Recently, a friend of mine visited a temple to pay respects to his long-departed mother. As is the tradition with these yearly visits, he and his father sat down for lunch with a group of monks to discuss current events and religious teachings. The last thing he expected was to be talking about how Thai Buddhism is under siege by the fast-growing Muslim population, and how steps need to be taken to contain them.
As an atheist, I don't presume to know much about any religion, be it Islam, Christianity or Buddhism. But I still know enough to realise that when Buddhist monks start preaching anti-Muslim sentiments or propose that Buddhists start burning down mosques out of retaliation, something is very, very wrong.
I'm referring of course to the recent comments made by Phra Apichart Punnajanto on his Facebook page, which not only urges the government to "arm Thai Buddhists", but also proposes that Thai Buddhists should burn down a mosque "starting from the North southwards" for every Thai Buddhist death caused by Muslim militia groups, who have been terrorising the region for well over a decade. He further proceeded to call Islam a "cult", one that should be "opposed and kept out by any means necessary".
"It is long past the time for mercy" he said in his post, which was disturbing enough already, coming from a revered figure of a religion best known for its teachings about equality, inner-peace and compassion. But even more disturbing is the outpouring of Facebook comments and stickers in support of his post, left by the supposed followers of Buddhism. Again, I don't presume to know much about any religion. But shouldn't preaching violent vengeance and intolerance be frowned upon no matter who is doing the preaching? If overenthusiastic Buddhists actually act upon this "suggestion" by Phra Apichart, how would they be different from the terrorist organisations claiming to follow the teachings of Islam? What would stop them from taking it a step further, as is evidenced in Myanmar? For their encouragement -- or in some cases even participation -- in violence, aren't these Myanmar monks and their followers terrorists as well?
Now, let's all agree that the rampant violence happening in the Deep South needs to stop -- even though the conflict isn't all about religion. According to statistics recorded by the Deep South Watch in 2014, 330 fatalities were recorded, 176 of them Muslim and 148 Buddhists (with six more unidentified). Statistics gathered since 2004, when the violence broke out, also recorded more Muslim deaths than Buddhists. So you see, this isn't just a problem for Buddhists in the South. It's a problem for everyone.
I'm not writing this article in defence of Islam, nor to criticise Buddhism. As far as I am concerned, these statements can be from a figure of any religion attacking any other religion. My point is this: as a person who believes in religion, if you agree to resort to violence, the only religion you are hurting is yours. If you use religion to spread hate and intolerance, then you're no better than the extremists behind the likes of Isis or Boko Haram. How else could religion, which is intended to be used as a moral anchor, be warped into justifying the murder, rape and torture of millions around the world if not through the urging of extremist religious figures, and those who would ignorantly, unquestioningly follow them into whatever horrible reality they envision?
"The government needs to provide protection to our Buddhist brethren in the Deep South," said the venerable Apichart in another Facebook post, this time to announce that he will be closing his Facebook account at the request of the government.
"If any more monks must die at the hands of the militia, then our Thai brethren have already been informed on how they should deal with the mosques in their communities. I don't think I have to say it again," continued the monk, who also posted a portrait of Myanmar monk Ashin Wirathu, the figure who is associated with inciting much of the violence against the Myanmar Rohingya minority.
"They live in our lands, drink our water, and yet do nothing to repay the debt" said a quote by Wirathu, referring to the Muslim Rohingya. Guess what Phra Apichart had to say to that?
"The master speaks the truth."
Kanin Srimaneekulroj is a feature writer of the Life section of the the Bangkok Post.