The 45-year-old Buddhist monk was first imprisoned in 2003 by the Burmese government for launching the 969 campaign against the Muslims in the region. For almost three decades, Ashin Wirathu held the belief that the Muslims have a "master plan" of converting Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation, to Islam, according to Carbonated.TV.
The radical Buddhist, as he proudly labels himself, was released from prison in 2011, as part of an amnesty program by the government. But Wirathu continued his cause against the Muslims though the media and the internet.
On Facebook, Wirathu supposedly posted warnings of a "jihad" that could affect several of Myanmar's Buddhist population. He also allegedly spread rumors of Muslims raping Buddhist women, and castigates Buddhists who socially mingle with Muslims, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Back in 2013, Time Magazine called Wirathu as the "Face of Buddhist Terror," who has been hugely responsible for sowing fears about Islam in Myanmar. His main targets are the Rohingya, a minority group of Muslims in the region, who are originally from Bangladesh.
The government of Myanmar, meanwhile, has not been helping with the conflict, and instead imposed several restrictions for the Rohingyas, including withholding their citizenship rights and their access to basics like education, health care and public services. Human rights advocates have been criticizing the government about this issue for years.
"Wirathu plays a central role with his hate speech and the Islamophobia that it creates, given that the Rohingya are surrounded by a hostile community that can be whipped into violence very quickly," Penny Green from the International State Crime Initiative at Queen Mary University of London told the L.A. Times.
"Why are these people leaving on boats? Why would people risk certain death on the high seas? Because the existence they have, and the lack of a future, is worse," Green added.
By fall, Myanmar will hold its first democratic election following five decades of rule from the military. But its treatment of the Rohingya and the current conflict has put into question Myanmar's capacity to fulfill a democratic transition, especially with many powerful Burmese politicians backing the Buddhist radical.
Wirathu, however, denies his links to government officials, according to the L.A. Times.
