Is Buddhist
Militancy the Next Wave of Global Terrorism?
MAHA HOSAIN AZIZ JULY 13, 2015 Fair Observer
Is anyone paying attention to this? Buddhist militancy appears to
be the next wave of terrorism in Asia—and
it could go global. It’s been happening recurrently in Sri Lanka
since the end of the ethnic civil war in 2009, with Buddhist
monks attacking minority
Muslims (as well as Christians).
Similarly, in Myanmar since 2012, Buddhist monks have been openly
attacking minority Muslim groups,
including the Rohingya.
But
now, extremist monks in both countries have formally linked up to
form a global anti-Islamist pact.
In
September 2014, Buddhist monks in Myanmar, including Ashin Wirathu
who once referred to himself as the “Burmese bin Laden,”
flew over to Sri Lanka to officially launch the global
Buddhist alliance against
Islamist militants. We haven’t seen any follow-up on what this
alliance means exactly. But at the time, they said the goal was to
get more Buddhist groups to join their cause against Islamist
militants—partly as they felt their governments would fail to
tackle this perceived threat.
Yes,
public figures like the Dalai Lama have “urged”
the Buddhist militants in these countries to stop their apparent
crusade. US President Barack Obama expressed the
same rhetoric in his November visit to Myanmar. Even former US
President Bill Clinton has frequently remarked how
such Buddhist-led violence “sickens the world.”
And yet
we don’t see specific strategies being offered for how such
militancy should be stopped, nor do we see local governments fully
acknowledging the problem exists.
So,
what can be done to derail this form of militancy to prevent its
expansion from a regional threat to a global one?
Strategies
to tackle Islamist militancy include drone strikes, foreign
intervention and militant rehabilitation camps. But none of these
make sense for tackling Buddhist militancy at this early
stage. Here are three preemptive steps for the world to
consider in 2015.
First,
in order to determine how to stop Buddhist militancy, we need to be
clear on why it has spread. Historians have
explained it as a phenomenon rooted
in an ancient narrative of the Mahavamsa in Sri Lanka, while in
Myanmar it was a response to British colonialism. But what about
today? Foreign governments, universities and/or international
organizations need to commission studies on why such hatred has now
surfaced in such a significant way, especially if local governments
are not yet in a position to fully acknowledge the problem. Let’s
put some academic experts and ambitious PhD students to
work.
Second,
we need to consider where else Buddhist
militancy might spread. Members of the new anti-Islamist pact have
said their goal is to build “networks” with more Buddhist societies
globally. Where might this happen? Besides Myanmar and Sri Lanka,
historically there are accounts of Buddhist violence in Thailand,
Japan and Tibet. Other countries with a notable Buddhist population
(though not necessarily representing the same branch of Buddhism)
are Cambodia, Bhutan, Laos and Vietnam—could these all be potential
recruitment pools for the extremist Buddhist alliance?
And,
outside of Asia, are there particular Buddhist centers in Europe or
the United States that might be targeted by these militant monks?
For the moment, we don’t yet see this Buddhist alliance having a
global reach through social media or other avenues, but it’s likely
part of their game plan and needs to be monitored by tech
experts.
Third, who might
financially support this Buddhist alliance against Islamist
militants? If part of the goal of this anti-Islamist pact is to
create an “international Buddhist force” and “pool resources to
fight for the faith,” this would logically require some form of
fundraising effort. We know the funding strategies of Islamist
extremist groups like al-Qaeda (which favors ransoms)
and the Islamic State (which profits from oil).
But who will fund this growing Buddhist alliance globally?
Intelligence agencies need to start investigating possible donors
or funding strategies.
If we
look the other way now, Buddhist militancy will continue to gain
ground in Asia and beyond in 2015. Yes, it is not as serious a
global threat as Islamist militant groups like the Islamic State,
the Taliban or al-Qaeda.
But
let’s note that the war of extremist words has begun. Islamist
extremist groups have acknowledged public plans to avenge their
“Muslim brothers” who’ve been killed by Buddhist extremists. If we
don’t launch a preemptive strike now, we may be witnessing a bloody
battle between religious extremists—Buddhist vs Islamist—posing a
new threat to global stability in the coming years