Sunday, July 14, 2013

U Wirathu, Burma’s 'bin Laden of Buddhism’

A monk leading a nationalist movement challenging the "threat of Islam" in Burma is blamed for inspiring sectarian violence against the country's Mulim minority.

Radical buddhist nationalism is sweeping Burma, and at the forefront of the movement is a group more commonly associated with peace and tolerance: monks.

The most prominent among them is the controversial cleric U Wirathu, who gives passionate sermons from his Mandalay base calling on Buddhists to stand up against the "Muslim threat".

"I believe Islam is a threat not just to Buddhism, but to the [Burmese] people and the country," says the monk, whose boyish face and toothy grin belie the name his critics have given him: "the Buddhist bin Laden".

The 46-year-old has been blamed for inspiring sectarian violence, which began in the long-volatile western state of Rakhine bordering Burma's mostly Muslim neighbour, Bangladesh, but has spread to areas unused to such tension.

 Hundreds of Muslims have been killed, mosques burned and many thousands driven from their homes. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. No justice for Muslims massacred by Myanmar Buddhists...
  2. Massacre in Myanmar ignored by everyone...
  3. ‘I am proud to be called a radical Buddhist’
  4. Myanmar monk Wirathu accused of inciting religious violence...
  5. Buddhist monk Wirathu uses racism and rumours to spread hatred in Burma...
  6. Rohingya population control: the onslaught in Burma continues...
  7. Burma's Buddhist mobs sow fear amid widening unrest...
  8. Video shows Burmese police standing by as Buddhists attack Muslims...

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