User:Jeniveegastelum/Buddhism and violence
I will be focusing on the sections of this page devoted to Buddhism and Sri Lanka. I will give details about the on-going tension between Buddhism and Muslims in Sri Lanka and how the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka has worsened that tension.
Violence in Sri Lanka pertaining to Buddhism has been present for decades. This violence originated years ago with the persecution of the Tamil people by the Sinhalese majority. However, after years of discrimination, the Tamil formed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which fought for the North-East region of Sri Lanka which would become an independent state for the Tamil population. This gruesome civil war continued for three decades and claimed the lives of roughly 40,000 people by the end. The war finally ended in May 2009 when the majority Sinhalese government killed LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran[1]. After the war, three predominant groups remained in Sri Lanka, this included the Sinhalese which accounted for 70% of the population (most are Buddhist), 10% of the Tamil population( largely Hindu), and 10% Muslim.[2] Since Sri Lanka has not stated a national language or religion, Buddhist nationalism began to rise with the fear of Muslim dominanting Buddhism. The nationalist organization is called the Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS) which is lead by Galagoda Aththe Gnanasat.[3] According to a study by the Pew Research Center, the Muslim population actually is on a rise and is estimated to increase by 35% in the next 20 years.[4] On the other hand, Buddhism is estimated to have a slight increase in the next decade; however, by 2050, scientists estimate that the population will decrease to 5% due to a decline in birth rates with Buddhist young women.[5] Given that, one of the first major examples of persecution against Muslim was on September 10, 2011 when Buddhist monks destroyed a 300 year old Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura[6] Although police officers were present for the attack, none intervened. Second, on April 20, 2012, roughly 2000 Buddhist protested outside a mosque in Dambulla because the building stood on a sacred site for Sri Lankan Buddhist. Not only did these protest cause the mosque to cancel prayers from the threats of Buddhist nationalist, but on the following Sunday, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne ordered to have the mosque relocated from the sacred site. [3] Since then, the BBS has taken on a new form of persecution by using slogans and propaganda as a way of discriminating against Muslims in Sri Lanka. With the recent April 2019 Easter bombings orchestrated by Islamic terrorist that claimed the lives of over 250 and injured over 500 Sri Lankans, Muslims in Sri Lanka have faced even more danger than ever before by the police and Buddhist nationalist[7].
- ^ Sri Lanka's Killing Fields (Documentary) | Real Stories, retrieved 2019-10-13
- ^ Beech, Hannah (2019-05-05). "'A New Enemy but the Same Hate': Can Sri Lanka Heal Its Divisions?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ a b Imtiyaz, A.R.M.; Mohamed-Saleem, Amjad (2015-02-23). "Muslims in post-war Sri Lanka: understanding Sinhala-Buddhist mobilization against them". Asian Ethnicity. 16 (2): 186–202. doi:10.1080/14631369.2015.1003691. ISSN 1463-1369.
- ^ NW, 1615 L. St; Washington, Suite 800; Inquiries, DC 20036 USA202-419-4300 | Main202-419-4349 | Fax202-419-4372 | Media (2011-01-27). "The Future of the Global Muslim Population". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Year 2050: 10 Countries Predicted to Have the Highest Buddhist Populations in the World". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ Haviland, Charles (2011-09-15). "S Lanka monks raze Muslim shrine". Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ Avenue, Human Rights Watch | 350 Fifth; York, 34th Floor | New; t 1.212.290.4700, NY 10118-3299 USA | (2019-07-03). "Sri Lanka: Muslims Face Threats, Attacks". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
PEER REVIEW:
I believe you picked well as the article needs help constructing. I think the lead section of the article slightly confusing, because of unnecessary wording in the sentence structure (but this doesn't really pertain to the section you're editing). Assuming you put this under Sri Lanka of the Regional Examples section it will coincide with the organization/structure of the article. As far as being balanced, the article could have a bit more on Buddhist teaching as it pertains to violence, and there is a clear imbalance of Regional examples, but I think your addition will help with that issue. Your addition has a neutral tone, and contributes points of views and information from both sides of this situation. The only source I would watch out for is the WorldAtlas; "Year 2050", because they don't designate themselves as a research center, nor do they link or credit any sort of research. Also in the 6th sentence there's a spacing error with the parentheses "10% of the Tamil population( largely Hindu)". Good Job!
~~~~ Aubree Raya