New Books Network Sonia Faleiro, "The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia" (Columbia UP, 2025)
Nov 14, 2025
Sonia Faleiro, a nonfiction journalist and author of The Robe and the Sword, dives deep into the alarming rise of Buddhist extremism across South and Southeast Asia. She recounts how Buddhist teachings are twisted into justifications for violence, with militants like Sri Lanka’s Gnanasara and Myanmar’s Wirathu at the forefront. Faleiro also reveals the impact of colonial legacies on communal tensions, discusses the political entanglements of monks, and highlights the efforts of reformist monks resisting extremism, painting a complex picture of faith under fire.
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Historical Roots Drive Modern Extremism
- Sonia Faleiro connects contemporary Buddhist extremism to deep historical roots and archival patterns.
- She shows violence today often traces back hundreds of years, intensified by modern politics.
War Normalized Militarized Religious Politics
- The Sri Lankan civil war militarized society and fused Sinhala Buddhist protectionism with state security.
- Postwar triumphalism redirected insecurity into culture-war politics and ongoing extremism.
Empire Engineered Divisions That Persist
- Colonial rule imposed racial hierarchies that reconfigured local identities and grievances.
- These engineered divisions later became tools for nationalist exclusion and violence.
