For decades Myanmar has been portrayed as a case of goodcitizen versus bad regime – men in jackboots maintaining a suffocating ruleover a majority Buddhist population beholden to the ideals of non-violence and tolerance.But in recent years this narrative has been upended.
In June 2012, violence between Buddhists and Muslims eruptedin western Myanmar, pointing to a growing divide between religious communitiesthat before had received little attention from the outside world. Attacks onMuslims soon spread across the country, leaving hundreds dead, entireneighbourhoods turned to rubble, and tens of thousands of Muslims confined tointernment camps. This violence, breaking out amid the passage to democracy,was spurred on by monks, pro-democracy activists and even politicians.
In this gripping and deeply reported account, Francis Wadeexplores how the manipulation of identities by an anxious ruling elite has laidthe foundations for mass violence, and...
Description:
For decades Myanmar has been portrayed as a case of goodcitizen versus bad regime – men in jackboots maintaining a suffocating ruleover a majority Buddhist population beholden to the ideals of non-violence and tolerance.But in recent years this narrative has been upended.
In June 2012, violence between Buddhists and Muslims eruptedin western Myanmar, pointing to a growing divide between religious communitiesthat before had received little attention from the outside world. Attacks onMuslims soon spread across the country, leaving hundreds dead, entireneighbourhoods turned to rubble, and tens of thousands of Muslims confined tointernment camps. This violence, breaking out amid the passage to democracy,was spurred on by monks, pro-democracy activists and even politicians.
In this gripping and deeply reported account, Francis Wadeexplores how the manipulation of identities by an anxious ruling elite has laidthe foundations for mass violence, and...