I once dated a guy who said his parents were Buddhist extremists. Although he actually referred to them as "Born Again Buddhists".
I always envisioned his parents screaming "You are going to reach enlightenment if I have to beat it into you."
I hear many times, Buddhist are pacifist. I am not sure why when many people, the same people, associate Buddhist monks and martial arts. Buddhist striving for Enlightenment need to be self-aware and self-defense is not eliminated from being self-aware or enlightenment.
A religion like Islam that has utilized convert or die should be scrutinized.. The Rohingya Muslims have been killing Buddhist since 2011.
Why not stand up against those who would have you and your beliefs eradicated?
I don’t think of Buddhism as a religion. More of a philosophy like taoism
Extremists exist in all religions. I'll bet some Flying Spaghetti Monster folks would kill over the sacrilege of broccoli wheat flour.
Extremists of any organization are a threat to civility.