Many Americans may think Buddhism is a philosophy tied to mindfulness and yoga — but across much of Southeast Asia, being Buddhist is an important part of national identity, a new study reveals. The same is also true of the region’s Muslim-majority nations.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) The U.N.’s appointed expert on freedom of religion or belief gave recommendations for how Sri Lanka should address underlying tensions that predate the April 2019 Easter bombings that killed more than 200 people.
Read MoreSkeptics believe that the Sri Lankan president’s move is aimed at increasing his support in the approaching elections. After the Easter bombings that killed more than 250 people, President Maithripala Sirisena’s leadership has come under sharp attack.
Read More“I had all the reasons and justifications to join a terrorist group because of what has happened to me,” said Raghu Balachandran, a Christian who witnessed the murder of his father and brother in Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war between Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists.
Read More(COMMENTARY) It is 10 years since deadly riots in Xinjiang province provoked a major crackdown against Muslims; 20 years since China launched its effort to liquidate the Fulan Gong movement; and 60 years since Tibet’s young Dalai Lama fled Chinese occupiers’ harassment of Buddhists. All three campaigns persist.
Read MoreIn the past two years, Sri Lankan Christians have been attacked by various hardline Buddhist and Hindu groups. Christian organizations reported 89 cases of discrimination, violence and threats against Christians in 2018, with 40 cases already in 2019.
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