Long-simmering religious tensions between Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority and Muslim minority are fanning false claims that Muslim politician Muneer Mulaffer was named deputy minister for Buddhist affairs. Mulaffer was given a position that handles broader religious and cultural matters, and the portfolio for Buddhist affairs belongs to another deputy minister.
"Congratulations to the honourable new deputy minister of Buddhist Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Muneer," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on October 10, 2025.
The post, which has been shared more than 2,000 times, features an image of Mulaffer in a kufi cap with the text "congratulations" superimposed on it.
The posts emerged after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced a cabinet reshuffle on October 10, 2025 and appointed Mulaffer, who previously held another position, as deputy minister of religious and cultural affairs (archived here and here).
The position falls under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, which was established primarily to promote and protect Buddhist teachings, but whose functions have since been expanded to oversee religious and cultural matters (archived link).
Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority island nation, has a history of ethnic unrest -- the most severe being the 1983 massacre known as "Black July" -- which resulted in a civil war killing around 100,000 people (archived link).
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