RELIGIOUS zealotry mixed with xenophobic nationalism can create a toxic ideology that has the ability to tear societies and nations apart. And when the state fails to check the growth of groups espousing such ideology at the initial stage, soon enough these outfits become too complex to handle. In both Sri Lanka and Myanmar, over the past few years ultranationalist Buddhist extremist groups — led by monks — have seen their profiles rise as they have campaigned, often violently, against the Muslim minorities in their respective countries. On Tuesday, two extremist groups, Sri Lanka’s Bodu Bala Sena and Myanmar’s 969 movement, signed an accord on the island nation to “protect Buddhism”. Yet the track record of both these groups indicates that the agreement may be about more than just exchanging notes on spiritual matters. Monks from both groups have led anti-Muslim mobs which have looted and plundered at will. For Sri Lanka, this is an especially worrying development as relations between the island nation’s Muslim and Sinhalese Buddhist communities have remained largely peaceful, while the country also faces no known threat from Islamist extremists. Yet if anti-Islam demagogues are allowed to preach hatred, it could lead to reactive radicalisation within the Muslim community. In Myanmar, the sufferings of the Muslim Rohingya are quite well-documented. Though Myanmar’s foreign minister has said the state has started the “verification process” that could lead to granting the Rohingya citizenship, the authorities will have to do far more to rein in Buddhist extremists that often target the Muslim minority.

In both Myanmar and Sri Lanka, the state has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Buddhist extremists’ activities. We in Pakistan know that if demagogues and rabble-rousers are allowed to plant the seeds of hatred, the results can be highly destructive for communal and sectarian harmony. Narrow nationalism cloaked in the guise of religion can spell the death knell for pluralism. That is why both states need to confront the extremist threat before it grows out of control.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2014