Buddhists Losing Their Shit 4

If there’s one faith that displays nothing but good will toward all, as well as peacefulness and inner calm, it’s gotta be Buddhism, right?

Yeah, about that:

Several people have been injured in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, when Buddhist monks led hundreds in an assault on a Muslim-owned clothing warehouse. Buddhist monks were filmed throwing stones at the storage centre of popular garment chain Fashion Bug in a suburb of the capital on Thursday night. … The attack comes as hard-line Buddhist groups step up a campaign against the lifestyles of Muslims. ….

…The BBC’s Charles Haviland in Colombo said the monks led a crowd which quickly swelled to about 500, yelling insults against the shop’s Muslim owners and rounding on journalists seeking to cover the events. Five or six were injured, including a cameraman who needed stitches.

angrymonk

Eyewitnesses said the police stood and watched although after the trouble spread they brought it under control.

Reportedly, no arrests were made. The cops will no doubt get another chance, because Buddhist nationalists appear to be baying for blood:

[The] hard-line Buddhist party in the governing coalition issued a statement saying: “Sinhalese Buddhists should be determined to teach such Muslim extremists a lesson that they will never forget”.

The hatred and violence are not exactly unprecedented. For instance, last year,

A mosque in the central town of Dambulla was attacked with petrol bombs and vandalized by a mob led by radical Buddhist monks. To add insult to injury, the government bowed to the mob’s demand and ordered the mosque’s demolition and relocation.

[image via Colombo Telegraph]