When you hear the word Buddhist or think of Buddhism, it typically brings up thoughts of peace and tranquility. For me, I picture images of monks with shaven heads and long wavy robes meditating in temples; I picture a person who is at total peace with themselves and their environment, someone who would do no harm to anybody or anything, not even a fly. But over the past year in parts of Asia, a new type of radical Buddhist has formed that has lead to a huge conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Many Muslims are being attacked and killed by Buddhist mobs by the encouragement of one man, Wirathu, who has taken the title of Burmese Bin Laden. He has taken to the streets to preach his views to anybody who will listen, preaching against Islam. In Thailand, Buddhist monks are being protected by soldiers due to the conflict and retreating to their temples. With the violence continuing to mount, time will only tell what will happen between the two groups. Check out the photos below and for more information and photos check out Time here.
Photos by Adam Dean
