Sri Lanka probes first Lankan ISIS man

A 37-year-old Sri Lankan, who graduated in Sharia Law from Pakistan, has reportedly died fighting along the dreaded Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, prompting authorities to probe whether he was a Lankan national.
Abhu Shuraih Sailani, a father of six, was a karate instructor from the central town of Galewela. He has also worked as the Principal of a privately owned education institution at Galewela having come over from Kandy city.
He was reportedly killed in an airstrike in Syria.
After completing primary education, he had pursued Islamic studies mastering Hadith science. He later completed his LLB in Shariah Law from the International Islamic University in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, on behalf of the Muslim community, expressed its deep dismay at media reports of the first Sri Lankan killed in battle in Syria fighting along the Islamic State (IS) militants.
In a letter to President Maithripala Sirisena, the Council said that the group of extremists, who call themselves the caliphate or Islamic State (Formerly known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), is a threat to Islam and the group violates both Sharia law and humanitarian law.
Islam is a religion of mercy and tolerance that totally prohibits the taking of innocent lives. There is no theological basis for any crimes to be committed through terrorism or violence, it said.

The Muslims of Sri Lanka join Islamic scholars and Muslim leaders around the world to condemn without any reservation the ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for failing to respect key tenants of Islam. Their actions are un-Islamic and inhumane, the Council added.