In truth, the move is consistent with attempts to stigmatize the country’s small Muslim minority. By March 17, 2021 Advertisement Sri Lanka’s recent announcement banning the burqa (among other face coverings) and its shuttering of over 1,000 Islamic schools in the country is a testament to the government’s tendency to advance an Islamophobic agenda under the guise of national security. The minister of public security, Sarath Weerasekara, stated that the decisions to ban the burqa and close Islamic schools was due to the fact that he felt it had a “direct impact on national security” and that the face covering was a sign of “religious extremism.” But the fact is that these steps are a direct violation of human rights and freedom of religious expression. The wearing of the burqa was previously banned following the tragic Easter bombings in 2019, but now the Sri Lankan government is going one step further in prohibiting Islam from being taught in over 1,000 Islamic schools in the country. Such a move only further serves to isolate and victimize an already vulnerable community.