Anti-Muslim Monks

Buddhist monks were a symbol of hope and defiance during the dark years of Myanmar’s military dictatorship. But as the country opens up to the world, some have taken a radically sectarian turn.

Violence has uprooted more than 150,000 members of the country's Muslim minority. And in July 2014, Buddhist mobs attacked Muslim homes and businesses in the second-largest city, Mandalay. Sparked by unfounded rumors that a Muslim man had raped a Buddhist woman, they were stoked by Ashin Wirathu, the leader of a large monastery, who posted the rumor to his Facebook account. Two people were killed, a Muslim and a Buddhist. Reporter Jason Motlagh traveled to Myanmar to meet Wirathu and find out why practitioners of a religion known for prizing compassion have come to fuel sectarian hatred. Video by Vox