What is Causing Buddhist Violence Against

Muslims?
March 10, 2014
You can listen back to a recording of the entire panel discussion by clicking here.
More than 250 Muslims have died in attacks in Myanmar in recent years, with some of the
violent mobs led by Buddhist monks. Buddhist groups have also been leading campaigns
against Muslims in ri !anka, attacking mos"ues, assaulting women wearing the hi#ab and
campaigning against halal certification of food. $hat is causing an upsurge in anti%Muslim
violence in these countries&
'his was the "uestion being asked at a conference held by the (enter for (onflict, )egotiation
and *ecovery +(()*, at -- on March . and /. 0s part of the conference, (()* director
*obert 'empler moderated a public panel discussion at (12 on March ..
3ollowing the defeat of the 'amil 'igers in ri !anka after 2. years of civil war, it was hoped
that the ri !ankan political space would see an opening up and attempts would be made to
address the long standing grievances of the 'amil community and other minority concerns.
42nfortunately5, according to 6r. 0lan 7eenan, the 8nternational (risis 9roup:s ri !anka
enior 0nalyst, 4what has happened instead is the consolidation of an ethnically inhalese,
Buddhist triumphalism throughout society, and with that a consolidation of the power of the
ruling party.5
0long with this, the military machine that was used to win the war remains in place and still
controls much of the area previously held by the 'amil 'igers. 5'he hope for a peace dividend
has not come to fruition,5 7eenan e;plained, with the victory instead giving rise to a new
phenomenon of inghalese Buddhist nationalist violence targeting not #ust 'amils, but Muslims
in general.
'he roots of this phenomenon, 7eenan believes, lie in a mistrust of the Muslim community
built up during the war and currently being cultivated by groups such as the Bodu Bala ena
+BB< Buddhist -ower 3orce, which have been leading a campaign of hate speech and violence
against Muslims with the apparent support and patronage of the government. 'he #ustification
for these actions is that they are in response to a rising Muslim e;tremism that 7eenan
contends simply does not e;ist in ri !anka.
Meanwhile in Myanmar, where the level of violence has been far more significant than in ri
!anka, a similar trend for inter%communal violence has been emerging since the end of military
rule, with Buddhist communities increasingly attacking Muslims, especially the *ohingya
people in *akhine tate. =ere, the tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities have
e;isted since colonial times, e;plained 6r. *ichard =orsey, a consultant who works for the
8nternational (risis 9roup and the Myanmar -eace (enter. But the opening up of society and
the increased freedoms which have come with that have been used by some groups +such as the
>.> Movement, to spread virulent anti%Muslim messages. 48t stems, as in ri !anka, from very
real fears ? not necessarily logical or #ustifiable fears ? that Buddhism is under threat.
'he nature of those fears relate to the sense that Buddhism might lose its central place in the
moral and social life of the country,5 =orsey e;plained. $hile these concerns can seem
irrational to observers, they go back a number of decades to a fear of moderni@ation and
seculari@ation, and military regime:s control over the Buddhist community. 'hese fears are now
being given an outlet through anti%Muslim feeling, but =orsey believes that at another time
they might well have been e;pressed in relation to other threats.
British #ournalist 0ssed Baig has seen the effects of the violence in Myanmar during his visits
to *ohingya communities. 48t was mob violence,5 Baig said, 4that is the only way it can really
be e;plained.5 Baig recounted stories told to him by eyewitnesses, of people being dragged
from their homes to be beaten or murdered in the streets, even being thrown alive on to fires or
being attacked with swords. 8n some instances mobs overwhelmed police who were attempting
to lead Muslim victims to safety, while in others the police were reported to have been
complicit in the violence.
'he most baffling aspect for outsiders of the violence being perpetrated both in ri !anka and
Myanmar stems from the popular belief in Buddhism as a religion of peace and harmony. 0lso
on the panel was *ichard *eoch, the chairman of the $orking 9roup on ri !anka and the
president of the hambhala Buddhist community, imilar to all ma#or religions, *eoch
e;plained, Buddhism prohibits killing. But, as happens with other religions, this principal can
be a victim of circumstance. 4$hat are the circumstances in which anyone acts against their
principals&5 *eoch believes that there are three factors at play both in ri !anka and Myanmar,
and in other conflicts that he has seen< 41motion, culture, and identity. 'hese three, especially
if they are combined, completely trump the religious principals that a person holds.
0ccording to *eoch a mi;ture of fear blotting out rational thought, a group mindset which
allows people to abandon individual responsibility, and a belief that the identity of one:s own
community is sacred and must be protected at all costs, can #ustify, in the minds of the
perpetrators of violence, any measures which might be employed to protect their position.
% ee more at< http<AAspp.ceu.huAarticleA20BC%0D%B0Awhy%are%buddhists%attacking%muslims%
myanmar%and%sri%lankaEsthash.Duk0FGwg.dpuf