Part 1: Who Is Naufer Maulavi Really?
The name Mohammadu Ibrahim Mohamad Naufer, more commonly known by the religious honorific Naufer Maulavi (in Picture), is one that has haunted Sri Lanka since the carnage of April 21, 2019—the devastating Easter Sunday bombings that claimed over 250 innocent lives. Branded as the “mastermind” of the attack by the media, government reports, and even international law enforcement agencies, the truth about Naufer Maulavi has long been buried under layers of misinformation, manipulation, and outright deception.
This investigation seeks to peel back those layers—and to expose the far more sinister actors who lurk in the shadows, far from the mosques of Kattankudy and closer to the marble floors of power in Colombo.
The Man From Khartankodi
Born on 30th November 1978, in the dusty eastern town of Khartankodi near Kattankudy, Naufer’s early life was unremarkable. He attended local Islamic religious schools, and through the years, earned the title Maulavi—a credential that denoted him as a religious teacher, not a warrior or an ideologue. He was known in his community as pious, soft-spoken, and deeply engaged in scholarly debates within Wahhabi circles.
It’s important to note that Wahhabism—though often misunderstood—is a reformist movement focused on purifying Islamic practices. The organizations Naufer initially affiliated with in the Middle East had no proven ties to violent extremism. They were purist, yes—but not militant.
So what happened to Naufer? How did a theological student become the alleged “ISIS agent” and “mastermind” of Sri Lanka’s deadliest terrorist attack?
The Arrest That Almost Didn’t Happen
Just days after the Easter bombings, Naufer Maulavi was arrested—not through elite intelligence work—but by accident. He was holed up at a safe house in Enderamulla, Colombo, at the time of the attack. Fearing imminent police raids, he made a fateful journey back east to his native Kattankudy via Dambulla, traveling with a driver in a rented vehicle.
They checked into a local hotel under false identities—both Muslim names. Suspicious hotel staff tipped off the police. Initially, the Dambulla Police detained him and, after running his documents through Colombo’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), found no red flags. He was allowed to leave.
It was only after a secondary TID officer, asking for photographs, spotted him and recognized him from a confidential military dossier, that the order came through: “Arrest him immediately.” He was picked up at the hotel, interrogated, and whisked to Colombo.
But what was in that confidential file? And why did the TID, despite initially green-lighting his release, only react upon visual confirmation? Here’s where the trail begins to darken.
The Military Intelligence Connection
Sources within the intelligence community—both in Colombo and outside—have confirmed that Naufer Maulavi had long been a person of interest to Sri Lanka’s Military Intelligence Corps (MIC). Not because he was a terrorist. But because he was a potential asset.
In the years leading up to 2019, several covert operations were run by a rogue unit of military intelligence, led and mentored by now-infamous figures like Major General Suresh Saleh, then Director of Military Intelligence. The objective? Infiltrate Muslim communities, identify theological influencers, and—where possible—weaponize them.
Naufer, the Maulavi with Gulf ties, a clean academic record, and no criminal past, was perfect. He was approached, monitored, and eventually cultivated—not by radicals from ISIS, but by men in uniform operating under the pretext of “national security.” These operations had full political sanction, specifically from members of the Rajapaksa family, who were then out of power but plotting their grand return.
Zahran Hashim And The False Flag Network
In 2018, Naufer was allegedly instructed by his handlers to build a relationship with Zahran Hashim, the radical preacher from National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ). Zahran, too, had been under surveillance, but mysteriously remained untouched by law enforcement despite numerous public threats.
Through intermediaries, including another intelligence-linked operative known only as Khalil, Naufer and Zahran were made to “collaborate.” Reports suggest that Khalil, now in remand over unrelated charges, was the crucial link between military intelligence and the NTJ cell.
The real bombshell? Zahran’s cell was infiltrated, managed, and possibly even directed by Sri Lankan military operatives posing as foreign religious mentors.
This strategy aligns eerily with doctrinal writings of Professor Rohan Gunaratna, a controversial academic whose theories about “Sri Lanka’s ISIS threat” were peddled in government reports, policy white papers, and, eventually, the FBI affidavit that sealed Naufer’s fate as the so-called “mastermind.”
The Gunaratna Doctrine: Creating An Enemy
Professor Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan counter-terrorism scholar with deep ties to both Western intelligence and the Sri Lankan state, was one of the first to publicly label Naufer Maulavi the “mastermind” of Easter Sunday. His reports became the foundation of legal action not just in Colombo, but also in Washington.
The problem? His conclusions were drawn before a full forensic investigation had even been concluded.
It appears that the narrative had been pre-scripted:
ISIS-inspired Islamist radicals,
A network led by Naufer,
Operationalized by Zahran,
Supported ideologically by Middle Eastern contacts.
A perfect case for international sympathy—and an even better excuse to justify the return of the Rajapaksas to power on a platform of national security.
The question now is not whether Naufer was involved. He may very well have had knowledge of the plot. He may have even assisted in logistics. But did he design, fund, and mastermind the entire operation alone? All evidence suggests: Absolutely not.
The FBI’s Hasty Affidavit
The FBI affidavit, used as primary evidence in several international forums to establish the role of ISIS in the attack, now faces serious questions. Why?
Because the FBI never interviewed Naufer Maulavi directly. Their conclusions were based on documents and interviews provided solely by Sri Lankan Military Intelligence and Rohan Gunaratna’s analysis.
Since then, multiple internal reviews—especially after the 2022-2023 international pressure campaign by victims’ families—have called for the affidavit to be revisited. The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly embarrassed by its reliance on flawed intelligence.
One former senior FBI official, speaking anonymously, stated:
“We were handed a cooked narrative. Our mistake was trusting Sri Lanka’s version without independent verification.”
Plant, Patsy, Or Pawn?
Today, Naufer Maulavi sits in prison, branded as the “father of Sri Lankan Islamic jihadism.” He continues to preach to fellow inmates and has even, bizarrely, taken on the identity of a martyr-scholar.
But privately, he’s begun to talk. Sources close to his legal team suggest that he is ready to reveal everything—the military connections, the handlers, the Zahran connection, and most damningly, how he was set up to take the fall.
As this investigation continues in Part 2, we will explore:
The timeline of military intelligence involvement with NTJ
Why the warnings from Indian intelligence were ignored
The sudden withdrawal of police protection from churches before the attack
How the Easter Sunday bombings conveniently reset the political landscape for the Rajapaksas
One thing is already clear: Naufer Maulavi was not the architect—he was the blueprint. A false flag framed in fire.
(To be continued in Part 2: “Inside the Operation—How Military Intelligence Orchestrated the Perfect Crisis.”)
Source:Lanka Enews -By Investigatice Reporter
