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Sri Lanka Bombings
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On Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019, the people of Sri Lanka experienced terror in the form of suicide bomber attacks on hotels and Christian churches, which left more than two hundred and fifty-three innocent people dead and at least five hundred more injured. (picture from BBC: Six of the bombing victims)
Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. As with the Christchurch shootings in March, there are no words we could possibly express that can ease the burden and pain. These attacks underscore the need for us to resist religious violence and extremism and to promote a philosophy of humanity based on evidential information.
Amaq News Agency, a propaganda outlet for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), claimed that ″the perpetrators of the attack targeting the citizens of coalition countries and Christians in Sri Lanka were Islamic State fighters″ A man believed to be long-silent ISIL leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, praised the attackers during an 18-minute video.
AAI believes in an open and tolerant society where everyone can feel safe without having to comply with religious control enforced by terrorism. While we may disagree with religious views, our core ethical foundation is for the well being of all people. No political ideology or religious conviction can justify committing crimes against humanity.
As a species we are facing so many threats, none so grave as the ones we create for ourselves. There will be no hero to save us, no savior to rescue us from the consequences of our own nature. It is, for better or worse, up to us to save ourselves, to find it in our hearts to be better, to be compassionate, to be kind, and to heal the groundless religious divisions that are driving us closer to oblivion.
-- Peter Harrison and John Richards
Breaking news 29th April: Sri Lanka banned face-coverings on the grounds that they conceal identity.
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