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The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia
Paperback
Religion General BuddhismSoutheast Asian History
Publisher Price: $18.00
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ISBN10: 1967190003
ISBN13: 9781967190003
Publisher: Columbia Global Reports
Published: Nov 11 2025
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.60 Width: 5.00 Depth: 7.40
Language: English
ISBN13: 9781967190003
Publisher: Columbia Global Reports
Published: Nov 11 2025
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.40
Height: 0.60 Width: 5.00 Depth: 7.40
Language: English
When the robe becomes a weapon, who can stop the violence?
We think of Buddhism as a faith of peace-rooted in compassion, patience, and nonviolence. But across South and Southeast Asia today, the robe is being turned into a weapon as radical monks and nationalist movements unleash hatred and war.
We think of Buddhism as a faith of peace-rooted in compassion, patience, and nonviolence. But across South and Southeast Asia today, the robe is being turned into a weapon as radical monks and nationalist movements unleash hatred and war.
In The Robe and the Sword, acclaimed journalist Sonia Faleiro travels from Sri Lanka's riot-scarred towns to the homes of refugees along the Myanmar border to Thailand's fortified temples, uncovering how militant monks have transformed a tradition of nonviolence into a tool of terror. She reveals how Sri Lanka's Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara incited mobs against Muslims, how Myanmar's Ashin Wirathu helped ignite a genocide, and how elements of Thailand's clergy have entrenched military rule.
Through vivid portraits of zealots, survivors, and dissident monks fighting to reclaim their faith, Faleiro delivers an unflinching investigation into the colonial trauma, economic grievances, and political forces fueling a dangerous new extremism. The Robe and the Sword is a searing and indispensable work of narrative nonfiction, urgently needed to understand how sacred traditions are being weaponized--and what is at stake for the future of our interconnected world.
Through vivid portraits of zealots, survivors, and dissident monks fighting to reclaim their faith, Faleiro delivers an unflinching investigation into the colonial trauma, economic grievances, and political forces fueling a dangerous new extremism. The Robe and the Sword is a searing and indispensable work of narrative nonfiction, urgently needed to understand how sacred traditions are being weaponized--and what is at stake for the future of our interconnected world.
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