Extremist groups rally against LGBT+ community committing contempt of court

By: Editor (LGBTIQ)

July 22, Colombo (LNW): In a staggering revelation, certain evangelical Christian groups operating in Sri Lanka, funded by US groups sharing same faith, are planning to rally in front of the Colombo Fort Railway station this (22) afternoon, in objection to the recently tabled private bill proposing decriminalisation of consensual same-sex conduct between adults, LNW learned.

These evangelical groups not only challenge the Supreme Court’s special determination delivered last year with regard to the bill, but also act in violation of a number of obligations Sri Lanka has to respond to before the United Nations. They happen to instigate a hate campaign against people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) and women’s reproductive health rights.

The campaign is being led by a Pastor from Agape Ministry, which has its origins in Texas, USA, and she has created a recruitment and conversion movement called ‘Mother’s Movement’ to spread false propaganda, an activist on the condition of anonymity told LNW.

The Mother’s Movement (spelled Mawwarunge Peramuna in Sinhala), led by the Pastor in question, has come under fire for allegedly using tactics resembling those employed by the late Mangala Samaraweera’s Mother’s Front (Mawwarunge Peramuna). Whilst Samaraweera’s campaign sought justice for missing children during the second JVP uprising in the late 80s, the current Mother’s Movement is spreading misinformation and promoting religious conversions.

Evangelical groups in Sri Lanka are known for their multi-layered approach to conversion, often presenting themselves as charitable organisations involved in education, healthcare, and rural development. This strategy helps them build trust within communities before introducing religious conversions.

This organisation, which relies on the financial backing of US-supported evangelical Christians, has initiated this protest as part of a much larger campaign to recruit individuals to its particular brand of Christianity by leveraging religious influence.

Alongside their conversion initiatives, these evangelical groups also disseminate anti-queer rhetoric. This aligns with a broader global strategy observed in various countries, where US religious right organisations have invested millions to combat LGBTQIA+ rights and instil fear against marginalised communities to drive conversion and recruitment to their brand of Christianity. 

In Uganda, for instance, such groups have been pivotal in endorsing stringent anti-gay legislation, advocating for the death penalty against queer individuals, who committed no crime at all.

Recently, these groups have escalated their activities in Sri Lanka by organising protests against a bill intended to decriminalise same-sex consensual relationships. They propagate false accusations against the queer community, garnering support under deceptive pretences. 

Alarmingly, they have succeeded in persuading certain Buddhist and Muslim groups to back their cause, exploiting their lack of awareness regarding the evangelical groups’ underlying conversion agendas.

The movement proposes the recent developments on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ community in Sri Lanka to be ‘abominable’ and ‘daemonic’. It also proposes that gays, lesbians and transgender individuals are paedophiles, thereby inciting a call for all mothers to protect their children from such individuals, in a clear violation of the Supreme Court determination which dismissed such baseless accusations last year.

Their stance of recruiting converts for their movement in the appearance of inciting hate against marginalised communities and women’s rights also instigate tarnishment of the diverse religious and cultural fabric of our nation.

It is crucial to differentiate between these evangelical groups and the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis has consistently advocated for the decriminalisation of homosexuality and has condemned laws that criminalise LGBT individuals as unjust. He has stressed that homosexual persons must be welcomed and not discriminated against.

“Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. Condemning a person like this is a sin. Criminalising people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice,” the Pope said in a recent statement.

This compassionate stance distinguishes the Roman Catholic Church from the more extreme positions of evangelical groups that use hate and fear as recruitment tools.

Whilst we are reassuring our stance against all forms of extremism, we would like to conclude this article by emphasising the importance of creating a society where every individual is treated with respect, irrespective of their religion, race, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. This is essential for the long-term stability and renaissance of Sri Lanka.