Dalai Lama warns against stigmatising Muslims

From The Bangkok Post:

The Dalai Lama called Sunday for the harmonious co-existence of religions and warned against the stigmatising of Muslims against a backdrop of increasing inter-religious tension.

It was wrong to brand all Muslims as militant because of the activities of individual radical Islamic terrorists, the Tibetan spiritual leader told the foreign press in New Delhi.

It was dangerous to give the impression that there was a culture clash between the West and Islam, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said, adding that there were also wicked people among Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.

There may very well be wicked people among the followers of other religions, but it is Islam that is currently going through a particularly bloody phase, and it doesn't do anyone any good to ignore that.

In any case, the Dalai Lama's message is especially timely in Thailand, where an insurgency in the predominantly Muslim south has killed around 1700 people since the beginning of 2004.

Just yesterday, two Buddhist civilians were murdered in cold blood by the insurgents. From The Times of India:

A Buddhist man and his son were shot dead on Saturday by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand's troubled south, police said.

A 52-year-old rubber plantation worker and his 20-year-old son were gunned down by insurgents on a motorcycle in the southern province of Songkhla, which is next to three restive provinces bordering Malaysia.

The latest attack came as Thailand's coup leader, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, said he had agreed to hold talks with separatist insurgents in the Muslim-majority south.

The insurgents are not targetting just Buddhists. Muslims who are considered too sympathetic to the government have also been the victims of their violence. From Khaleej Times online:

Three Muslims and a Buddhist have been killed in separate shootings by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand’s troubled south, police said on Sunday.

A Muslim rubber plantation tapper was shot dead Sunday morning in Pattani, one of three southern provinces bordering Malaysia that has been plagued by separatist violence and other unrest. His death followed three killings late Saturday.

In Pattani, a Muslim policeman was shot dead as he travelled to work, while in Yala province a Muslim villager who worked as an informant for the military was shot dead in front of his house.

In Narathiwat province, a 65-year-old Buddhist villager was shot four times by two men on a motorcycle as he walked home. He died instantly.

While I agree that all Muslims should not be stigmatised because of the actions of a few, I also believe that only Muslims can put a stop to the violence perpetrated by their co-religionists.

南無阿彌陀佛