Bombing the Buddhists

The jihadists — on this occasion the Indian Mujahadeen — are at it again. On a Sunday in July nine bombs went off in Buddhism’s most sacred place, Bodh Gaya in India. The jihadists said the bombing was in retaliation for the Buddhists resisting jihad in Myanmar. This would be the equivalent of bombing the Wailing Wall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Bethlehem or the Kabbah. But, since Buddhists are the least political of all religions, the media barely noticed.

This jihad attack may have long term consequences for jihad, due to favorable attitudes toward and perceptions of Buddhists, and who Buddhists are. Buddhism is the pet religion of the media, Leftists, Progressives and Liberals, and even those who are right of center find it hard to dislike Buddhism. Buddhism is truly the religion of peace, not like that other “religion of peace” with the jihad doctrine and 1400 years of conquest.

But the Left and Liberals are also the apologists for Islam, and one of the ways apologists deny the brutality of Islam is to attack its victims as somehow deserving of the jihadist attacks. When Christians are killed every week by jihadists, the leftist types justify it because of the Crusades and other wars by nations that are primarily Christian. When 30 Christian children are murdered in Nigeria, it is considered payback for the Crusades. (The Crusades lasted for 300 years and the last one was 800 years ago.) And any Jews killed are payback for the purported Israeli persecution of the so-called Palestinians. Put another way, the apologists for Islam figure that most of those who are killed in jihad deserve it.

So, the apologists for Islam are in a quandary. Jihad is hurting Buddhists, but it would be bigoted to complain about it. The denial machine is set to spin — those jihadists were not real Muslims or else they were just a few crazies.

A second problem for the apologists is their theory that if Muslims are treated right, they won’t be violent. This is the “treat the Palestinians right and they will do right” theory of dealing with Islam. This gets expanded to the theory that all Islamic violence is due to how the Palestinians are treated. Well, bombing Buddhists in India has no connection to Palestine.

Many Buddhists are absolute pacifists who hold to the “if you do good, good will come to you” school of politics. The problem is that such Buddhists usually cannot figure out why Muslims believe that being a Buddhist is evil. They may be ignorant of Islamic doctrine that says that the only good that can come out of a Buddhist is submission to Islam.

Buddhist doctrine holds that we need both compassion and wisdom. But the wisdom aspect does not seem to be highlighted when the Dalai Lama says that the attacks are “very sad” while noting that it could be an act of a “few individuals” and “shouldn’t be considered something serious.”

If the Dalai Lama would pick up the clue phone, he would hear this: “Hello, the Buddhism that you practice, Vajrayana Buddhism, came from the Swat Valley in Afghanistan and where is Buddhism now? It has been annihilated from Afghanistan by jihadists. That same doctrine of jihad is annihilating Buddhists in Thailand today. Is that sad enough for you?” Jihad seeks to annihilate all religions in the territory that Muslims enter. And that should be considered as something serious.

But bombing Bodh Gaya has a down side for the jihadists. A few of the usual apologists may decide that if jihad means bombing Buddhists, then maybe, just maybe, there is something fundamentally wrong with Islam. Islam’s apologists have a lot more trouble in justifying the justice of jihad against Buddhists since the jihad is against their own political alliance.

So bombing Buddhists may be a tactical victory, but it could a long-term strategic error but, only if the Buddhists and the apologists pay attention to murder of their own.

Published in American Thinker


Bill Warner, Director, Center for the Study of Political Islam
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7 Responses

  1. bhardwajarvind
    |

    Muslims:

    5-7 % of Population – Secular and Peaceful
    7- 15 % of Population – Demand for Mosques, Place of Namaaz in offices.
    15 – 25 % of Population – separate Law, More Mosques, Hijaab and beared to seen more often, blackmailing democratic system of any country Terrorism
    25 – 50 % – fight for land as they claim the country itself where they live, jihad, terrorism, demand for Shariya law
    50% and above – Islamic State declared..

    An Indian.

  2. shamasdin
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    Thousands of muslims were killed n homes burnt by buddhists in myanmar,but u dont mind.

  3. Anonymous
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    The problem is in the entire sub-continent. I am a Punjabi Hindu whose family came from the border during Partition. Since there are a lot of Punjabis in Pakistan, I can very well see, beneath their Islamic utterances, people just like my own Punjabi father. For they speak in the same rougish accent which is characteristic of Delhi folks many of whom also came from across the border. This is the reason why I feel a lot of love for these people and wish for a renaissance within Islam, which may be facilitated by the State. I don’t think there is any other way.

    Budhhism is a rebel daughter of Hinduism and many Hindu and Budhhist thoughts are common. Let me surmise to you a narrative that permeates through Indian society which is about 80% Hindu. Let me quote to you a judgement of the Supreme Court of India from a 2002 case of Ms. Aruna Roy And Ors vs Union Of India And Ors. The facts of the case aside, here is one of the things that the Supreme Court said:

    “The Hindu system of philosophy regards all religions as containing the elements of truth in them and enjoins an attitude of respect and reverence towards them all. This of course presupposes regard for one’s own religion. Study and appreciation of other religions need not cause a weakening of that regard; it should mean extension of that regard to other religions.”

    Indian society therefore by and large embraces the Muslims for it is secular society both constitutionally since 1947 and historically by virtue of the thoughts and beliefs prevalent in this land since millennia. We therefore defend and uphold Muslim brothers, most of whom respond for it is difficult not to respond to love. However, the Hindus cannot and must not be tolerant any further and become aware of the threat of political Islam. Enough is enough. The Bhagvad Gita sanctions war against the wrong-doer.

  4. Serge
    |

    I’m a Tibetan Buddhist (Kagyu and Nyingma schools) from Russia and I totally support your message, Mr. Warner. I’m appalled when I hear the present Dalai Lama calling Islam a “religion of peace” and Allah “the sound of love”. Must be some egregious incompetence on his part, or, I’m afraid, unwillingness to learn. I should note, however, that the Swat valley being the heartland of Vajrayana is just one of many theories, not a scientifically established fact.

  5. Milind Kumar
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    I totally agree with your knowledge and in depth understanding of the situation. May God bless you and you continue in your efforts and fight against this environment of fear and mindless terror. Regards

  6. Srinivas
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    Very well said. More power to you in your efforts to educate the world about Jihad & political islam. In India, the apologists rule the roost be it the current government in power or the media in India. They are either in complete denial of the truth or are truly ignorant about this animal that has been repeatedly unleashing such violence in our society. Even yesterday, the Jihadists killed 5 indian soldiers patrolling our territory in a provocative cross border raid. A leading Hindu leader in Tamil Nadu was hacked to death by jihadists couple of weeks back.

  7. Bhaskar Sur
    |

    Dear Sir, Thanks a lot for sending your newsletter.The Indian state where I live has been the perhaps the worst victim of Islamist violence.Very few Liberals and the Left of the are aware that the proponents of Pakistan unleashed violence on the Hindu Bengalis in the name of Direct Action in August 1946.The orgy of violence ,arson and rape continued unabated in Calcutta for three days taking a staggering toll of 35000 dead and more than twice the number injured It is known as the Great Calcutta killing.After the partition of the country,all minorities-a sizable section of population accounting for a little over 30% of the total population, became the target of relentless violence.Hindu property could be easily confiscated by the state and grabbed by their greedy Muslim neighbors.Their temples were raged and women violated.No country on earth has used rape to demoralize the minorities as Pakistan and, later, Bangladesh did.Since 1947 when Islamists tore away Pakistan from India,more than 30 million Hindus and Buddhists crossed the border to find in India security and a dignified existence,It was a tremendous burden for a state which had suffered the trauma of the Partition and a dramatic industrial decline.Bengal, not many years ago the leading state in India, became poor plagued with communist anarchy and violence.Indeed, the Bengali leftists did everything to suppress the unpalatable facts and they saw no contradiction in supporting the Palestenian cause!

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