Word: buddhist
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Thailand markets itself as a Buddhist kingdom, all golden spires and saffron-robed monks. But 80% of the country's southern tip is Muslim, peopled by descendants of a former Malay sultanate that was annexed by what was then known as Siam in 1902. Over the past five years, a steady stream of bombings, shootings, beheadings and other terror attacks in the country's deep south have claimed roughly 3,500 lives, both Muslim and Buddhist. Most of the killings have been blamed on separatist Muslim insurgents, while others are thought to be the work of Buddhist vigilantes...
...Unlike with many other Muslim terror groups, the insurgents in Thailand's deep south don't tend to claim responsibility for their actions, nor have they publicly stated the reasons for their violent handiwork. Nevertheless, there's no doubt that Muslims in largely Buddhist Thailand have faced decades of prejudice, even on an official level. In a particularly tragic incident in 2004, hundreds of Muslim protesters in the village of Tak Bai were rounded up by security forces, stuffed like sardines into trucks and left to roast in the heat during a drive to an army detention center in Pattani...
...Buddhist, the only thing we can do is pray for them," the Dalai Lama said to a group of reporters following him to Siaolin. This week, the Tibetan spiritual leader has come to Taiwan to pray and console. Unlike his first two visits in 1997 and 2001, when he met with incumbent presidents Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, both advocates of independence for the island, he won't be meeting or even crossing paths with President Ma Ying-jeou, who has been drawing Taiwan closer to China. (See pictures from the Dalai Lama's 60 years of leading...
...Shiao Lin, he put his palms together in prayer while a monk next to him recited a Buddhist sutra...
...Just nine months ago, Ma had rejected a visit from the Tibetan spiritual leader, whom the Buddhist community had invited, because he didn't want to upset Beijing. Ma said then that "the time was inappropriate" for such a visit. Forging closer ties with China, Taiwan's longtime political rival and military threat, has been Ma's biggest priority and achievement so far as President. In his short time in office, he's reached milestones such as opening up investment and tourism to the Chinese and establishing direct transportation...