{"id":67887,"date":"2017-07-15T15:17:48","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T22:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=67887"},"modified":"2017-07-15T15:17:48","modified_gmt":"2017-07-15T22:17:48","slug":"how-a-soviet-student-is-leading-the-buddhist-crusade-against-jihad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/07\/15\/how-a-soviet-student-is-leading-the-buddhist-crusade-against-jihad\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Soviet Student Is Leading the Buddhist Crusade Against Jihad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy Sputnik<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Religious clashes have become a characteristic feature not only in the Middle East and Europe. South Asia faces the same challenges: terrorism, international criminal networks and illegal migration. Sputnik was able to talk to the leader of Sri Lanka\u2019s radical Buddhists, a former Soviet student, who is heading the crusade against “global jihad.”<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\"Family<\/div>\n
\u00a9 AP PHOTO\/ ERANGA JAYAWARDENA<\/div>\n
Sri Lanka Accused of Raping Tamil Men Years After Civil War Has Ended<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Doctor Dilanthe Withanage speaks very good Russian as\u00a0he studied engineering in\u00a0the Soviet Union. After returning to\u00a0his home country of\u00a0Sri Lanka, he took the helm of\u00a0the organization called Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or the “Buddhist Power Force” which calls for\u00a0the creation of\u00a0a “Buddhist International” against\u00a0the so-called “global jihad.”<\/p>\n

“There is a certain tendency when people reject the Buddhist religion for\u00a0the sake of\u00a0money. And the money comes from\u00a0the Persian Gulf monarchies. This is all because of\u00a0poverty. However many Muslims also live in\u00a0poverty. We are not against\u00a0Muslims. The fact of\u00a0the matter is that many Muslims easily fall within\u00a0the influence of\u00a0Wahhabi propaganda. Poverty is a breeding ground for\u00a0the religious radicalism,” Dilanthe Withanage told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Dr Withanage, social misery is pushing Muslims towards\u00a0migration to\u00a0other countries, which resulted in\u00a0the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in\u00a0Myanmar. Some of\u00a0the experts consider the Rohingya an ethnic Muslim group while others are sure that they are just a community of\u00a0migrants practicing Islam. There are over\u00a0a million Rohingyas living in\u00a0Myanmar without\u00a0any citizenship.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Cluster<\/div>\n
\u00a9 FLICKR\/ MARIO MICKLISCH<\/a><\/div>\n
Cluster Bombs Possibly Used in Sri Lanka Civil War<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2012, the country became the site of\u00a0fiercest clashes between\u00a0Muslims and Buddhists, which resulted in\u00a0mass murders.”Rohingya is an example of\u00a0a Muslim occupation. They are illegal migrants. We, the Buddhists are a minority and should defend ourselves,” Withanage told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

Buddhist radicals, whose announced goal is the containment of\u00a0Islam, largely resemble European ultra-right fighters. Similar to\u00a0their western counterparts, they are convinced that the Muslim population in\u00a0Asia is growing very fast.<\/p>\n

Not so peaceful Buddhism<\/strong><\/p>\n

Incredible as\u00a0it may seem, one of\u00a0the reasons behind\u00a0the escalating clashes between\u00a0Muslims and Buddhists, one of\u00a0the most “peaceful religion, in\u00a0Southeastern Asia, is the tradition of\u00a0violence, which is characteristic to\u00a0Buddhism.<\/p>\n

Mahavamsa, (“Great Chronicle”), historical chronology of\u00a0Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), written in\u00a0the 5th or 6th century, probably by\u00a0the Buddhist monk Mahanama, which deals more with\u00a0the history of\u00a0Buddhism, contains the calls for\u00a0the massacre of\u00a0the adherents of\u00a0a different faith. Sri Lanka Buddhists have demonstrated their readiness to\u00a0fight for\u00a0their interests. From 1983 to\u00a02009 the country has been marred in\u00a0the war between\u00a0Buddhists and the Hindu Tamils, with\u00a0the Buddhists prevailing.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Pope<\/div>\n
\u00a9 REUTERS\/ STEFANO RELLANDINI<\/div>\n
Pope Francis Canonizes Sri Lanka\u2019s First Saint, Urges Unity<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

According to\u00a0Withanage, Muslim trade circles benefited the most from\u00a0the protracted conflict between\u00a0the religious groups.<\/p>\n

“During the war they purchased more land and have gained more political power, more influence on\u00a0the executive power and mass media,” he told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

He says he is fighting against\u00a0halal certification of\u00a0food products, which many of\u00a0his allies see as\u00a0a “preparation of\u00a0the imposition of\u00a0Sharia law.”<\/p>\n

In conclusion, Withanage told Sputnik that he is sure that the confrontation between\u00a0Buddhists and Hindus in\u00a0Sri Lanka is one of\u00a0the main reasons why there are so many Muslims in\u00a0his home country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy Sputnik Religious clashes have become a characteristic feature not only in the Middle East and Europe. South Asia faces the same challenges: terrorism, international criminal networks and illegal migration. Sputnik was able to talk to the leader of Sri Lanka\u2019s radical Buddhists, a former Soviet student, who is heading the crusade against “global jihad.” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67887\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}