Sri Lanka Attacks: Hometown of Accused Mastermind Was Fertile Ground for Extremism
Share
[aggregation-styles]
New York Times
New York Times
Sri Lanka Attacks: Hometown of Accused Mastermind Was Fertile Ground for Extremism
KATTANKUDY, Sri Lanka — When the Wahhabis came, with their austere ideology and abundant coffers, the town of Kattankudy yielded fertile ground.
In this part of Sri Lanka, faith was often the sole sustaining force during the civil war that raged for nearly three decades. Wahhabism — a hard-line strain of Islam blamed for breeding militancy — proposed a direct path to God, albeit one that aimed to return the religion to the time of the Prophet Muhammad.
It was here in Kattankudy’s warren of homes decorated with delicate swirls of Arabic calligraphy that Zaharan Hashim, the man accused of masterminding the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, grew up. And it was here that he preached his ideology, calling for the killing of nonbelievers in Islam and even other Muslims.
In this part of Sri Lanka, faith was often the sole sustaining force during the civil war that raged for nearly three decades. Wahhabism — a hard-line strain of Islam blamed for breeding militancy — proposed a direct path to God, albeit one that aimed to return the religion to the time of the Prophet Muhammad.
It was here in Kattankudy’s warren of homes decorated with delicate swirls of Arabic calligraphy that Zaharan Hashim, the man accused of masterminding the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, grew up. And it was here that he preached his ideology, calling for the killing of nonbelievers in Islam and even other Muslims.
By Hannah Beech | 28 April 2019
RELATED TOPICS:
PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case
Politics /
3 hours ago
San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says
Sports /
3 hours ago
California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving
Courts /
3 hours ago
California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag
Latest /
5 hours ago
Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers
Business /
6 hours ago
Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man
The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating family members of a Fresno man who died last month.
F...
Local /
13 minutes ago
Categories
Latest
Videos

Local /
13 minutes ago
Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

Crime /
1 hour ago
Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Felecia Johnson

Politics /
3 hours ago
PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

Sports /
3 hours ago
San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

Courts /
3 hours ago
California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

Inspire /
1 day ago