Sri Lanka to ban burqas, close over 1,000 Islamic schools

Colombo:  Sri Lanka on Saturday announced plans to ban the wearing of burqas and said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas, citing national security.
Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara said he signed a paper on Friday seeking the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to ban burqas outer garments that cover the body and face worn by some Muslim women.
 The burqa has a direct impact on national security, Weerasekara told a ceremony at a Buddhist temple on Saturday, without elaborating.
 In our early days, we had a lot of Muslim friends, but Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa,” Weerasekara said, according to video footage sent by his ministry.   It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We will definitely ban it.   The wearing of burqas was temporarily banned in 2019 after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 260 people.