Four top hardline Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka, arrested for allegedly insulting the Holy Quran, appeared in court today amid a series of hate crimes.
The monks from the Buddhist nationalist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) the Forces of Buddhist Power were produced before the Colombo Fort magistrate for making disparaging remarks after bursting into a meeting of religious leaders last month.
"Four monks and two laymen were granted bail for USD 770 each and the case is to be next taken up again next month," the police said.
Also Read
On April 9, they stormed a press conference called by a monk, Vatareka Vijitha, who was announcing a rival group 'National Force' against the BBS. Vijitha later made a police complaint that BBS monks had threatened him.
A few days later, they were accused of hurting the Muslim religious sentiments in public.
BBS since mid 2012 had been running a hate campaign against what they termed religious extremism by the Muslim minority.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa last month ordered the police to set up a special unit to tackle complaints of religious hatred.
Pope Francis addressing the local Bishops over the weekend had also noted the growing feelings of inter-religious hatred in Sri Lanka and asked the local Catholic church to be vigilant.
Seventy per cent of Sri Lanka's 20 million people are Buddhists, while Muslims are the second-largest religious group. While Muslims make up just under 10 per cent of the country's population. Hindus and Christians form the rest 20 per cent.
