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Indonesian Buddhists denounce violence against Rohingya Muslims
A prominent Buddhist in Madura, East Java, Kosala Mahinda has condemned violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, emphasizing that such treatment was against the true teachings of Buddhism
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prominent Buddhist in Madura, East Java, Kosala Mahinda has condemned violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, emphasizing that such treatment was against the true teachings of Buddhism.
"The Rohingya crisis should not have happened as Buddhism teaches us to love all people," Mahinda, chairman of the Avalokitesvara Temple Foundation in Pamekasan, Madura, said on Thursday as quoted by Antara news agency.
"We hope the conflict in Myanmar can be resolved. The United Nations must act to address the crisis as it could threaten interfaith harmony in the world," he said.
He lauded the existence of religious harmony in Indonesia, such as in Pamekasan where Buddhists and Muslims coexist peacefully and have mutual respect for each other.
In Medan, North Sumatra, Buddhist monk Peter Lim also denounced the prosecution of Rohingyas in Buddhist-majority Myanmar as it tainted Buddhism.
"I feel ashamed and sad. And I condemn it because it is an affront to Buddhism and Buddha's teachings," Lim said in Medan, North Sumatra, recently.
The prosecution by extremists does not reflect the teachings of Buddhism, he affirmed.
Separately, the Council of Buddhist Communities (Walubi) has called on the country's Buddhists to help Rohingya refugees currently stranded in Aceh and North Sumatra.
Ahead of Waisak (Buddha's Day of Enlightenment), Walubi called on all Buddhists to perform good deeds.
Walubi earlier said that Buddhists in Indonesia had nothing to do with radicalism spread by Ashin Wirathu, a radical monk who condoned the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority group in Rakhine state, Myanmar. (hhr)
