[Buddha-l] Buddhists taking a stand against Islamaphobia

[Richard Hayes]

On Aug 3, 2012, at 7:50 AM, Gregory Bungo <gbungo at earthlink.net> wrote:

> You said that none of your Muslim students
> has attached the Dharma, so therefore no Muslims attack the Dharma.

No, I never said that. It's obviously false that no Muslims attack institutional Buddhism. (I'm not sure that is quite the same as attacking Dharma. I'm with those who don't know what exactly that means.) I mentioned that I've had Muslim students who did not attack the Dharma merely as a corrective to your false claim that Muslims regard it as a duty to attack the Dharma. I've had Muslim students from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Syria and Saudi Arabia taking my courses in Buddhism, and all of them have shown quite a good understanding of and appreciation for the teachings and practices of Buddhism. I do not conclude from that that all Muslims appreciate Buddhism, just as I would not conclude from the fact that none of my American friends belong to the National Rifle Association that no Americans belong to that association. 

> I don't have your exact quote available at the moment; perhaps I
> misunderstood you?

Initially, yes, but I hope this clarification helps. 

Richard