National and Religious Identity in Buddhism and Islam - Essay Example

Post-Colonial Occupation & Resistance: National and Religious Identity in Buddhism & Islam There is an ancient parable in India, shared by the Jain,Hindu, Buddhist, and even some Persian traditions, that tells the story of a group of blind men who examine an elephant for the first time by touching different parts of its body with their hands. One blind man touches the ear, another grasps the trunk, one inspects the tail, another feels the foot, and so on, each giving a conflicting description of what he sees. From conviction in their limited experience, the blind men begin arguing over what the elephant actually is fundamentally, each standing firm to his own limited view or definition. (Jainworld) This parable is often used to illustrate the reason we have the divisions that created world religions, as different people in various parts of the planet have experienced and expressed religion in their own unique cultural ways, yet continue to argue and fight over what is ultimate truth. This same parable can guide us to be careful when speaking of Christianity, Hinduism or other religions as a whole, as sects or schools within the greater religion may hold tenets and practices that are widely divergent from each other even within the same theological context. When conducting research into comparative religions from a contemporary viewpoint, one must avoid generalizations that sweep over divergent views within the larger tradition and instead look for the diversity, valuing the records of minorities and dissenting views that define the mainstream accepted values. Through this we can avoid stereotypes and present an accurate overview of the dynamics of a religious system in a historical period without losing perspective of the diversity of views and practices. This approach integrates the two methods of inquiry used in the study of religion as proposed by Linda Woodhead in ‘Religions in the Modern World,’ the “broadly sociological” and the “ethnographic or anthropological”. (Woodhead, 1) Through this methodology, for example, the effects of post-colonial occupation on religious traditions such as Buddhism and Islam can be studied in a manner that values all parties equally in judgment, tracing the consequences of historical decisions into modern times. In the aftermath of the Second World War, a number of historical situations arose that can be termed “post-colonial occupations”. In the time that many nations which were colonized during the first period of European expansion, such as India, Pakistan, and African nations, came to be liberated from foreign rule, a number of new occupations began that initiated a similar paradigm of conquest on a new model. Looking at the examples of Israel-Palestine, Tibet, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, there are vast histories within each region and its recent conflict that would encompass volumes to discuss. Yet, each of these histories shares an underlying theme of a post-colonial occupation, extended or limited, by a foreign military power over what was once a sovereign region self-governed by the indigenous community autonomously. Additionally, in each instance, the occupying military power is from a culture that is based on a different religious tradition than the one practiced by the indigenous community. In the instances of Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the indigenous population is Islamic and the occupying forces are of Jewish and Christian descent. In Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam, the populations were primarily Buddhist, Taoist, and based in Confucianism, whereas the occupying powers were technically atheist or Christian. Again, during the same milieu that other colonized peoples were finding liberation, these countries experienced an increased period of violence caused by foreign invasion and occupation. To date, only the situation in Vietnam has been resolved, and the war the U.S. conducted there has many similarities as well as fundamental differences historically with the other regions. Thus, the essay will limit discussion to the way the religions of Buddhism and Islam have adjusted and adapted in these regions when occupied by a foreign military power in the post-war era. The experience of occupation in these regions led to the organization of resistance movements, some national, some religion-based, though there are major differences as to the degree that religious institutions were attacked by the occupying power in each instance. For example, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at its basis a war of religion and occupation combined, for the State of Israel is a Jewish state with citizenship based on religious heritage. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) To a lesser degree, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and subsequent occupations were motivated by religion, as “Islamic Terrorism” as practiced by al-Qaeda is the accepted cause for starting the wars. In Tibet, the traditional Buddhist culture was destroyed by the Chinese Army commanded by Mao and other Communist Party members who were avowedly atheist. In a sense, Communism combined with Han nationalism acted as a force against traditional Tibetan culture in a way the UN has condemned as genocide, but unless we brand Maoism a religion, the cause must be political ideology rather than religion in the Chinese occupation of Tibet. (Tibetan Justice Center) The American attack, war, and partial occupation of Vietnam following the French colonial rule was targeted at the same type of ideological regime in North Vietnam as the Maoists led in China, essentially atheist in Marxist foundations. Thus, the American actions there are more driven by the geo-political ideologies of the West in the Vietnam War rather than religion, and did not specifically target religious institutions as the Chinese did in Tibet. The American occupation of South Korea for over 60 years following the end of the Korean War that divided the peninsula is another example- the ideological conflict that the Vietnam War was based on. Yet, again, while not targeting religion specifically in the war, the American occupation was to have a tremendous effect on indigenous Buddhism in the country. Research into the cultural evidence shows clearly that due to the philosophical and cultural differences between the Buddhist and Islamic cultures, fundamentally different organizations and responses to occupation developed in these regions when confronted with foreign occupation by military powers that threatened the traditional societies on which the religions were based. In each of these conflicts, religious institutions were targeted directly and indirectly by the occupying power, yet the degree of allegiance or fusion of religious and national identity in the mind of the individual is the primary cause of basing a resistance movement in a theological framework. In the Vietnam War, there was a secular North Vietnamese army and political movement that opposed the U.S. militarily, but Vietnam also developed its own non-violent means of resisting war, bombings, and military occupation through leadership from Buddhist monasteries, as exemplified by the ordained monk Thich Nhat Hahn. Monks also set themselves aflame in some of the most dramatic anti-war protests remembered from the Vietnam era. (Plum Village) Thus, in Vietnam, Buddhism did respond in an engaged manner with non-violent opposition led by ordained Sangha. In Korea, the situation on which the Vietnam War was modeled, some may dispute that the existence of U.S. military forces on the peninsula for 60 years and a network of over 50 bases is not a “post-colonial occupation” as the South Koreans request that the military stay and engages in joint self-defense exercises to preserve South Korean sovereignty. But from this definition, U.S. imperialism as projected geo-politically during the Cold War is judged equally as the Soviet or Chinese, without partiality to political ideology so much as an ideal of justice based on morality. If we accept the U.S. presence the last 60 years in Korea as a type of “post-colonial” imperialism, we see then there is resistance only by the North Korean side, and it is organized from an officially atheist, Marxist foundation. However, if we look at how indigenous religion has adapted during this time, it is surprising, for approximately 49% of the South Korean population has converted from the native religion which combined Buddhism, Confucianism, and native shamanism to Christianity during the time that the U.S. troops have been stationed in the country since the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the Korean War. (Christian Aggression) The Korean example of 49% converting from an indigenous Buddhism to Christianity is not seen in Tibet, where despite the destruction of over 90% of the Buddhist monasteries and temples in the country, the people have not converted from their native religion. The response of the Tibetans to occupation by the Chinese is firmly tied to the people’s identity in Vajrayana Buddhism, of which HH the Dalai Lama is the secular and religious leader with the highest regard. The Dalai Lama has organized a resistance movement to Tibetan occupation for over 50 years, on a purely non-violent philosophical basis. Many Tibetans have followed the example of the Dalai Lama and fled the occupation of Tibet to live in India or other countries as refugees. (International Campaign for Tibet) Compared to the Korean example where there is very little organized resistance from ordained or lay Buddhists on either side to the war officially, in the Tibetan example all resistance is led by an ordained monk in robes and based in Buddhist teachings. The Dalai Lama has transformed the situation of Tibet’s occupation and his exile into a means to teach Buddhism to millions of people around the world. Indeed, Tibetan Buddhism, or Vajrayana Buddhism, as preserved by the Lamas of Tibet for thousands of years since its decline in India in the middle ages, has been adopted by tens of millions of people around the world largely due to the teachings of the masters of the Tibetan lineages. This is a profound change that resulted from the destruction of Tibetan isolation when the Chinese invaded and occupied the country, but the ordained Sangha of Buddhism have also led resistance movements in Vietnam, as noted with Thich Naht Hahn and others, as well as in Burma, with the recent Saffron Revolution. It can also be argued that these engagements of monks with social activism is a modern response that is evolving from globalization, the history of social liberation movements, modern media, and many other factors, but that it is historically different than the withdrawn, ascetic, renunciate monks of traditional Buddhism in Asia. In all of these cultures, Buddhism once had state support in a Monarchial system, gradually eroded through time by the changes of colonialism, the rise of the modern state, secularization, etc. The invigoration the religion invoked locally in response to post-colonial occupation in many instances spread across the world, inspiring others in the path of non-violence, and Buddhism is spreading strongly across the globe today through conversions based upon these examples. (Nelson) Where Buddhism is based in non-violence, teaches compassion, renunciation, and wisdom solutions, its practitioners evolved a unique response to post-colonial occupation which in many ways transcended national identification and served to spread the religion worldwide. Many have lamented that the Palestinians never developed a non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation, as Yasser Arafat is seen in many places as the “proto-terrorist” introducing civilian casualties staged for the media to the era of modern history. Whether this is accurate, as some claim Tamils introduced suicide bombing as a modern form of resistance to occupation, or a stereotype encouraged by an Israel-centric media is another vast debate of issues too broad for the scope of this essay. However, the Palestinian response to occupation as represented by The PLO and Hamas has a distinctive Islamic religious identity and a politics that includes violence against both armed soldiers and unarmed civilians of the occupying powers. (Nasser) Thus, the identification of national identity and religion is similar to the Buddhists, but the Buddhist response or means of resistance prohibits non-violence where the Palestinian organized response accepts and returns violence. This is problematic from many points, as it increases suffering and expands the cycles of violence, but a larger question is whether or not it represents the mainstream religious view of the community. For example, 90% may accept a fused Palestinian and Islamic national identity, just as 90% of the Jews in Israel may accept the same, but only 10% may organize for violence. It is the same in Afghanistan or Iraq, where the national and Islamic identity are fused but less than 10% organize for violence or agree with the tactics of the Taliban or al-Qaeda. Regardless if the percentage is a 10% minority or over 50% majority of the population, the identification of the resistance movements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine has not engaged the West in the mood of solidarity with the same force as the Buddhist resistance movements in Tibet, Burma, and Vietnam. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the Palestinian, Iraqi, or Afghani national resistance movements have encouraged the spread of Islam as a religion to new converts in the West or around the world to the same extent as the Tibetans and other Buddhists have done through their example. To date, neither the Iraqis, Afghans, nor Palestinians have seen liberation from post-colonial occupation by using violent means, nor have the Tibetans or Koreans been able to regain their natural peace and freedom as independent, sovereign nations. In summary, in the three Islamic countries organizing resistance to post-colonial occupation, the PLO and Hamas come from a position of Islamic nationalism that uses violence to fight violence and occupation, the Ba’ath Forces of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda in Iraq both organize on Islamic nationalism using organized violence as a means of resistance to occupation, and the Taliban in Afghanistan also fuse Islam with nationalism in a fundamentalist way. In the three Buddhist countries experiencing post-colonial occupation, both Tibet and Vietnam develop international leadership that teaches non-violence in the same manner, and with the same force as Gandhi did, invigorating Buddhism as a religion and leading to its expansion to tens of millions of new converts worldwide, particularly in the West through the teachings of HH the Dalai Lama, Thich Naht Hahn, other monks, and lamas. In Korea, the Buddhist community did not organize in the same manner, and instead, approximately 49% of the population of the South converted from an indigenous Buddhist religion to Christianity. Korea also experienced the rise from an undeveloped state and ruins following the Korean War, to the rapid onset of capitalist development, industrialization, and modernization while being wholly militarized against the North and its diametrically opposed system of communism supported by China. Nevertheless, we do see in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Saffron Revolution in Burma, a similar response to repression as in the occupied Buddhist countries of Tibet and Vietnam, i.e. the development of an internationally respected leader basing political opposition on tenets of non-violence. Similarly, we do see in other countries with regimes like Myanmar but Islamic majority populations, the formation of violent resistance groups on the al-Qaeda and Taliban models, as they are repeated in the mainstream media. Remembering our initial caveat to avoid stereotypes, there is a fundamental division represented in the religions themselves that leads Islamic nationalism to resist oppression violently, and Buddhist countries evolving non-violent means of national resistance to occupation. Buddhism, like Jainism and many forms of Hinduism, maintains that its adherents not kill or harm other beings in any way, but instead help them at all times, practicing loving-kindness and compassion. Just as the Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela, Buddhism teaches the student to accept even the extremes of personal death and suffering rather than to perpetuate the cycle of violence by hurting other beings. In Islam, the prophet Mohammad carried a sword and conquered in battle, the Imam Ali also spread the kingdom of Islam across the Middle East through military conquest that established the Caliphate. (Hooker) There is kindness and compassion in Islam, charity, brotherhood, love, wisdom, and mysticism, but there is not the unconditional call to non-violence one finds in the tenets of Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Thus, while both Buddhist and Islamic communities may align their religious and national identities into an inseparable unity, and resist post-colonial occupation from this basis, the philosophical tenets of the religions regarding non-violence leads to a different pattern of cultural expression in each context that repeats in a predictable manner, though not without exceptions. These exceptions stem from the individuals who create both the religion and resistance to oppression in their own minds through identity, creating change through action and communication. Bibliography: Christian Aggression News. “Conversions: Facts and Figures,” Christian Aggression, --- Web 4 Dec. 2010. < http://www.christianaggression.org/features_statistics.php> Hooker, Richard. “The Caliphate,” Islam, 1996. Web 4 Dec. 2010. International Campaign for Tibet. “Tibetan Refugees,” Save Tibet, 2009. Web 4 Dec. 2010. INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS. “ICJ Report on Tibet and China,” Tibetan Justice Center, 1960. Web 4 Dec. 2010. JainWorld. “ELEPHANT AND THE BLIND MEN,” Jainism Global Research Center, --- Web 4 Dec. 2010. Minister of the Interior. “The Law of Return,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2008. Web 4 Dec. 2010. Nelson, Darren. “Why is Buddhism the fastest growing religion in Australia?” Buddhanet, --- Web 4 Dec. 2010. Nasser, Prof. Alan. “Hamas, Israel, Gaza and Violent Resistance: The Historical and Political Framework of the Current Crisis,” Global Research, January 4, 2009. Web 4 Dec. 2010. Plum Village. “About our Teacher Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thầy),” Parallax Press, 2009. Last Updated (Friday, 21 August 2009 14:39), Web 4 Dec. 2010. Woodhead, Kawanami, & Partridge (Editors). “Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations,” Routledge, 2009. 1. Print. Read More