Speaking at a seminar hosted by the military on Tuesday, Gotabhaya Rajapakse said:
"One of the consequences of the increasing insularity amongst minority ethnic groups is the emergence of hardline groups within the majority (Sinhala-Buddhist) community."
"It is a known fact that Muslim fundamentalism is spreading all over the world and in this region. The possibility that such extremist elements may try to promote Muslim extremism in Sri Lanka is a cause for concern."
Justice Minister and leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress (SLMC) Rauf Hakeem said he was "extremely disturbed" and wished to "publicly contradict the assertion of the Secretary of Defence", reports the AFP.
Rishad Bathiyutheen, Minister for Industry and Commerce and leader of the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) said:
"A tendency prevails today to depict a picture portraying the Muslim community as a whole as the culprit when a crime is committed by an individual Muslim while offenders belonging to other communities are treated as individual offenders." (Colombo Page)