Sri Lanka’s Saudi connections revealed in latest arrest over Easter bombings

Ultraconservative Salafi-Wahhabi Islam, which has its roots in the Middle Eastern kingdom, has been taking root among the South Asian island’s Muslims

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Published: 5:04pm, 12 May 2019Updated: 9:44pm, 12 May 2019

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a Saudi-educated scholar for what they claim are links with Zahran Hashim, the suspected ringleader of the Easter Sunday bombings, throwing a spotlight on the rising influence of Salafi-Wahhabi Islam on the island’s Muslims.

Mohamed Aliyar, 60, is the founder of the Centre for Islamic Guidance, which boasts a mosque, a religious school and a library in Zahran’s hometown of Kattankudy, a Muslim-dominated city on Sri Lanka’s eastern shores.

“Information has been revealed that the suspect arrested had a close relationship with … Zahran and had been operating financial transactions,” said a police statement late on Friday.

The statement said Aliyar was “involved” with training in the southern town of Hambantota for the group of suicide bombers who attacked hotels and churches on Easter, killing more than 250 people.

Officials inspect the site of an explosion at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo on April 21. Photo: Reuters

A police spokesman declined to provide details on the accusations. Calls to Aliyar and his associates went unanswered.