Sri Lanka’s predominantly Buddhist nation is very sensitive about its religion.Sri Lanka’s predominantly Buddhist nation is very sensitive about its religion.

Sri Lanka has deported a British tourist for having a tattoo of Buddha on her arm which a court said was an insult to the island’s main religion.

Legally, there is no ban on a Buddha tattoo in Sri Lanka, but the predominantly Buddhist nation is very sensitive about its religion.

Naomi Michelle Coleman, a 37-year-old nurse, left on a London-bound flight on Thursday after being detained since her arrival on Monday from neighbouring India.

If there is a rule like this, Sri Lankan authorities should clearly say that Buddha tattoos are banned. I am a practising Buddhist and Buddhism is all about compassion and kindness

“I just want to get out of this place. I have come twice to Sri Lanka, but I have never faced this with my tattoo,” Coleman told Reuters by telephone shortly before she was deported.

“If there is a rule like this, Sri Lankan authorities should clearly say that Buddha tattoos are banned. I am a practising Buddhist and Buddhism is all about compassion and kindness.”

Buddhism is accorded the “foremost place” in Sri Lanka’s constitution and about 70 per cent of its 20 million people are Buddhist.

Authorities spotted Coleman’s tattoo upon her arrival arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport in the capital, Colombo.

Senior immigration official Chulananda Perera said the court had decided to deport Coleman partly because she could have been “vulnerable” if allowed to stay.

“Some Sri Lankans could get offended,” Perera told Reuters.

It was not the first time a tourist with such a tattoo has run into trouble in Sri Lanka. In 2013, authorities denied entry to a British man for his tattoo of Buddha.

In 2011, Thailand’s Culture Ministry said foreign tourists in Sri Lanka should be barred from getting tattoos of Buddha during their holidays because the practice was culturally insensitive.

And R&B star Akon was refused a Sri Lankan visa in 2010 and had to apologise to Sri Lankan Buddhists after his video for Sexy Chick, which featured a pool party in front of a Buddha statue, caused offence and protests in the nation.

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