A Thai academic points out that a campaign to make Buddhism a state religion of Thailand is against human rights principles.
On Wednesday and Thursday, 4-5 November 2015, Thaivoice Media posted a video interview of Surapot Thaweesak, a well known religious scholar, on Youtube.
In the interview, which was divided into three parts, Surapot talked about a campaign to make Buddhism a state religion, Islamophobia, and a proposal to arm Buddhist monks and laypersons in the restive Deep South of Thailand.
The academic said that the current trends are worrying as the movement to enshrine Buddhism as a state religion is accompanying by the rise of Islamophobia in the country.
He urged that the Buddhist Sangha (monks), Buddhist scholars, and Chula Rachamontri, the head of the Muslim communities in Thailand, should attempt to stop these trends from developing further. He added, that many Buddhists monks and scholars, however, seemed to be influenced by Ashin Wirathu, the well-known head of a radical anti-Muslim and nationalistic Buddhist group in Myanmar.
Muslim and Buddhist clergymen should come forwards to create mutual understanding between both Muslims and Buddhists in the country that the two religions can co-exist peacefully, he added.
On a campaign to make Buddhism a state religion, he said in an interview that he disagrees with the campaign because it is against democratic principles on the equality of all religions.
The religious scholar added that much of the anti-Muslim sentiment in many countries is stirred up by politics while are afraid of cultures from the western world. Therefore, it seems as if the concept of liberalism and democracy would not be suitable with the Muslim world.
He concluded that democratic countries must support and uphold every religion equally on the line with the democratic principles to safeguard freedom and peace.
Last week, Last Thursday, Venerable Aphichat Promjan, chief lecturer monk at Benjamabophit Temple, a Bangkok temple under royal patronage posted on Facebook the suggestion that state authorities should take radical measures to quell the violence in the Deep South.
His statement says “If a [Buddhist] monk in the three southern border provinces dies from an explosion or being shot at the hands of the ‘Malayu bandits’, a mosque should be burned, starting from the northern part of Thailand southwards.”
Although many people posted comments and Facebook stickers in support of the monk, many also posted comments against it with the hashtag ‘#resist Wirathu model’, comparing Aphichat to Ashin Wirathu, the well-known head of a radical anti-Muslim and nationalistic Buddhist group in Myanmar.
Aphichat has been active in a movement to make Buddhism the state religion of Thailand, campaigning through groups such as the Committee to Promote Buddhism as a State Religion.
The overwhelming majority of Thai people are Buddhists, but Thailand is a secular state despite the fact that no other religion in Thailand enjoys support from the state in a manner similar to Buddhism.
Although many Buddhist monks and laypersons view favourably the move to enshrine Buddhism as a state religion, many criticise the move for potentially stirring up anti-Muslim sentiment in the country, especially as Thailand is still locked in a protracted armed conflict between the state and Muslim insurgent groups in the Deep South border region.