ECONOMYNEXT – A medical officer in Jap Sri Lanka who has come to the discover of authorities over alleged hyperlinks to an ‘extremist’ Islamic group denies any violent intentions and says the state can arrest him if he has damaged any legal guidelines.
He rejects expenses of extremism, although locals within the space say he and his followers have unorthodox views which has led to disputes with a mainstream Muslim group within the space.
Jap Sri Lanka has come below the highlight of the authorities, and remainder of the nation, after members of teams originating within the space had been concerned in suicide bombings of church buildings and lodges on Easter Sunday 2019.
Tremendous Muslim
The medical officer on the Psychological Well being Unit of Kalmunai North Hospital responded to allegations that he was main a gaggle known as ‘Tremendous Muslim’ in Kalmunai, Jap Sri Lanka.
“That is all garbage. If I’ve breached any legal guidelines, the defence companies can at all times arrest me,” stated Kalenther Lebbe Mohamed Raees, popularly often known as Dr. Raees, talking from his three-story residence at Mosque Street in Kalmunai, 350 km east to Colombo.
“I’m able to face any inquiry into my behaviour.”
Sporting an ash-coloured sarong, the 51-year-old graduate of Sri Jayewardenepura Medical School acknowledged he had nothing to do with a motion known as ‘Tremendous Muslim’.
Nonetheless, he claims some individuals wrongly related his identify with the group as a consequence of variations that arose with one other Islamic motion in 2019.
“We aren’t a company. Once I had variations with the mainstream Islamic motion known as Tablighi Jamaat, we had been labeled as Tremendous Muslim,” Raees stated whereas mendacity on the ground, shirtless, surrounded by three followers, together with his 15-year-old son.
“Many of the members on this group have come to me as a result of they agree with my opinions in comparison with mainstream Islamic actions.”
His variations with the mainstream Islamic motion centered on key ideas of Islamic spirituality. Raees advocates for extra spirituality over materialism.
Tablighi Jamaat is a global Islamic motion which has gained followers in Sri Lanka and the area. It promotes non secular teachings amongst Muslims and encourages them to hope at their mosques.
Super Muslim is an internet schooling platform that gives programs in Arabic, Quran research, and Islamic teachings. It additionally has a Tamil-language YouTube channel.
Raees’ views align with some teachings of Tremendous Muslim, which he says led to him being lumped with the group.
The All Ceylon Jammiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), Sri Lanka’s apex non secular physique guiding the Muslim group on non secular, social, and academic issues, has acknowledged that the “Super Muslim ideology contradicts” many clear verses within the Quran.
Sri Lanka formally banned Tremendous Muslim in April 2021 below the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) following ACJU’s feedback after the Easter Sunday assaults. Nonetheless, the ban was later lifted.
Below Surveillance
Raees has been below steady investigation by numerous defence companies since 2019.
“I’ve had sufficient of all these probes by police and army intelligence. I’ve visited the TID (Terrorism Investigation Division) and CID (Prison Investigation Division),” he stated.
“I do know intelligence officers are monitoring all my actions day and night time. I’ve even made their work simpler by being open,” he stated, pointing to the open gate to his home.
“These gates are open on a regular basis for anybody to come back and examine on us. I’m not anxious as a result of my future can be determined by God. No person can change that.”
Final week, Cupboard Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa stated Sri Lanka’s defence companies had been carefully monitoring intelligence reviews of an extremist group working from the East.
Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Occasions, newspaper quoting Public Safety Minister Ananda Wijepala, reported that the federal government had obtained info from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and army intelligence about efforts to propagate extremist ideologies among the many Jap Province’s Muslim inhabitants.
Minister Wijepala stated that surveillance of sure non secular websites discovered that youngsters had been being indoctrinated in extremist ideologies, which he described as “opposite to the teachings of Islam.”
He particularly talked about such actions in Kalmunai.
Raees, who believes these statements referred to his actions, rejected the claims, as a substitute suggesting that teams had been making an attempt to create hassle.
“This could possibly be as a consequence of some native and international teams who wish to destabilize the nation by making a speculative nationwide safety risk,” Raees stated.
Unorthodox Views
Residents of Kalmunai have informed EconomyNext that Raees’ group has operated within the space for over 5 years, although no member has been arrested for terrorism-related actions.
Nonetheless, locals say the group preaches in opposition to formal education, skilled jobs, vaccination, and lavish wedding ceremony bills.
Raees insists his group promotes home-based schooling, believing conventional education in Sri Lanka is unproductive.
“My 15-year-old son will sit for his Abnormal Stage examination subsequent yr. He has been studying by means of home-based schooling and is nurtured to be extra clever whereas mastering essential languages,” he stated.
“I’m not in opposition to schooling. However we’re losing sources on the present education system. That’s what I oppose.”
On allegations that he promotes conventional trades like farming and goat rearing, Raees stated such work yields larger earnings than skilled jobs.
“Even I have interaction in part-time companies like cleaning soap and oil manufacturing as a substitute of training personal drugs,” he stated, pointing to glass cabinets displaying his merchandise.
Residents additionally report that Raees has been concerned in disputes with mosques within the space.
His estimated 60 followers are simply identifiable as a consequence of their distinct coloured robes and turbans, differing from the white robes generally worn by many Sri Lankan Muslims. He admitted that his followers typically conflict with others over non secular views.
“There have been police instances in opposition to me as a result of I intervened in some arguments involving my group members. There have additionally been courtroom instances,” Raees stated.
He was as soon as arrested over a land dispute associated to Sri Lanka’s Archaeology legal guidelines, which led to his job suspension. Nonetheless, he was later reinstated.
Safety Alert
Sri Lanka’s protection companies have carefully monitored his actions, Raees says, together with his travels.
He frequently takes his household to Medagama in Monaragala to have meals with a Sinhala household and to Jaffna to find out about Hindu traditions. He additionally studied at Wesley Faculty in Kalmunai.
“Even now, I’m being adopted by intelligence, however I’m superb with that.”
Sri Lanka’s safety companies confronted extreme criticism for his or her failure to handle the rise of extremism within the Jap Province, which contributed to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
Earlier than the assaults, extremist teams had been spreading radical ideologies and working in Jap cities like Kattankudy and Sainthamaruthu, neighbouring Kalmunai.
The earlier authorities’s negligence was worsened by poor coordination between intelligence companies and regulation enforcement, in addition to political infighting, which led to disregarded safety warnings.
Raees maintains that his group has no intention of resorting to violence or taking on arms, and countercharges that it’s not attainable for him to construct an armed group with out authorities changing into conscious.
“One other Islamic terrorist assault in Sri Lanka is just not attainable with out the help of international teams, army intelligence, CID, police, or key authorities officers just like the President or Protection Secretary,” he stated.
“We’ve got not violated the nation’s legal guidelines. Authorities can arrest us anytime if we now have.” (KALMUNAI/March 09/2025)
