{"product_id":"the-robe-and-the-sword-how-buddhist-extremism-is-shaping-modern-asia-9781967190003","title":"The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhen the robe becomes a weapon, who can stop the violence?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe think of Buddhism as a faith of peace--rooted in compassion, patience, and nonviolence. But across South and Southeast Asia today, the robe is being turned into a weapon as radical monks and nationalist movements unleash hatred and war. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Robe and the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e, acclaimed journalist Sonia Faleiro travels from Sri Lanka's riot-scarred towns to the homes of refugees along the Myanmar border to Thailand's fortified temples, uncovering how militant monks have transformed a tradition of nonviolence into a tool of terror. She reveals how Sri Lanka's Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara incited mobs against Muslims, how Myanmar's Ashin Wirathu helped ignite a genocide, and how elements of Thailand's clergy have entrenched military rule. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough vivid portraits of zealots, survivors, and dissident monks fighting to reclaim their faith, Faleiro delivers an unflinching investigation into the colonial trauma, economic grievances, and political forces fueling a dangerous new extremism. \u003ci\u003eThe Robe and the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e is a searing and indispensable work of narrative nonfiction, urgently needed to understand how sacred traditions are being weaponized--and what is at stake for the future of our interconnected world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFaleiro, Sonia:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eSonia Faleiro\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing\u003c\/i\u003e, a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editor's Choice and finalist for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars\u003c\/i\u003e, a finalist for the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage. Her reporting and essays have appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives in London, where she is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow and the founder of South Asia Speaks, a mentorship program for emerging writers.","brand":"Columbia Global Reports","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51705293799698,"sku":"9781967190003","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_27d5fc8b-f090-4499-98cf-45728d7cb1a2.jpg?v=1762345168","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-robe-and-the-sword-how-buddhist-extremism-is-shaping-modern-asia-9781967190003","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}