Myanmar monks say most oppose anti-Muslim campaign
Anti-Muslim violence is opposed by the majority of Buddhist clergy, who in fact are at the forefront of humanitarian aid for victims, they insist
The image of Myanmar's Buddhist clergy has undergone a battering in recent months, as saffron-robed monks incite discrimination and violence against Muslim communities.
But while monks have been at the forefront of anti-Muslim mob violence across the country, others continue to preach a message of peace and tolerance and have been organising humanitarian aid for Muslims displaced by the sectarian conflict.
They say they are in the majority, and that monks who rail against the "Muslim threat" are being exploited for a political agenda. The rival forces are at opposite ends of a battle for the very soul of Buddhism in Myanmar.
The central town of Meikhtila bears the ugly legacy of recent anti-Muslim violence. Large sections of the town have been reduced to rubble and a few broken walls - all that remains of what used to be a thriving Muslim community of almost 1,300 houses and shops.
According to an investigation by the Physicians for Human Rights group, an orgy of violence from April 20-22 claimed the lives of 44 people, and destroyed 12 of the town's 13 mosques. The investigation linked the violence to "decades-old propaganda campaigns that linked Buddhism with Burmese national identity".
The report released last month said monks forced Muslims to eat pork and pray as Buddhists, under threat of violence and death. "The monk then said, 'You are under our control, and we can do what we want with you. So pray like a Buddhist.' And they did," one Muslim told the PHR investigators.
