Well, today we learn that fresh sectarian violence struck north-western Burma at the weekend when a 1,000-strong Buddhist mob burned down dozens of Muslim homes and shops following rumours that a young woman had been sexually assaulted by a Muslim man.

A crowd surrounded the police station late on Saturday and then went on an hours-long rampage after authorities refused to hand over the assault suspect, a police officer from the area told the Associated Press.

About 35 houses and 12 shops – most belonging to Muslims – were destroyed before calm was restored, he said. There were no reported injuries.

The radical monk Ashin Wirathu, whose anti-Muslim rhetoric has placed him at the centre of rising religious violence in the predominantly Buddhist nation, posted news of the riot in the outskirts of the town of Kanbalu on his Facebook page.

The unrest – which has killed more than 250 people and left 140,000 others displaced – began last year in the western state of Rakhine, where Buddhists accuse the Rohingya Muslim community of illegally entering the country and encroaching on their land.

The violence, on a smaller scale but still deadly, spread earlier this year to other parts of the country, fuelling deep-seeded prejudice against the Islamic minority and threatening this country’s fragile transition to democracy.

Almost all of the victims have been Muslims, often attacked as security forces stood by.

Myint Naing, an opposition politician who represents constituents in Kanbalu, was outraged by the latest violence. He said Muslims and Buddhists have lived side by side in the area for many years.

There is a mosque in almost every village in our township and we live a peaceful co-existence. I cannot understand why the authorities were unable to control the crowd when it originally started.

According to this April report, the head monk at Mahamyaing monastery – Oo Wi Ma La – explained that anti-Muslim sentiment is grounded in the fear that Buddhism in Burma is under treat from Islam.

The monastery in Moulmein, southern Burma, is credited as the birthplace of the resurgent anti-Mulim 969 movement. The number signifies the attributes of Buddha and his teachings, and is sacred to Buddhists.