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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Japan Asked To Convert To Islam

Do you remember the Bamiyan Buddhas ? For those who are not too young, you probably must have read in newspaper / seen on TV about the Bamiyan Buddhas or rather their destruction by the Taliban regime back in 2001 ( i still remember it vividly as it was on the news everywhere at that time ) . For those who are unfamiliar , the Bamiyan Buddhas were two 1500 years old giant size Buddhas carved out from the mountain in Afghanistan but both are no longer standing, no thanks to the descipable act of the Taliban.

The Bamiyan Buddha - Before (left) and after (right) the destruction














During the process of obliteration


After almost a decade ( time passes damn fast ), some interesting information about the Bamiyan Buddhas were revealed by a former member of the Taliban regime. Abdul Salam Zaaef who was the ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan and imprisoned in Guatanamao Bay from 2002 to 2005, wrote in his recently released memoir My Life With The Taliban that Japan was the most active country in pressing the Taliban not to destroy the two giant statues.

The extemist Taliban said that the two Buddhas statues were " idols " which is forbidden in Islam and ought to be brought down ( True but no one asked the Afghan muslims to worship the statues. Can Buddhist majority country example Japan destroy mosques in Japan ? ) In his memoirs Abdul Salam says that Japan sent a delegation together with a smaller delegation from Sri Lanka to Afghanistan to " negotiate " with the Taliban. Japan told the Taliban that the two Buddhas could be " removed " without the need to destroy them. It made two proposals to the Taliban. Japan told the regime that it was willing to remove the Buddhas piece by piece and then assemble them elsewhere (abroad). Alternatively Japan proposed to "hide" both statues by covering them from head to toe until they could not been seen at all. The Japanese told the Taliban that they were willing to protect the Buddhas because Buddhism has been a religious belief of Japan for many centuries. However the Japanese must have got a shocked reply they did not quite expect it. Not only their proposals were rejected outright by the Taliban but the regime called Buddhism as a "Void Religion" and asked the Japanese to convert to Islam instead ( the Japanese delegation probably had expected the rejection but i am sure they were stunned and speechless when asked to convert to Islam by the Taliban ).

Despite pleas from various countries ( Buddhist and non-Buddhist countries alike ), the Taliban were adamant in their decision and finally in March 2001, the two Buddhas were obliterated. Abdul Salam wrote that the destruction of the two Buddhas was within the Islamic law ( seems like he is still unrepented ) but it's timing was the right because a couple of months later, Afghanistan was attacked by the US and the Taliban defeated ( Hello !, Abdul Salam, that was not "wrong timing" but because " you reap what you sow " or the Buddhists call Karma. Your country was attacked because your regime hijacked aircrafts to hit the US on 9th September 2001 )

This is the book - My Life With The Taliban

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    Venerable PHRA PIYA DHAMMO is a retired police officer of the Singapore narcotics criminal investigation department, after he retired and he joined the monastic life at the Mahindarama Temple in Penang under Venerable Dr. Elgiriye Indarathana, the incumbent chief at the time

    Later, he practiced Buddhist teachings, Dhamma, and temple rules by wearing white clothes for three years before being ordained a Buddhist monk and he lived with a chief monk for five years to study full subjects in Buddhism to follow the rules of Vinaya (culture, morality, meditation and others)

    Therefore, my Master (Phra Piya Dhammo) said, he travelled to many places to practice the Dhamma and gain more experience in the areas of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Melaka

    And he stopped at SAMNAK SAMBODHI BUDDHIST TEMPLE, Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong for training under a good MASTER there, but so many Ghosts to be bothered as YIP KUM FOOK (lawyer), this YIP KUM FOOK is the president of SAMNAK SAMBODHI and YIP KUM THIS FOOK also called the police to arrest him, using that annoying gangster as well

    Many things our Master told us about him traveling for Dhamma training, the worst place in SAMNAK SAMBODHI BUDDHIST TEMPLE because YIP KUM FOOK (lawyer) did not respect the monks and other committee members

    MAHINDARAMA BUDDHIST TEMPLE (Dhamma friends)
    PENANG, MALAYSIA

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  2. we are a Buddhist sangha community in Penang and we need to inform all Sangha in Malaysia and abroad because the last time our monks went to visit SAMNAK SAMBODHI, Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur and we monks were kicked out by the Temple president

    we are a monk in Ven. Phra Piya Dhammo was a retired Singapore CID police officer, later he became a monk in Mahindarama, Penang. He practiced under Chief monks, Dr. Ven E Indaratana Maha Thero, Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, Penang, for five years, after which he travelled for Dhamma everywhere in Malaysia

    Ven. Phra Piya Dhammo said, he was very happy and peaceful to stay temporarily in SAMNAK SAMBODHI as it was associated with the higher knowledge and education of the monks, our Bhante said all the monks were very moral and kind like brothers.

    On one occasion, YIP KUM FOOK realized and got angry at our Bhante because this YIP KUM FOOK is the president of SAMNAK SAMBODHI and has the power to get rid of anyone in the Temple but our Bhante did not do anything wrong, also this president called the police, and his thugs to drive away(kick) we monk out of the Temple

    we saved and protected our Buddhist sangha from danger and bullying from someone, you (Bhante), you are not alone, we come to help you

    Forward by BUDDHIST SANGHA COMMUNITY IN PENANG

    Sharing by Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang

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