Is this the ‘face of Buddhist terror’?

Is this the ‘face of Buddhist terror’?

This illustration picture taken on June 24, 2013 in Bangkok shows a man reading a copy of the July 1 issue of

Time magazine carrying a picture of controversial Myanmar monk Wirathu on its cover. (AFP/Christophe Archambault)

Time magazine’s decision to label Burmese monk Ashin Wirathu as “the face of Buddhist terror” in its July cover has drawn criticism from all sides.

Wirathu, a proponent of Buddhist nationalism, is known for controversial statements comparing Muslims to “African carp” and describing them as quick-breeding and violent. Some have blamed his speeches for the rise in anti-Muslim violence in the newly democratising nation-state. The government of Myanmar issued a press release condemning Time’s cover story, and Wirathu was quoted as saying, “This is being done because the Islamic extremists want my downfall.”

In the following video by the Democratic Voice of Burma, Wirathu described the Time cover as a “serious violation of media ethics by media workers in a powerful nation” and said he was “very surprised.”

Tags: Archambault, Bangkok, Buddhism, Burma, Muslim, Myanmar, Politics of Burma, Time