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Prominent Buddhist Monk Fans Anti-Muslim Sentiment in Thailand
Channel News Asia ^ | 08 Feb 2016 | Panu Wongcha-um

Posted on 02/09/2016 2:26:02 PM PST by nickcarraway

Bangkok-based Buddhist monk Maha Aphichat is among a growing group of Thai monks who feel their religion is under threat from Islam.

Anti-Islamic sentiment is brewing in Thailand, spurred-on by Buddhist monks who feel that their religion is under threat from Islam.

This fear mongering has been exacerbated by the ongoing political conflict within Thai Buddhism, the 12-year-old armed-insurgency in Thailand’s deep south, and the growing influence of Buddhist radicals in neighboring Myanmar.

Bangkok-based Buddhist monk Maha Aphichat is unafraid of speaking his mind. The 30-year-old gained notoriety last October, after he urged Thai Buddhists on social media to burn down a mosque for every monk killed in the country's Malay-Muslim dominated south.

An insurgency that has raged for more than 12 years there has killed almost 20 Buddhist monks and injured many more.

“I posted that message for psychological effect,” said Aphichat. “I want to tell Muslims to stop killing us. We can no longer tolerate this. If more Buddhists and monks are killed then we will retaliate. Our retaliation will not just be in the south, but against Muslims across the country.

Although no mosque has been set alight yet, anti-Islamic sentiment has gained traction online. And it is via social media that Aphichat has spread his message of hostility.

He has used local conflicts to further foment religious tensions, such as the Muslim community’s rejection to the building of a Buddhist Park in Pattani in January and more recently, Buddhist monks' opposition to the setting up of a halal food industry in Chiang Mai.

Aphichat's methods are perhaps unsurprising. Ha has cited Myanmar's firebrand monk Ashin Wirathu - and his anti-Muslim teachings - as a model for safeguarding Buddhism in Thailand.

“The doves (monks) cannot help us deal with this threat, like in the south, but the hawks can,” said Aphichat. “That's what’s happening in Myanmar: I'm applying Wirathu’s way in Thailand.”

NO OBVIOUS BACKING FROM THAI GOVERNMENT

Some experts say the different political contexts of Thailand and Myanmar have so far prevented this form of fear mongering from causing any sectarian conflict.

The reason being that in Myanmar, part of the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party appeared to have supported Wirathu. Whereas Aphichat has no obvious backing from the Thai Government.

But they warn that the inaction of Thai authorities to address the issue could lead to more problems in the future.

“Aphichat’s way of thinking reflects the kind of thinking that exists at a certain level of the Thai Buddhist Sangha and community,” said Somrit Luechai, an independent Southeast Asian academic. “This framework is dangerous because even if Aphichat stops and leaves the scene, there may be others who will step into his role.”

Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand have lived together peacefully for centuries. And experts have said that the growing anti-Islamic sentiment only represents a small minority within the Thai Buddhist community.

In response, religious leaders here are promoting interfaith dialogue and a greater cultural understanding between different religions.

“The action of one person or small group of people may create a negative image for the whole,” said Santi Sue-saming, Senior Advisory Committee Head, Office of the Shaykh al-Islam Thailand. “Therefore it is vital for all of us to understand religious diversity in our society. If we don't, then there will be problems.”

More than 93 per cent of Thailand’s population are Buddhists, compared to about six per cent, who are Muslim.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: buddhism; buddhists; islam; jihad; thailand; thailandbddhism
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1 posted on 02/09/2016 2:26:02 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Islam is at war with every other religion it encounters.


2 posted on 02/09/2016 2:27:15 PM PST by Daveinyork ("Trusting government with money and power is like trusting teenaged boys with whiskey and car keys",)
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To: nickcarraway
he urged Thai Buddhists on social media to burn down a mosque

Better than burning themselves.

3 posted on 02/09/2016 2:29:02 PM PST by MUDDOG
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4 posted on 02/09/2016 2:30:21 PM PST by DoughtyOne (the Free Republic Caucus: what FReepers are thinking, 100s or 1000s of them. It's up to you.)
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To: Daveinyork

When you get even the Buddhists pissed at you, that’s saying something!


5 posted on 02/09/2016 2:34:32 PM PST by aquila48
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To: nickcarraway

Lived there...beautiful land adn people...but like everywhere else a muslim appear there is a conflict. They think where ever they squat they deserve to live. Now they beginning to show a major presence in Bangkok and other places through out Thailand. They have killed men women and child no matter. Thais need to stand up to them and fight. Sounds like a good start with the new monk on the scene


6 posted on 02/09/2016 2:34:37 PM PST by ldish (Have had enough...you??????)
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To: nickcarraway
He has used local conflicts to further foment religious tensions, ... Aphichat's methods are perhaps unsurprising. Ha has cited Myanmar's firebrand monk Ashin Wirathu - and his anti-Muslim teachings - ...

No bias there. If you don't accept being murdered by psychopathic lunatics you're anti-muslim.

7 posted on 02/09/2016 2:42:11 PM PST by TigersEye (This is the age of the death of reason and rule of law. Prepare!)
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To: Daveinyork

>Islam is at war with every other religion it encounters.

islam is at war with anyone that does not follow their evil and complete nonsense death cult. One does not need to follow any Faith belief system to know islam must be destroyed.

Agnostic and Believers unite against the cult of islam.


8 posted on 02/09/2016 2:56:04 PM PST by soycd
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To: nickcarraway

dee maak maak ! khao kit tuuk drong ! Ching ching , Islam pben satsana lok chit


9 posted on 02/09/2016 3:15:06 PM PST by LeoWindhorse
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To: nickcarraway
Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand have lived together peacefully for centuries. And experts have said that the growing anti-Islamic sentiment only represents a small minority within the Thai Buddhist community.

Not true. Malay Muslims, running their own petty fiefdoms and Rajs from the Maluccas to Andaman islands have been war with everyone around them forever.

There's no mention of the foreign jihadi influence in Thailand's southern provinces either.

10 posted on 02/09/2016 3:32:19 PM PST by PGR88
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To: TigersEye

Anti-muslim = anti-islam
islam = normalization of sinful or criminal actions


11 posted on 02/09/2016 3:47:13 PM PST by This I Wonder32460
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To: This I Wonder32460

Push them back to their home sh*tholes.
Keep them there.


12 posted on 02/09/2016 4:14:42 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: nickcarraway

According to the author ‘Panu Wongcha-um’, the monk is guilty of FEAR MONGERING. Not what I would call it...


13 posted on 02/09/2016 4:22:25 PM PST by heterosupremacist
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To: nickcarraway

ROP bkmk


14 posted on 02/09/2016 4:31:15 PM PST by Sergio (An object at rest cannot be stopped! - The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight)
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To: nickcarraway
I side with the monk.
15 posted on 02/09/2016 4:33:47 PM PST by Chgogal (Obama "hung the SEALs out to dry, basically exposed them like a set of dog balls..." CMH)
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To: Chgogal

Served in Thailand. Those people are crazy! The Mooslums have met their match!


16 posted on 02/09/2016 4:49:56 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: nickcarraway

I’m OK with this..,


17 posted on 02/09/2016 5:10:34 PM PST by rrrod (just an old guy with a gun in his pocket.l)
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To: ldish

I remember a liberal telling me Muslim violence is a response to Western aggression. I asked what the Buddhist school teachers beheaded in Thailand for teaching Muslim girls about other faiths or secular science did to get killed, and the person STILL tried to say it was the West’s fault.
But the Muslim invasion of India killing 50-100 million - because nearly no one there was even a “People of the Book” for dhimmi status was well before Europe was very advanced.


18 posted on 02/09/2016 5:23:58 PM PST by tbw2
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To: This I Wonder32460
The Mohammad Factor - Islam is what it is.

If you condemn murder you condemn Mohammad.

If you condemn thievery you condemn Mohammed.

If you condemn rape you condemn Mohammad.

If you condemn pedophilia you condemn Mohammed.

If you condemn terrorism you condemn Mohammad.

If you condemn Mohammad you condemn Islam.

19 posted on 02/09/2016 5:25:00 PM PST by TigersEye (This is the age of the death of reason and rule of law. Prepare!)
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To: nickcarraway

Don’t back down, brother ! You’re fighting Satan.


20 posted on 02/10/2016 2:27:40 AM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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