[Buddha-l] Buddhists taking a stand against Islamaphobia

[James A Stroble]

On Sun, 05 Aug 2012 11:47:55 -0500
Gregory Bungo <gbungo at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> 
> On 8/4/12 7:23 PM, "James A Stroble" <stroble at hawaii.edu> wrote:
>  (snip)
> >...  Both Christianity and Islam
> >reject forced conversion, ...
>   (snip)
> 
> Really?  Perhaps they reject forced conversation in theory, but
> practice is something else entirely.  A non-Muslim who openly
> practices her or his religion in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
> Sudan, or Afghanistan will encounter quite a bit of coercion.
> 
> Voluntarily,
> 
> Greg
> 
In theory?  No, in doctrine.  Yes, various religions, especially
monotheistic ones it seems, do apply various forms of pressure to
convert.  But the point is that force cannot produce belief.   Yes,
confession, or a pledge of allegience, but not actual belief. That is
what Dharma is, actual belief, on the basis of one's own investigation.
Which is why the Abrahamic religions have to reject forced conversion,
since such a conversion for whatever external motivation (join our
religion now and get as free toaster! Limited time offer!) is not a
sincere expression of belief, not an actual testimony of a subjective
assertation of a judgement of truth, and so not an actual
"conversion".  

I mean, I didn't expect a sort of Spanish Inquisition!!!! 
(And I recently read John Kelsey's 
_Arguing the Just War in Islam_, which made me think that it was a much
dicier move to convert, since then you could be warred against as in
infidel (let's be correct here, in-fidel is from the Latin Fidelus, so
it is the betraying in a false conversion that is at issue?). 

So what forms of coercive conversion have Buddhist employed in their
long an illustrious career of spreading across Asia without the use of
violence?   I am seriously interested, especially since I need a few
thousand more Namu Horengyo's before I can afford a new Lexus.