The Dalai Lama defended Islam at an historic religious gathering in San Francisco on Saturday, saying suicide bombings were tragic "mischief" that could plague any religion.
The Dalai Lama took center stage at an unprecedented anti-terror summit with Muslim clerics and other religious leaders from around the world.
Tibet's spiritual leader came in response to a prominent California imam's invitation to help form a "United Nations of Religion" devoted to countering extremist violence.
Imam Seyed Mehdi Khorasani said the idea came after he met Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso in the US state of Idaho late last year.
Religious leaders and academics from approximately 30 countries were brought to San Francisco, which Khorasani said was selected because it was where the UN was founded.
Among the supporters of the religious solidarity movement was former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, leader of that country's largest Muslim organization Nadhlatul Ulama, which boasts 40 million members.
Holland Taylor delivered a letter from Wahid praising the gathering and offering to align himself with the Dalai Lama in future meetings of the newly established group.
"What is going on is a struggle for the soul of Islam," Taylor said, adding that Wahid and other top Muslim leaders were on the Dalai Lama's side in the "tug-of-war" against religious extremism.
Taylor referred to Sunni and Shiite leaders forming a public alliance with the Dalai Lama as as "ideological jujitsu" to deflect the power of radicals and unite moderates that represent "the true heart of Islam."
Organizers heralded the assembly as the establishment of a multi-religious body that will work to quell violence and promote harmony between people of different faiths.
"Nowadays, to some people, the Muslim tradition appears more militant. I feel that's totally wrong. Muslim, like any other tradition, is the practice of compassion," the Dalai Lama told an invitation-only crowd of 500 people gathered in the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill to hear him speak with other religious leaders.
Suicide bombings and other violence by extremists have unfairly skewed the world's perception of Islam, the Dalai Lama said.
"Such mischievous people are not just in the Muslim community, but among the Hindus, the Christians, the Buddhists," he said. "In any community, a few mischievous people are always there."
The Dalai Lama urged the leaders of all faiths to stand together on their common ground to defend Islam and promote the ideal of respecting the faiths of individuals while embracing religious diversity in communities.
"In some respects, I am one of the defenders of Muslim tradition," the Dalai Lama said. "If one believer, one tradition, is getting criticism, we have to act."
The Dalai Lama lauded the example of India, where Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhists live as neighbors.
"When I see conflict in the name of religion in Ireland, Pakistan and now in Iraq," the Dalai Lama said, "then I think India's tradition of living together in religious harmony is wonderful."
Modern cultures are so unavoidably entwined that it is vital to foster respect between people of different religions, he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft