Religious persecution of Muslims in Burma has resulted in bloodshed and displaced entire communities. But grassroots initiatives have also emerged to counter the hatred.
Ashin Issariya appears unassuming, but the quiet demeanour quickly changes when he has something to say. In the pre-dawn light of Burma’s nascent reform process the Buddhist monk and former Saffron Revolution leader isn’t afraid to say what others won’t, even if it seems to put him at odds with his own.
Based in the country’s commercial capital, Rangoon, Issariya helped lead thousands of monks to challenge the former military regime in 2007, a choice that cost him nearly five years as a political prisoner. Now he heads up a grassroots organisation made up of different religious leaders opposed to the new 969 movement.
‘The real message of the 969 is not to attack other religions, but some monks are using it like a shield,’ he said. Many would like to denounce it but hesitate because it is ‘the real teaching of the Buddha’.
The numbers represent the ‘three crown jewels’: the nine attributes of Buddha; the six attributes of his teachings; and the nine attributes of the monastic order known as the sangha. Continue reading.
Brennan O’Connor is a Canadian photojournalist who has been documenting the lives of Burma’s ethnic nationalities since 2008.
Source: New Internationalist
Image: Ashin Wirathu who has spent time in jail for inciting violence against Muslims, Brennan O’Connor