If the name of Buddhist monks comes, then it seems that there will be a calm, simple monk. If you speak, flowers will fall from your mouth. He would be talking about peace, love and harmony all the time. Mostly it happens like this. But all these things do not apply to the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu of Myanmar (Burma). They spew poison. Sometimes his speeches lead to riots. Muslims are their target. Especially Rohingya Muslims. They also have a big hand in this issue of Rohingya Muslims being raised. Once Wirathu was asked if he was the 'Bin Laden of Burma', he said he would not deny it.
Published in Time magazine - the face of Buddhist terrorism
Ashin Wirathu's fame reached Time magazine on July 1, 2013. Her beautiful shining picture was printed on the front page of the magazine. The heading was also dangerous - the face of Buddhist terrorism. Now Wirathu cannot be called a terrorist, but the way Wirathu instigates people with his fundamentalist ideas, that only makes him an extremist among the fundamentalists in Myanmar and for the peace-lovers.
When associated with '969', he came into the limelight
Born in 1968, Ashin Wirathu dropped out of school at the age of 14 and took up the life of a monk. Mandalay is the second largest city of Myanmar after Rangoon. Here is the Buddhist monastery of Virathu. This is where he and thousands of his supporters Buddhist monks live. Bloody pictures start appearing as soon as you enter this monastery. It is said that these are pictures of Buddhists killed by Muslims. Let us tell you that 12-15 years ago very few people had heard about this Buddhist monk of Mandalay. But in 2001, when he joined the nationalist and anti-Muslim group '969', he came into the limelight. He is now its custodian. This organization talks to the people of the Buddhist community to buy from people of their own community, sell property to them and marry in their own religion. Supporters of '969' say that it is a purely self-defense organization designed to protect Buddhist culture and identity.
Was sentenced to 25 years in 2003
Ashin Wirathu was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2003. These allegations were of spewing fire against Muslims. But after about 7 years i.e. in 2010, he was released along with other political prisoners. Since then, Wirathu became more active in his anti-Muslim mission. In 2012, when violence broke out between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine province, he became involved with people's sentiments with his provocative speeches. He also took the help of social media i.e. Facebook and YouTube to make his fiery speeches reach as many people as possible. His page on Facebook has more than 4 lakh followers.
Threat to Muslim nation: Wirathu
About 60 million people live in Myanmar. Of these, Muslims are only 5%. Ashin Wirathu considers all these to be a threat to the nation and its culture. He considers the increasing population of Muslims to be dangerous. He is often heard saying in speeches that Buddhist sisters and daughters are being raped in the Muslim country. They will take over the country. When Virathu was asked about his hate speeches, he said – I am only protecting my loved ones. I am just warning my people about the danger posed by Muslims. Wirathu says, 'Earlier there was no discrimination on the basis of religion and caste. We used to live as a brotherhood, but after coming to know about the master plan of the Muslims, we cannot remain silent any more. Wirathu believes that Muslims are working on a 'master plan' to make Myanmar an Islamic state.
Donald Trump is favorite leader
US President Donald Trump, who has taken an anti-Muslim stand in his election campaigns and decisions, is Virathu's favorite politician. They say that Trump is the only leader in the world who is standing firmly in front of the domination of Muslims.
A women's organization had openly opposed
After decades of struggle, a democratic government has come to Myanmar, but it is also afraid to speak openly on the issue of Rohingya Muslims. Aung San Suu Kyi is a big leader here, but she is also calm on this issue. From Malala Yousafzai to many Nobel laureates have expressed their displeasure. The government is also hesitant to take action against Virathu. The government clearly says that they will take action only when there is a complaint and the complaint does not come. According to the BBC report, a women's organization has definitely opposed the Women's League of Burma Wirathu. In fact, a campaign for a law was run under the leadership of Virathu. It said that Buddhist women could not marry in another religion. The women's organization rejected it as an attempt to ban women and openly opposed it.