![\"Al-Shayla-SriLanka-to-ban-burqa-shut-many-Islamic-schools-say-minister-rapidnews\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Al-Shayla-SriLanka-to-ban-burqa-shut-many-Islamic-schools-say-minister-rapidnews-dailyrapid.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country\u2019s minority Muslim population.<\/p>\n
Minister for Public Security Sarath Weerasekera told a news conference that he had signed a paper on Friday for cabinet approval to ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women on \u201cnational security\u201d grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our early days, Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We are definitely going to ban it.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The wearing of the burqa in the majority-Buddhist nation was\u00a0temporarily banned\u00a0in 2019 after the bombing of churches and hotels by Islamist militants that killed more than 250.<\/p>\n
Later that year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, best known for crushing a decades-long insurgency in the north of the country as the defence secretary, was\u00a0elected president\u00a0after promising a crackdown on extremism.<\/p>\n
Rajapaksa is accused of widespread rights abuses during the war, charges he denies.<\/p>\n
Weerasekera said the government plans to ban more than a thousand madressahs (Islamic schools) that he said were flouting national education policy.<\/p>\n
\nI thank the Sri Lankan leadership & welcome the Sri Lankan govt’s official notification allowing the burial option for those dying of Covid 19.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n