Colombo, Jul 3: A customs official says Sri Lanka has banned this week's issue of Time magazine over its cover story on Myanmar's sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims because it could affect religious sentiments on this Buddhist-majority island.
Customs department spokesman Leslie Gamini says they have confiscated 400 copies of Time's July 1st edition because of a story on a prominent Buddhist monk in Myanmar bearing the headline “The Face of Buddhist Terror.”
He said on Wednesday the magazines were confiscated according to custom laws.
Religious tension has been on the rise in Sri Lanka, where the state religion is Buddhism.
Hate speech and even attacks on Muslim-owned businesses and places of worship are more common than in the past.
