Saturday Oct 25, 2025
Saturday Oct 25, 2025
Saturday, 25 October 2025 01:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
All Muslim Members of Parliament, representing both the Government and Opposition, have called on Religious Affairs Minister Hiniduma Sunil Senevi to secure the immediate release of a consignment of Tamil-translated copies of the Holy Qur’an detained by Sri Lanka Customs.
The MPs said the detention violates the fundamental rights of Sri Lankan Muslims.
The appeal was made through a joint letter signed by all Muslim MPs, including Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Muneer Mulaffer.
The letter states that the shipment (Container No. FSCU 8233306) was seized by Customs on 16 May 2024, reportedly following instructions from the former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, who had intervened on behalf of the Government.
The consignment was printed by the King Fahd Glorious Qur’an Printing Complex in Saudi Arabia, a globally recognised authority for Qur’anic publications. According to the MPs, previous shipments of the same Tamil translation had been cleared without objection and are already available in homes across Sri Lanka and on digital platforms.
They argued that the continued detention of the religious text constitutes a breach of fundamental rights protected under Chapter III of the Constitution. The MPs also said that no such restrictions had been placed on religious texts of other faiths, making the detention discriminatory on the grounds of religion and language.
They further pointed out that while Arabic-language Qur’ans have always been permitted, the Tamil translation alone has been subjected to such treatment. The MPs urged the Government to immediately release the detained consignment and disband the ad-hoc review committee set up to scrutinize Islamic publications, calling it arbitrary and discriminatory.
