[Buddha-l] Re: Buddhist Intolerance?

[Dan Lusthaus]

Now, by way of contrast, here is an actual example of persecution. Notice
this is not about "raising voices" but destructive actions.

Buddhism, as we all know, had a major presence in Central Asia, into Iran
and further west, though its fortunes fluctuated with the advent of Islam.
The decisive turning point, from which Buddhism never recovered, is
described thus:

"The lack of Buddhist monuments and images from Mongol Iran is directly
connected with Ghazan Khan's conversion to Islam in 1295. Apparently Ghazan
Khan was convinced by one of his generals, a Muslim called Nauruz, of the
expediency of adopting Islam. At the time Ghazan was battling his cousin
Baidu for the throne and control of the Ilkhanid lands. The value of leading
Muslim troops as a Muslim and defeating "the last non-Muslim leader" of Iran
was not lost on Ghazan. By the fall of 1295 Ghazan had captured and executed
Baidu and had taken full control of the empire. Despite his Buddhist
upbringing and the Buddhist temples he had erected in Khurasan, Ghazan's
first royal decree was for the destruction of all churches, synagogues, and
Buddhist temples in Tabriz, Baghdad, and throughout the realm. Because of
the good favor they had earlier enjoyed, the Buddhists were the hardest hit
by this proclamation. Many converted to Islam or fled eastward toward
Central Asia, China, and Tibet. Even so, textual and artistic sources lead
us to assume that the Buddhist community of Tabriz did not disappear all at
once, but dispersed in the years following Ghazan Khan's decree." (p. 299)



Sheila B. Canby, "Depictions of Buddha Śākyamuni in the Jami' Al-Tavarikh
and the Majma' Al-Tavarikh," _Muqarnas_, v.10, Essays in Honor of Oleg
Grabar, 1993, 299-310.



Ghazan remains a celebrated hero in the Islamic world (you can purchase
posters of him on Amazon.com).



>From that point on, Buddhism quickly disappeared from Central Asia and most
of India, except in certain islands exempt from the advance of Islam, such
as Tibet.



Incidentally, the reason the Nestorians came to China in the 7th century was
precisely to get away from this sort of mistreatment by fledling Islam in
their native lands.



Dan Lusthaus