Muslims in Harmony and Conflict in Plural Sri Lanka: A Historical Summary from a Religio-economic and Political Perspective

Islam and Muslims in Sri Lanka have a history of more than a millennium. During this long period their economic and religious experience had been one of fluctuating fortunes beginning with harmony and prosperity under Buddhist monarchs to repression and misery under Western colonialists. Economic freedom under native rulers, mercantilist restrictions under the Portuguese and Dutch and open economy under the British brought alternative episodes of economic affluence and depression to Muslims. After independence, however, under a democratic polity the community adopted a pragmatic approach to a new situation, which allowed Muslims and Islam to enjoy once again decades of peaceful coexistence and relative prosperity, until political and economic circumstances of the country changed dramatically to create an environment of anti-Muslim and anti-Islam phobia. What follows is a historical narration of these vicissitude retold from a religio-economic and political perspective.