International Herald Tribune
Dalai Lama defends Islam as peaceful religion
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 13, 2008
BETHLEHEM, Pa.: The Dalai Lama said Sunday that "it's totally wrong,
unfair" to call Islam a
violent religion.
The Tibetan spiritual leader, appearing at Lehigh University in
Pennsylvania, offered a defense
of Islam in response to a question about the rise of violent religious
fundamentalism. He added
that he has made a point of reaching out to Muslims since the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.
The Dalai Lama arrived at Lehigh on Thursday for a series of talks on a
600-year-old Buddhist
text. He took a break Sunday to lecture on "Generating a Good Heart," and
afterward took
questions from Lehigh President Alice P. Gast that had been submitted in
advance by the public.
Asked why so many Americans are depressed and anxious, he joked: "I'm the
wrong person to ask.
You should ask Americans." Then he answered that U.S. society is too
competitive and that
people always want "something more, something more, something more."
The Dalai Lama, who attracted a capacity crowd of about 5,000, did not
mention next month's
Beijing Olympics. The Chinese government has demanded that the Dalai Lama
express sup****t for
the Olympics and repudiate efforts to disrupt them as a condition for
continued talks.
China has governed Tibet since the 1950s. The Dalai Lama, who fled to
India amid a failed
uprising in 1959, has said he wants some form of autonomy that would allow
Tibetans to freely
practice their culture, language and religion.
The Dalai Lama, who turned 73 on July 6, said Sunday that he's looking
forward to "complete
retirement." He joked that he's now considered a "senior most respected
adviser" to Tibet's
government in exile.
He is scheduled to speak at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on
Wednesday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/13/america/Dalai-Lama.php
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