Islamists' Attempt On Nationalist-Monk Shin Wirathu’s Life

(Concise translation of blog posts from various Burmese blogs this week.)

The Islamists' hand-grenade had exploded just 20-ft behind
the decorated vinyl screen behind the preaching-monk.
(It was a true miracle that he was not harmed at all!)

Islamists in Burma have violently demonstrated what they are capable of by their first attempt to kill or maim our nationalist-monk Shin Wirathu.

They threw a hand grenade just behind him while he was peacefully preaching in his hometown Mandalay the second largest city and the former capital of imperial Buddhist Burma.

The place was the open-air nightly Buddhist-gathering at the corner of Mandalay’s busy 36^th and 85^th streets. Shin Wirathu was delivering his regular sermon from his raised throne last night (about 9 pm on July 21) when two Muslim-looking men on a motorbike rode through 36^th street (between 84^th and 85^th streets) behind the preaching-throne and threw an explosive device – most likely a hand grenade – aiming directly at the back of Shin Wirathu’s preaching-throne.

Apparently the hand-grenade had rolled back down on the sloping kerb between the back of the throne and a parked white sedan and only exploded just beside the parked car. Under-chasis and two rear tyres and right-side front tyre of the car – the Nissan Tida 5Nga/8665 - were severely damaged.

But a few flying shrapnel from the hand-grenade managed to go through the throne and slightly wounded two women and one young Buddhist novice in the Buddhist-audience’s front row and also seriously wounded the sound man nearby. Shin Wirathu wasn’t hit at all (even though a few pieces of shrapnel went through the vinyl screen directly behind him) and he bravely continued his sermon after a short break.

The flying shrapnel also made so many holes all around the place and it was a true miracle that no one was killed especially our monk Shin Wirathu as the grenade exploded at only about 20 ft away from his unprotected back and the shrapnel from the grenade-explosion flew indiscriminately all over the place.

Shin Wirathu continues delivering his sermon calmly after
the hand-grenade explosion just behind his back.

Shin Wirathu calmly leaving the site after finishing his sermon.

The list of Buddhists wounded by the Muslims’ hand-grenade is as follow:

1.  Pan Nu Aung, the 20-year-old woman who was listening to Shin Wirathu’s sermon and sitting right at the very front row near the venerable monk, was wounded on her right foot.

2.   An old woman, named unkown sitting at the front row also was injured in her thighs.

3.  Young novice Pyin-nyar-thar-mi from Khaymarwon school of Myataungtaik Monastery has wounds on his thighs and knees.

4.   Kyaw Win, 36-years-old sound man from Pyi-gyi-da-gun Ward, was injured on his belly and waist.  

5.  Daw Aye Khin from Aung-myay-thar-zan Ward was injured and now in Mandalay hospital.

Later safely back in his Masoeyein Monastery Shi Wirathu publicly blamed the grenade-attack on the Islamist Muslims in Burma. He also declared that corrupt Hannah Beech’s Time Magazine article “The Face of Buddhist Terror” was the first public attack on him by the international Islamists to discredit him and this grenade-attack was the follow-up one by the domestic Islamists to kill him.

He added that he wasn’t scared by this cowardly attack at all as he has been ready to die fighting for his Buddhist faith, his Burmese-Buddhist people, and his nation Burma.

The large dent by the grenade explosion on the platform. 

Audience listening the sermon just before the Islamists' grenade attack.

The injured Buddhist Novice Pyin-nyar-Thar-Mi.

Wounded Buddhist-woman at Mandalay Hospital.

A piece of shrapnel extracted out off sound-man Kyaw Win's belly.

The well just across from the explosion site at 36th and 85th street corner.

Large shrapnel hole in the roof's CGI-sheet of the well.

Two shrapnel holes in the steel garage-door across the explosion site.

Large shrapnel holes in the panel of a car parked nearby.

Large shrapnel hole in the tailgate of a Toyota pickup parked nearby.

Pan Nu Aung (20) was right at the front row when a shrapnel tore
through her right foot. She is now in Mandalay Hospital.

Burma army's bomb-investigation-team working the crime scene.

Myanmah Ahlin newspaper's report of the bomb explosion in Mandalay City
without mentioning that the grenade was thrown into a Buddhist gathering.
(The news report also didn't mention the obvious target Shin Wirathu.)