Galagoda Gnanasara

RadicaliserExtremistRight WingBuddhistBuddhist extremismAnti MuslimBuddhismSri Lanka

Aug 25

**DOB:** 4 March 1975

**Nationality:** Sri Lankan

**Location:** Colombo, Sri Lanka
**Ideology/Affiliation:** Anti-Muslim/Radicalism/Right-wing Buddhism/Buddhist Nationalism

**Type of Leader:** Monk/Ultra-right-wing Buddhist/Secretary-General of Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force)

Other Names: Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero/Galagoda Atte Gnanasara

Current Status: Founder and Secretary-General of Bodu Bala Sena, a Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist organisation

Biography

Galagoda Gnanasara was born in the southern district of Galle in Sri Lanka. He was educated at the local village school up to grade six before becoming a monk. After his main training as a young monk, in 1989, he joined the Wanawasa Sanga Temple in his home village. He moved to Colombo in 1996 to pursue his studies at the University of Kelaniya.

In 1999, he began teaching at a Buddhist monk education centre. Five years later, he was appointed as the principal of the institution. He fully resigned from teaching at the end of 2003 and decided to dedicate himself to serve the political movement Sihala Urumaya, a neo-modernist national party that strives to safeguard Sri Lanka, where he served as the party’s clergy representative from the Kotte area.

At this specific stage, Gnanasara became an active member of the anti-terrorism campaign against “Tamil Tigers.” His extremist attitudes began when he started taking part in protests against Christian evangelists who were trying to convert local populations, which he stated was a serious problem. In 2004, together with some like-minded monks, Gnanasara formed the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) - an organisation that aims to “lead the [Sri Lankan] nation in protecting, safeguarding and sustaining Buddhist social values in the face of dynamic global change”.

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Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

May 2015: In an interview, Gnanasara openly stated that “this country (Sri Lanka) belongs to the Sinhalese, and it is the Sinhalese who built up its civilisation, culture, and settlements. The white people created all the problems.” He further added that Sri Lanka’s current problems are due to the “outsiders” - referring to Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims that have been living in Sri Lanka for centuries.

September 2014: The hardline Buddhist monk, Gnanasara, signed an alliance agreement with the extremist Ashin Wirathu (view profile here on EMAN), who is known for his anti-Islamic sermons and hate campaigns against Muslims in Myanmar. This agreement was considered to be the first step in a broad alliance to unite other militant Buddhist organizations in defence of their beliefs against radical Islamists in both countries.

June 2014: In the aftermath of an attack on a Buddhist driver, Gnanasara’s BBS members carried out terrorist attacks on Muslim homes and businesses across the country, killing 3 Muslims and wounding as many as 50 others. In an interview with a Sri Lankan TV, Gnanasara said that the violence was “normal” because Buddhists were enraged at an alleged attack on a Buddhist monk's vehicle. “We still have Sinhala police in this country, still we have a Sinhala military. From today, if any Muslim... mishandles any Sinhalese, that will be the end of them,” he said.