| Abstrakt: |
The problematique of this article is to understand Muslim nationalism in Sri Lanka and how it has grown and expressed itself in the, by and large, opposing dynamics of Sinhala and Tamil nationalisms. It attempts to understand the question of identity of a community which is internally differentiated, scattered across the country without a clearly carved-out homeland or language, and yet had to define an identity. Much of the country's politics and academics has revolved around the issue of Tamil nationalism, often ignoring and marginalizing other groups and communities who were also linked to the civil war. The case of the Muslims of Sri Lanka is pertinent in this context. Comprising 8% of the country's population and forming the third largest minority, they were geographically located in the locus of the war, conscious and assertive about their distinct identity, but have remained outside the fore of militant politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
