Sri Lanka´s government on Friday asked mosques to hand over copies of sermons and demonstrate their allegiance to religious extremists after a jihad attack on Easter that killed 258 people.
The attacks, carried out by Sri Lankan Islamists on 21 April, also injured 500 people. Churches and three luxury hotels were targeted in Colombo and adopted by the Islamic State Organization.
"Due to the situation in the country, the ministry orders all mosque officials not to declare any group that promotes hatred or extremism in any way or to participate in it," the ministry said.
The ministry stressed that all mosques should begin handing over copies of the sermons to be broadcast.
Since the attacks, the authorities have imposed a state of emergency and security forces have conducted a series of raids in the country, in which several presumed Islamists were killed. Police said 56 suspects were currently under arrest.
The authorities also expelled 200 foreign Muslim preachers whose visas were no longer valid.
Police confirm that all members of the cell responsible for the Easter attacks have been killed or arrested, but other attacks are still likely.
