The Spread of Buddhist Extremism

Avid readers of this blog (now maybe numbering in the tens) will know that these posts tend to be extremely pessimistic. That being said, even the most quixotic analysis of unfolding events in Burma and Sri Lanka would find little to be positive about, especially in light of the new agreement recently signed between two Buddhist supremacist groups in Asia.

Before getting into the details, as always some backstory is required. This piece largely builds upon one of the inaugural Thiébault Blog posts concerning “Burma’s Muslim Problem” or the persecution of Muslims by Buddhist extremists in Burma. A brief synopsis of the situation will suffice here. The 969 terrorist organization in Burma led by monk Ashin Wirathu has fanned violence against Muslims in his country, killing hundreds and leaving many more maimed and injured. Wirathu’s tactics and rhetoric, include warning of Muslims who are kidnapping and raping Buddhist women, Muslims who want to overrun and take over Burma, and claiming they are “armed to the teeth and waging jihad” (all of which are patently untrue).

These tactics unfortunately have not gone unnoticed and have been emulated by another group which rose to prominence at around the same time (roughly in 2012), the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). The BBS is based in Sri Lanka and the name roughly translated means Buddhist Power Force. A relatively innocuous traffic dispute between a Muslim and Bhuddist in Sri Lanka led to a reaction which was incited by BBS’ leader and monk Galagoda Gnanasara. The response was to gather a mob of around 7,000 to terrorize the Muslim community, resulting in several dead (some Muslims were shot by police who as in Burma simply watch events unfold). These events are becoming more commonplace in Sri Lanka as they are in Burma

The similarities between these two groups has not gone unnoticed by them. A few months ago 969 leader Wirathu gave an inflammatory and repulsive speech in Colombo to the BBS. This lead to a formal agreement between these two Buddhist supremacist groups to form an “international Buddhist force”, with the hopes of fomenting other ties with possible future Buddhist extremist organizations.

To say the reaction to these events has been muted would be an exercise in understatement. There are several reasons for this. First, nationally, both countries have Buddhist majority populations and leaders have been afraid that speaking out could be politically harmful. Sri Lanka’s government was mum in response to Muslim and Christian demands (Christians have also been targeted by BBS) to deny Wirathu a visa. Perhaps even more objectionable given her stature as a human rights paragon is Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence on the issue. This again is done on her part for political expediency.

The entire blame does not rest on representatives in these countries however. As has been mentioned before, the narrative of Buddhists carrying out extremism against Muslims does not sit well for Western audiences. First, there is a parochial fixation with Islamic terrorism that does not situate Muslims as victims well, or extremism by non-Muslims well either. In addition, Buddhism has a perhaps unique role among major religions as being venerated as being incapable of violence. Violence is supposed to be anathema to Buddhists. This leads to a willful blindness with regards to Buddhist extremism in Asia. An example that demonstrates this well is satirical online show “The Onion”, last year in the midst of violence in Burma came out with a video joking about Buddhist peacefulness entitled “Buddhist Extremist Cell Vows to Unleash Tranquility on West”. A cursory glance at the comments section shows no mention of the deep irony involved in a video making light of the existence of Buddhist extremism while a violent Buddhist extremist group was wreaking havoc in Burma.

It is almost unthinkable that similar actions could occur, for example from Muslim groups formally working together while simultaneously targeting Christians, or even other Muslims with so little attention. No atrocities deserve to be carried out with impunity, and the deafening silence surrounding Burmese and Sri Lankan victims is unacceptable. These atrocities, and the terrifying prospect of their intensification with this new pact deserve to be focused on, condemned, and combatted by the entire international community. The fear now is that Muslim minority communities in these countries may start retaliating and committing heinous acts themselves, maybe then the world will notice.