SPIEGEL ONLINE : Mr. Tschacher, the government in Sri Lanka suspects the "National Towheeth Jamaath" behind the terror of Easter Sunday. Did you know this organization before?
Tschacher : Not in relation to Sri Lanka. There is a grouping in India, which I have always considered a local South Indian phenomenon. This is a group that emerged in the 1990s as more and more Muslims in India saw themselves persecuted. It seems to me there but on the way down. Now it is being spread on social media that Sri Lanka is the same organization.
There is one branch of the group in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Towheed Jamath, but to what extent this is the same organization that is now accused of the attacks, I can not judge. Towheeth as a term for puritanical thought is relatively common in the region. It means, simply translated: monotheism, the absolute unity of God. In the region, the term is often used to accuse Sufis and people who go to shrines, that they are breaking up this unity of God and therefore have to fight against it.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : What speaks from your point of view against the Islamist theory?
Tschacher : Do you follow the old principle 'Cui bono?' and wondering who is the beneficiary of such a series of attacks, I would say that it was the dumbest thing an Islamist group could have done. The current situation benefits radical Buddhists and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is politically back on the starting blocks and not in any way the Muslim community.
One may ask: Why are Christians in Sri Lanka attacked, who as a minority are in a very similar situation to Muslims? Those, as well as Muslims, are accused that they are not national enough? Possibly behind it but also a superordinate jihadist ideology. And unfortunately, stupidity is not a hindrance to people doing something.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : How much do Taliban, al Qaeda, "Islamic State" and others try to gain a foothold in Sri Lanka?
Tschacher : I'm pretty sure these organizations have little to no influence in Sri Lanka. It is true that in the past 50 years some Islamic movements from Pakistan and northern India have gained influence here. But even stronger are the influences from the Gulf States. In recent years, it has always been a matter of dispute between Buddhists and Muslims that Sri Lankan Muslims, who have lived in Arab states for a few years, are importing Wahhabi ideology into Sri Lanka. Suddenly more and more women seemed to be veiled. But it also led to strife among the Muslims among themselves: Some said the other: So, as we have lived Islam so far, everything is wrong.
In the video: The series of attacks in Sri Lanka
REUTERS
SPIEGEL ONLINE : About seven percent of Sri Lanka's population, or about 1.7 million people, are Muslims, mostly Sunnis. What is your situation?
Tschacher : Muslim communities have existed in Sri Lanka for almost a millennium. The majority speaks Tamil, in some regions Sinhalese. There are two minor minorities among Muslims: the Malays, who came from Indonesia and Malaysia, and smaller groups of Shiite traders from other parts of South Asia. There is a longstanding conflict between Muslims and the Buddhist majority in this ethnic mix in Sri Lanka. Especially in the southwest of the country, where relatively many Muslims live, who are doing well economically.
Since the civil war ended in 2009 and the Tamils have disappeared as the main enemy, now focus again on the Muslims. There have been quite a few smaller pogroms and attacks. Two, three nationalist Buddhist groups consisting of monks are driving this up. One of them, the Buddhist force Bodu Bala Sena, specifically attacks Muslims, calling them anti-Buddhist and anti-national. There were some strange allegations, for example, that Muslims would sell underpants that would make Sinhala women sterile.