Earlier this year, Religion Dispatches posted an article entitled “Killer Buddhists”. The article discussed a subject many other blogs, newspapers, and magazines were buzzing about at the time: violence between Buddhists and Muslims. Joanna Piacenza, author of the article, brought a new side of the story to light. She begins the article with, “There are a bunch of Buddhist monks killing Muslims in Myanmar and no one seems to care.” In reading this, I was in disbelief at first. “Monks?” I thought to myself…”Buddhist monks, no less?” I was guilty of exactly what Piacenza went on to describe. I had a pristine image of anyone labeled with the title “Buddhist” or “monk”. I had put them in a category of peacekeepers who would never lay hand on even a fly. But as Piacenza’s article suggests, “…no one wants to see a Buddhist committing a crime.”

        Piacenza explains that after the alleged rape of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men this summer, violence between the two groups has sprung up in Western Myanmar. That’s the part that’s being reported. The missing part is that Buddhist monks are the ones committing much of the violence, the worst of the violence, including arson and murder.  Piacenza goes on to say that this biased reporting is nothing new, and I agree with that. In the images and stereotypes we have of the Buddhist people, the focus often seems to be on their peaceful, loving ways. While this stereotype in and of its self isn’t offensive to the Buddhist people, it isn’t necessarily correct. It’s a different kind of prejudice; we are assuming that all Buddhist monks are good and capable of nothing but peace and love. This isn’t always the case, and in Burma, Buddhist monks play a big role in throughout the country. Piacenza’s point is to tell us that sometimes, Buddhist monks are “powerful and political” and capable of violence, just like any group of people. Just as any piece of literature, its important to take this one with a grain of salt and be aware of the good and the bad that all people possess.

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Joanna Piacenza's original article can be found at http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/6549/killer_buddhists/