Thowheed Jamath (CTJ) General Secretary Razik Rafeekdeen alias Abdul Razik said that his group had links with Achchi Mohammadu Hasthun – the Katuwapitiya suicide bomber, and Sara Pulasthini –who died during the fight between security forces and Islamic terrorists in Sainthamaruthu on 28 April.
“We have met Achchi Mohammadu Hasthun. In 2015, he came to meet us with his girlfriend Sara Pulasthini, who was a Hindu. Sara wanted to convert to Islam. Since both of them were over 18 years of age, we arranged that. She embraced Islam. But we could not give them lodging facilities. They were not even married then. Sara’s mother wanted to take her home. So, on 5 August 2015, we escorted them to the Maligawatta Police Station to solve their issue. Sara went with her mother but came back to us in September 2015. She said that her mother did not let her practise Islam, and she wanted to get married to Hasthun. They married after that. But in December 2015, she sent us a letter saying that she wanted to divorce Hasthun and left Islam.”
Razik then said that he was against Islamic State.
“I have always condemned them and stated in public that IS is a terrorist group. I have copies of paper statements and an audio clip of my statements condemning IS and anyone taking arms to propagate religion.”
When MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe questioned whether CTJ had been funded by any source, Razik denied it.
Prof. Marasinghe: Has anyone supported your campaigns?
Razik: I have not been funded by any other agencies – not by the Government, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, or any intelligence agencies.
Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne: Why did you mention those names? We have not asked whether they supported you.
Razik: Many have described me as a confidante of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. I wanted to make use of this forum to clear my name.
Prof. Marasinghe: You did not answer my question. From where did you receive your funding?
Razik: Our followers gave us donations. Rival Islamic groups have affixed various labels on us. That is wrong. For example, Azath Salley, while endorsing our campaigns, had reported against us. We filed a fundamental rights case before the Supreme Court against him on 5 December 2015.
Dr. Wickramaratne: Salley insisted that you should be behind bars to ensure communal harmony.
MP Rauf Hakeem: Salley stated that you made public statements promoting IS and Baghdadi.
Razik: We have rejected Baghdadi and IS since 2015. Our standpoint is that Jihad is not waging war. We do not preach armed campaigns.
Prof. Marasinghe: Was Zahran a member of SLTJ when you were there?
Razik: No. He was not a member of SLTJ although some people imply. But there is no evidence for that.
Minister Ravi Karunanayake: But Zahran himself had said so.
Razik: He had not. He preached that SLTJ and TNTJ should be eliminated.
Prof. Marasinghe: Have you worked with Zahran at any point?
Razik: Never. He was a famous person because of his preaching videos. But we had differences in the ideologies we followed.