Donar
Donar

Sri Lanka is a beautiful island and a common holiday destination: however, everyday life for the islanders is far from idyllic. Violent extremist Buddhist groups, hate speech, and crimes against religious minorities going unpunished – these are just a few of the issues that need your prayers.

Today please continue to pray for Lakshan Dias, a human rights lawyer. In June he was threatened with being disbarred from his profession, after commenting on TV on religious intolerance towards Muslims and Christians. Pray that Lakshan would be allowed to continue his work without further criticism from government officials.

Lakshan’s case doesn’t just affect him, of course: a high profile human rights lawyer in trouble could have consequences for many others doing similar work. Today, please pray for protection for human rights defenders across the country as they carry out their important work.

In the past, ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena have attacked religious minorities and promoted violence against religious minorities. Pray that the government will take measures to stop this group and others that promote intolerance and hate towards religious minorities.

A particular problem is hate speech on social media: radical groups have used this to spread their messages of intolerance, which has resulted in attacks. With the rise of smartphone and social media use, this problem is growing – pray that God would raise up people to develop strategies to stop this trend.

We’re grateful to partner with the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL): they monitor the religious freedom situation on the ground and provide us with valuable insights that wouldn’t otherwise be possible! They do this against a background of continued attacks on religious minorities, especially evangelical Christians – attacks that often go unpunished. Thank God for the determined and courageous staff of the NCEASL.

A 2008 Circular that makes construction of new places of worship subject to government approval) is being used to close down existing churches and stop the building of new ones. Although the Circular is not law, it’s being used by law enforcement officials and radical groups to intimate and harass Christians and to shut down places of worship. Pray that the government will retract the Circular.

Father God, today we pray for the country of Sri Lanka. Thank you for the bravery of human rights defenders like Lakshan Dias: protect them and bless their work. Please also watch over religious minorities, and defend them from the violence of extremist Buddhist groups. Amen.