Muslim civil society groups call for Hartal this Friday after Jumma Prayers

Muslim civil society organisations based in Colombo have organised a city wide Hartal to protest the government’s decision to relocate a decades old mosque based in the sacred Buddhist city of Dambulla.

The city was declared a sacred city in 1982 by an extraordinary gazette notification but the mosque had continued to operate until recently when the dispute erupted following pressure from powerful Buddhist monks.

As a result of the Hartal Muslim owned shops and businesses will be closed this Friday April 27 and the organisers have asked all protesters to peacefully assemble at Lipton Circus near the Dewatagaha Mosque  after Jumma prayers on Friday. A spokesperson for the Organisers told Lanka Standard that representatives of Muslim civil society organisations, Western Provincial Councillors and Municipal Councillors from all political parties including the ruling Party  are expected to participate.

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