The attack in a place such as Sri Lanka stokes fears everywhere, including the United States.
Friends and relatives pray as they mourn Shaini, 13, who died as bomb blasts ripped through churches and luxury hotels on Easter, in Negombo, Sri Lanka,on April 22, 2019.
“Here’s a nation that has pluralism and yet still had religious terrorism. It reminds you there isn’t one solution, no one safe place. It’s surprising," said Ed Stetzer, who holds the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair for Church, Mission and Evangelism at Wheaton College and has trained evangelists across the world.
But leaders and experts say the Easter bombings show that beyond the surface, relations — even in a place considered generally tolerant — are fragile. He compared Sri Lanka to the United States — a place where hypothetically the majority faith says it supports religious freedom, but “when it’s time to defend the minority, we haven’t always done so.”
Some observers, including Shaun Casey, director of Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, fear the violence will feed a narrative that Christians are at war with Muslims.
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