Hitchens: Religions as death cults

Islamists attack Buddhists

The jihadists---on this occasion the Indian Mujahadeen---are at it again. On a Sunday in July, nine bombs went off in Buddhism’s most sacred place, Bodh Gaya in India. The jihadists said the bombing was in retaliation for the Buddhists resisting jihad in Myannmar. This would be the equivalent of bombing the Wailing Wall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Bethlehem or the Kabbah. But, since Buddhists are the least political of all religions, the media barely noticed.

This jihad attack may have long term consequences for jihad, due to favorable attitudes toward and perceptions of Buddhists and who Buddhists are. Buddhism is the pet religion of the media, Leftists, Progressives and Liberals, and even those who are right of center find it hard to dislike Buddhism. Buddhism is truly the religion of peace, not like that other “religion of peace” with the jihad doctrine and 1400 years of conquest.

But the Left and Liberals are also the apologists for Islam, and one of the ways apologists deny the brutality of Islam is to attack its victims as somehow deserving of the jihadist attacks. When Christians are killed every week by jihadists, the leftist types justify it because of the Crusades and other wars by nations that are primarily Christian. When 30 Christian children are murdered in Nigeria, it is considered payback for the Crusades. (The Crusades lasted for 300 years and the last one was 800 years ago.) And any Jews killed are payback for the purported Israeli persecution of the so-called Palestinians. Put another way, the apologists for Islam figure that most of those who are killed in jihad deserve it.

So, the apologists for Islam are in a quandary. Jihad is hurting Buddhists, but it would be bigoted to complain about it. The denial machine is set to spin---those jihadists were not real Muslims or else they were just a few crazies...

Thanks to Creeping Sharia