ABSTRACT
Muslim political voices and concerns have mostly been silenced in the various peace processes that have taken place in Sri Lanka’s troubled history of violent conflict. The ceasefire agreement in 2002 and the subsequent peace negotiations are no exception to this. Muslim politicians were marginal in the negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, although Muslims represent the second largest ethnic minority in Sri Lanka. This chapter therefore traces the genealogy of Muslim political voices in Sri Lanka and locates them within the broader historical context of Sri Lankan politics – a context characterized by violence, patronage, corruption and clientelism. The authors present this historical genealogy from a ‘Muslim’ perspective, but have no hesitation in acknowledging the legitimate perspectives of other communities in Sri Lanka.
