Overview

Zahran Hashim was a Sri Lankan radical Islamist preacher who was the mastermind of the April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.“Sri Lanka bombings ringleader died in hotel attack, president says,” BBC News, April 26, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48062841. The series of bombings targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 267 people and wounding 500 others.Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan, “Sri Lanka Easter bombings investigation calls for former President to be prosecuted,” CNN, February 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/sri-lanka-easter-attack-report-sirisena-intl-hnk/index.html; Morgan Winsor and Dragana Jovanovic, “ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed over 350,” ABC News, April 23, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339; “Sri Lanka attacks: 23,000 charges filed against suspects as trial begins,” BBC News, November 24, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59397642.

Hashim hailed from Kattankudy, a coastal town in Sri Lanka. Hashim, along with his brothers, were allegedly sent by his father to a madrassa where he was taught strict interpretations of Islam. Although Hashim showcased skill of the teachings of the Quran, he reportedly was often at odds with his teachers.Hannah Beech, “Sri Lankan Accused of Leading Attacks Preached Slaughter. Many Dismissed Him,” New York Times, April 25, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/world/asia/sri-lanka-attacks-mastermind.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage.

In 2014, Hashim started the National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ), a local Islamist group that complied with the fundamentalist teachings of the Wahhabi tradition of Islam. Hashim reportedly later founded his own mosque in Kattankudy—allegedly, per media sources, with funding from India. However, the group never received religious certification. According to media sources, by 2017, Hashim and his followers began targeting a Sufi sect—a strain of Islam that follows a mystical form of the faith—in Kattankudy, accusing its members of being infidels. Additionally, it was reported that in one instance, Hashim violently charged towards Sufis with a sword. The Sufis were reportedly handing out packets of rice to the poor, but Hashim interpreted the actions as trying to bribe hungry converts.Hannah Beech, “Sri Lankan Accused of Leading Attacks Preached Slaughter. Many Dismissed Him,” New York Times, April 25, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/world/asia/sri-lanka-attacks-mastermind.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage.

Hashim gained further notoriety in 2018 when he, along with a group of his followers, defaced several Buddhist statues in central Sri Lanka. According to media sources, Hashim claimed that “Islam prohibits idol worship so statues should be destroyed.” Despite the public outrage, Zahran was not arrested.James Griffiths and Sam Kiley, Sri Lanka bombers’ mentor is dead, but his memory still stokes fear,” CNN, April 26, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/26/asia/sri-lanka-suicide-bomber-intl/index.html. Hashim then built a following on YouTube where he posted videos promoting violence against non-Muslims. In the days prior to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, Hashim appeared in a video released by ISIS in which seven men pledged allegiance to the extremist group. Media sources suggest some of the men were the Easter Sunday suicide bombers. However, Hashim was the only individual to show his face in the video. It is unreported if Hashim had been in direct contact with ISIS or if he only pledged allegiance to the group.“Sri Lanka bombings ringleader died in hotel attack, president says,” BBC News, April 26, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48062841.

On April 21, 2019, Hashim, along with seven other suicide bombers, launched a coordinated series of attacks on three Catholic churches in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa, as well as three luxury hotels in Colombo.“Sri Lanka Attacks: What We Know and Don’t Know,” April 24, 2019, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/world/asia/sri-lanka-easter-bombing-attacks.html. The attacks killed 267 people and wounded 500 others. Most of the victims were from Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community. That evening, an improvised explosive device was defused near Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport. Police found 87 detonators in a private terminal of the main bus station in Colombo, and a controlled explosion was carried out on a van near the Roman Catholic St. Anthony’s church also in Colombo.Jenni Marsh, Julia Hollingsworth, Bianca Britton and Barbara Starr, “Sri Lanka fears international terror link to Easter Sunday atrocities,” CNN, April 23, 2019, https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html. Along with countless Sri Lankans, the victims included more than a dozen foreign nationals from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, China, the Netherlands, India, Portugal, Japan, and Turkey.“Sri Lanka Attacks: What We Know and Don’t Know,” April 24, 2019, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/world/asia/sri-lanka-easter-bombing-attacks.html. Hashim killed himself after detonating an explosive at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo.Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan, “Sri Lanka Easter bombings investigation calls for former President to be prosecuted,” CNN, February 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/sri-lanka-easter-attack-report-sirisena-intl-hnk/index.html.

Shortly after the attacks, the Sri Lankan government admitted that it had not responded to warnings from U.S. and Indian intelligence agencies about a possible attack.Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan, “Sri Lanka Easter bombings investigation calls for former President to be prosecuted,” CNN, February 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/sri-lanka-easter-attack-report-sirisena-intl-hnk/index.html; Morgan Winsor and Dragana Jovanovic, “ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed over 350,” ABC News, April 23, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339; “Sri Lanka attacks: 23,000 charges filed against suspects as trial begins,” BBC News, November 24, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59397642. According to Sri Lankan officials, Hashim was the ringleader of the attack. Media sources reported that Hashim allegedly believed that he was following in the footsteps of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the emir of ISIS in Bangladesh. Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi Canadian allegedly masterminded the July 2015 attack at the Gulchand Café in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed 29 people. According to media sources, weeks before the attack, India’s intelligence service warned Sri Lanka authorities that Zahran was planning an attack on churches and hotels.Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan, “Sri Lanka Easter bombings investigation calls for former President to be prosecuted,” CNN, February 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/sri-lanka-easter-attack-report-sirisena-intl-hnk/index.html.

On April 23, 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, releasing a video of suspects pledging allegiance to then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Deborah Haynes, “Wealthy and well-educated: The bombers behind the Sri Lanka attacks,” Sky News, May 1, 2019, https://news.sky.com/story/wealthy-and-well-educated-the-bombers-behind-the-sri-lanka-attacks-11708206. ISIS also released a statement claiming the attackers were “among the fighters of the Islamic State.” According to media sources, multiple U.S. sources briefed on the investigation believed ISIS was involved in the Sri Lanka attacks in a supportive capacity but were uncertain to what degree.Morgan Winsor and Dragana Jovanovic, “ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed over 350,” ABC News, April 23, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339.