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.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS