{"id":88757,"date":"2019-05-14T15:53:45","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T22:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=88757"},"modified":"2019-05-14T15:53:45","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T22:53:45","slug":"muslim-violence-against-buddhists-in-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/05\/14\/muslim-violence-against-buddhists-in-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"MUSLIM VIOLENCE AGAINST BUDDHISTS IN THAILAND"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
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Buddhists account for about 95% of the\npopulation of Thailand and most foreigners refer to it as the Land of Yellow\nRobes\u201d. Buddhism has been the established \u2018religion\u2019 or spiritual force in\nThailand for many centuries, according to some historic sources, since the 9th<\/sup>\ncentury, and therefore has had a marked influence on the lives of the people of\nThailand. Buddhism has been the main spring from which flow its culture and\nphilosophy, its art and literature, its ethics and morality, and many of its\nfolkways and festivals. There are more than 21,000 Buddhist shrines and\nmonasteries scattered throughout the country. Thailand is a country where the\nking is constitutionally stipulated to be a Buddhist and the upholder of\nBuddhism.  All the Thai kings in the recorded\nhistory of present-day Thailand have been adherents of Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand is one of those rare countries in\nSouth and Southeast Asia which was not under European colonial powers at any time\nin its history and therefore not subject in the past to the influence of\nCatholicism or Christianity.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A SMALL MINORITY OF MUSLIMS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muslims<\/a> account for a\nmere 4.6% of population. About two-third of Muslims in Thailand are ethnically Malay<\/a> and the balance are those who have migrated to Thailand from China,\nMalaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Malay Muslims\nof Thailand are concentrated in the southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala,\nNarathiwat, Songkhla and Chumphon<\/a>. Their language is a dialect of the Malay\nlanguage. Most of the non-Malay\nMuslims are scattered here and there in Thailand with a concentration in Bangkok<\/a>. Northern\nThailand is home to some Burmese, Pakistani and mixed Muslims. In the far North\nand in some Central and Southern urban centres there are some Thai Muslims of Chinese Hui origin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of Thailand\u2019s Muslims consider\nthemselves to belong to the Sunni branch of Islam and almost all mosques are\nassociated with Sunni<\/a> Islam. However, the Islamic faith in Thailand has become\nintegrated with many beliefs and practices not integral to Islam. In the South,\nanimistic practices indigenous to Malay<\/a> culture are mixed with Islam. There are 3,494 mosques<\/a> in Thailand with the largest number in Pattani\nprovince<\/a> in the South.\nThere are more than 200 Muslim schools in Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISLAMIC\n<\/strong>SEPARATIST INSURGENCY <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separatist insurgency is taking place in Southern Thailand<\/a>, particularly in the Pattani region<\/a> which is made up of three southernmost provinces. Its beginnings were\nevident in the latter half of the 20th<\/sup> century and in recent decades,\nMuslim separatists have increasingly and openly rallied against the central\ngovernment of Thailand, accusing the government of ethnic-religious bias,\ndiscrimination and corruption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years Islamic extremists have been\nspreading fear among the indigenous Buddhists of the region, using violence and\nbrutality. They have resorted to the random killing of Buddhists, including\nschool teachers and Buddhist monks. Also, they have murdered Muslims working in\npublic institutions in Southern Thailand and those who are suspected to be\nsupportive of the Thai Government and members of the Thai Military forces. A\nbrutal attack on a Buddhist temple in the town of Pattani in 2005 is seen as an\nattempt by militants to deepen the religious divide between Muslims and\nBuddhists in Thailand’s deep South.  About 20 insurgents stormed the\nPromprasith Temple in Pattani’s Panare district, armed with assault rifles,\nknives, machetes, fireworks and petrol. They then hacked a 76-year-old monk to\ndeath while two teenage temple novices died in the hail of gunfire.  The temple was set ablaze. The news from\nPromprasith came as a shock to the rest of Thailand. Muslims and Buddhists had\nlived in this area in harmony and peace for a long time. Buddhists here never\nhad any conflict with their Muslim neighbors. The militants appear to be\noutsiders who want to create a rift between Buddhists and Muslims. The\nincreased occurrence of violence in the South has been spilling over into other\nprovinces as well.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During\n2000, authorities responded with military force and legal action to separatist\nactivity in the south. In February 2000, security forces dealt a severe blow to\nthe New Pattani United Liberation Organization, a Muslim separatist group and killed\nits leader who was responsible for 90 percent of the terrorist activities in\nNarathiwat, a southern Thai province. In 2004, the Thai government officially\nrecognized attacks in Thailand as terrorist acts performed by the various\ninsurgent groups that were in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

INCREASING TREND IN VIOLENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although separatist violence has occurred for decades in the southern\nregion, the campaign escalated in 2004. Over\n4300 lives have been lost since the year 2004 owing to Islamic insurgency.  Buddhist monks have been beheaded, children\nkilled and civilians attacked. More than 500 people have been killed in 2004 in three southern Thai\nprovinces. Massive killings occurred throughout the mid to late\n2000s and as of 2010, nearly 4,000 people had been killed due to insurgent\nviolence. The death toll has increased to 2,579 by\nmid-September 2007 and surpassed 3000 in March 2008. By the end of 2010,\ninsurgency-related violence had increased.  In the first few weeks of January\nin 2011 nine Buddhists have been killed in Southern Thailand by Islamic\nterrorists.  In a separate attack four\nmembers of Thai armed forces have been killed. Many Buddhists have left their\ntraditional home in Southern Thailand in order to escape the ongoing Islamic\ninsurgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Lee Jay Walker (www.theseoultimes.com<\/a>) writing to The Modern Tokyo Times, under the title Islamic Terrorists\nkill more Buddhists in Southern Thailand\u201d, states that Southern Thailand\nresembles modern day Afghanistan and Somalia because in both these nations the\nradical Sunni Islamists show their extreme intolerance of other faiths. In\naddition to Buddhists, moderate Muslims are also being killed by radical Sunni\nIslamic fanatics of Southern Thailand. The methodology of killing is intended\nto spread fear to all who oppose the Islamization of Southern Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRUESOME NATURE OF VIOLENCE<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Professor of International Relations\nat Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says “The gruesome fashion of\nbeheadings of Buddhists by Muslim assailants … is not normal violence\u2026”\n“it is driven by deep animosity and hatred.” Muslim extremists\nbelieve that violence, including killing civilians, is justified as a means to\nrestore sharia or Islamic law and maintain Islamic cultural identity. According\nto the adherents of this brand of Islamist activism, they are engaged in a jihad\nor a holy struggle against Islam\u2019s enemies, including even fellow Muslims who\nhave abandoned what the extremists view as true\u201d Islam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HATE LITERATURE\nAGAINST BUDDHISTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One approach that\nthese extremists use in Southern Thailand is the distribution of hate\nliterature in the form of pamphlets, against the Buddhists. They are meant to\nintimidate the local Buddhist community. They are also used a warning\nmechanisms. One such Document states “Dear every Siamese Buddhist Thai who\nlives near the police stations\u2026\u2026I’ll give you three days for you to leave my\nland. Otherwise, I will kill, burn, destroy all Buddhist Thai property\u2026\u2026The\nBuddhist Thai will never live in peace. If you leave the house, travel or go to\nwork, you will die violently. I will wait for you for 24 hours, in every\ndirection” (Pamphlet No.22). Another states “The Islamic warriors of\nPattani announce the purpose that we will never stop killing the Siamese kafir\n(infidel) and will never stop destroying army weapons, the economy, politics,\neducation and the Siamese kafir society until we regain the land of Pattani and\nestablish the state of Pattani Darulslam. I ask for Muslim Malays to be the\nwitnesses.” (Pamphlet No 23). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISLAMIC INSURGENT\nGROUPS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 20th<\/sup>\ncentury, there were 5 main Islamic insurgent groups responsible for terror\nattacks in Thailand. One group was called the Patani Malay National\nRevolutionary Front-Coordinate, or BRN-Coordinate. The second insurgent group\nwas the National Liberation Front of Patani (BNPP) which was the first\norganized armed resistance group active in the 1970s and 1980s, but had become\ndefunct. The third insurgent group was the Patani United Liberation\nOrganization (PULO) operating mainly from exile in Syria and Sweden where its supporters\nlived. It had a working relationship with BRN. The fourth insurgent group was\nthe Islamic Mujahidin Movement of Patani (GMIP) formed in 1995 by Afghanistan\nwar veteran Nasoree Saesaeng. This group was linked to the Malaysia-based\nmilitant organization Kumpulan Mujahidin which, in turn had close ties with the\nIndonesia- based Jemaah Islamiya. The fifth main insurgent group was the United\nFront for the Independence of Patani, commonly known as Bersatu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

INVOLVEMENT OF\nFOREIGN MUSLIM NATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last decade,\nthere has been evidence that Islamic institutions of foreign Muslim nations\nhave been involved in promoting Islamic radicalization and the doctrine of\nIslamic Jihad in Thailand. Thai authorities knew for quite some time that many\nMuslim Thai activists had been to overseas Islamic schools, where they came\nunder influence of hard-line Muslim teachers. Some were reported to have joined\nthe jihad against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan and returned to Thailand as\nextremists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Michael Scott Doran, a Professor\nof Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, this brand of Islamist\nextremism is not a new phenomenon. The basic sentiment of today\u2019s Muslim\nextremists has flourished in the Islamic world for decades. In recent decades\nthe newfound wealth of the oil-rich Middle Eastern Islamic countries and\nmassive immigration of Muslims to the West, Islamic fundamentalism has been on\nthe rise and the dormant spirit of Jihadism has been rekindled once again. This\nfervor has been translated into various forms of upheavals and terrorism and\nworld peace has been put in jeopardy. In 2001 it was reported that of the 28\nterrorist organizations in the world, 11 are Islamist and that there were\nthousands of Islamist terrorists in more than 60 countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MUSLIM MADRASAS\nINDOCTRINATE THE YOUNG<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another approach that\nthese extremists use is enumerated well by Zachary Abuza in his book titled\nMilitant Islam in Southeast Asia (Crucible of Terror). It highlights the role\nof Islamic schools called Madrasas in indoctrinating the younger generation. The\nauthor comments that “In their pursuit of the creation of Islamic states,\nmany Southeast Asian jihadis established Islamic schools to indoctrinate,\npropagate, and recruit. The leaders of many militant groups in Southeast Asia,\nincluding the Laskar Jihad, Kampulan Mujahidin Malaysia, and Jemaah Islamiya,\nreturned from Afghanistan and established a network of madrasas as the base of\ntheir operations and recruitment.” These radical Islamic madrasas, with\nunrestricted material support from foreign Muslim countries, have begun to\nrecruit and brainwash many Muslim children and youth in Islamic Jihadist\nmovement and Islamic fundamentalism. This is a dangerous trend and a great\nthreat to peace and security of Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THAI MUSLIMS TRAINED\nIN FOREIGN MADRASAS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extensive media\nreporting in Pakistan on the presence of foreign students in Pakistani\nmadrasas, which followed the reports of the involvement of three British\ncitizens of Pakistani origin in the London explosions of July 7, 2005, has\nrevealed the presence of nearly a thousand Thai Muslims from Pattanis, in the\nPakistani madrasas. Until the Pakistani media gave an estimate of the number of\nThai students in their madrasas, the world was not aware of the large number of\nThai Muslims in Pakistani Madrasas. It is now known that madrasas in Bangladesh\nalso contain large numbers of Thai Muslims. Many of these Thai Muslims have\nenrolled themselves in the madrasas of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)\nand Baluchistan, which are the hotbeds of the activities of the Taliban and the\nWahhabi-Deobandi organizations of Pakistan. Some of them have also undergone\ntraining in the jihadi training centres of the Taliban and Gulbuddin\nHeckmatyar’s Hizbe Islami (HEI) and have been participating in the current\nTaliban-HEI-Al Qaeda offensive in Afghanistan from sanctuaries in the NWFP and Baluchistan.”\nSouth Asia Analysis Group — Terrorism in Southern Thailand by B. Raman, Paper\nNo. 1501, 15\/08\/2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thai authorities are investigating possible\nlinks between separatist groups and Islamic terrorist organizations such as\nJemaah Islamiyah, which seeks a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia. It’s\nblamed for attacks including the 2002 bombing in Bali that claimed 202 lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MALAYSIAN CONNECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand’s Muslim youth often go to Malaysia\nto study, especially in the northern state of Kelantan, where terrorists wanted\nby Thai authorities have allegedly gone into hiding. Indeed, Malaysia hasn’t\njust served as a safe haven for Thai religious warriors. Until the late 1990s,\nIndonesian hate preacher Abu Bakar Bashir, now in detention in Jakarta on\ncharges of “planning to overthrow the government,” taught at a\nMalaysian religious school, where he indoctrinated the members of terrorist\ngroup Jemaah Islamiyah, who killed 202 people in the October 2002 nightclub\nbombings on the resort island of Bali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terror is everywhere. Although Indonesia\nrecently reported the death of dangerous bomb-maker Azahari bin Husin a member\nof the notorious Indonesian terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah and the man\nbelieved responsible for the 2002 attacks in Bali, among other acts of terror,\nthe whereabouts of the more than 40 suicide bombers he trained remain a\nmystery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite problems in Thailand and Malaysia,\ninternational observers and Western intelligence experts are even more\nconcerned about Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest country. With its 212\nmillion inhabitants, including 185 million Muslims, the giant island nation is\nthe world’s most populous Islamic country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indonesian authorities have arrested more\nthan 200 members of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah in recent months, but acts\nof terror committed by Muslim fanatics have not subsided. Six hooded men in\nblack staged an especially brutal attack in 2005 on the island of Sulawesi,\nwhere they beheaded three Christian schoolgirls in their uniforms and placed\none of the severed heads in front of a church (MARCH OF THE\nEXTREMISTS, Attacks Threaten Religious Harmony in Southeast Asia, By Jargen\nKremb ,Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan, November 21, 2005).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HATRED TOWARDS NON MUSLIMS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extremist\nMuslims in particular appear to dislike all \u2018infidels\u2019 – Buddhists,\nChristians,  Hindus and Jews. Also, there\nis evidence that some Muslims hate each other and murder each other. Sunnis\nslaughter Shias, Shias slaughter Sunnis, both Shias and Sunnis  join \ntogether to slaughter Ahamediyas. Bloodshed, mass murder, terrorism\nand  violence appear to be a part of\nMuslim culture then and now (Islamic Terrorists Kill More Buddhists in Southern Thailand, Assyrian International News Agency – Posted 1-27-2011,\nhttp:\/\/leejaywalker.wordpress.com).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of Islam is a story of constant war and suppression of other\npeoples in the world. The constant inclination of Islam has been to wage war\nand capture foreign lands.  Prophet\nMohammad himself led military expeditions and killed people with his own hands.\nThe Arab Empire was won and consolidated by Islamizing its peoples using the\nfury of its faith in god who desires everyone to submit to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the Koran is replete with passages that call for war on\nunbelievers and venomous hate of those who would not acknowledge its god. The\nfollowing quotation from the Koran will illustrate the mentality of Prophet\nMohammed. Let those who would exchange the life of this world for the\nhereafter fight for the cause of god, whoever fights for the cause of god\nwhether he dies or triumphs, we shall richly reward him\u2026 The true believers\nfight for the cause of god but the infidels fight for the devil.  Fight then against the friends of Satan\u2026  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NON-MUSLIMS ARE INFIDELS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intention of Thailand\u2019s radical Sunni\nIslamists is to have a land with no Buddhists and to create an Islamic Sharia\nstate. The  usual beheadings of innocents\nis deemed to be justified on the grounds that non-Muslims are infidels in\naccordance with the Koran and Hadiths. This applies to the Koran for 9:29\nstates “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the last day, nor hold\nthat forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his apostle nor\nacknowledge the religion of truth of the people of the Book (Jews and\nChristians) until they pay jizya (tax on non-Muslims) with willing submission\nand feel themselves subdued.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verse 9:73 in the Koran also states “O\nProphet! Strive hard (wage war) against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites and\nbe firm against them. Their abode is Hell, — an evil refuge indeed.”\nWhile the Hadith 9:4 \u3000says “Wherever you find infidels kill\nthem; for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection.”\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zachary Abuza, the author of “Militant\nIslam in Southeast Asia,” states that Buddhists have been forced to flee\nin a “de facto ethnic cleansing.” He further continued by stating\nthat “The social fabric of the south has been irreparably damaged.” Meanwhile\nSunai Phasuk, a political analyst at Human Rights Watch, comments that\n“Buddhist monks have been hacked to death, clubbed to death, bombed and\nburned to death.” Therefore, it is clear that this Sunni Islamic\ninsurgency is following a path that involves the destruction of all non-Muslim\nelements within society or the complete subjugation of all non-Muslims by the\nrule of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most notable movement in the region is\nJemaah Islamiya which is often linked with Al Qaeda and this Sunni terrorist\nIslamic organization desires to create more chaos and hatred in order to spread\nits influence and obtain its ultimate objective. This objective, just like the\nradical Sunni Islamic objective in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, and other\nnations, is to create an Islamic Sharia state and enforce the slavery of\nnon-Muslims by a policy of total subjugation based on fear. They have\nthreatened parents to not send their children to any school but the private\nIslamic schools. They have forced businesses closed on Fridays. Suffis and\nmoderate Sha’afis have been routinely targeted. Also, it is noticeable that\nmore women are covering up in purdah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, it is clear that elements within\nSouthern Thailand desire a non-Buddhist land. The younger generation of Muslims\nare being brainwashed against Buddhists. This hatred and alienation of the\nyounger generation began after many studied at international universities\nthroughout the Middle East. Funding from the Middle East is being used to\nspread radical Sunni Islamic versions of Islam. Although the hidden war in\nSouthern Thailand by radical Sunni Islamists is being aimed at moderate Muslims\nand Buddhists alike,  the Buddhists it is\nfeared face complete annihilation and one day Southern Thailand may end up like\nAfghanistan, Central Asia, and other areas which once had thriving Buddhist\ncommunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A CHALLENGE TO THAI\nMILITARY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing violence is proving a challenge to\nthe Thai military. “The most dangerous battle in Southeast Asia’s religious\nmelting pot\u201d, says terrorism and al-Qaida expert Rohan Gunaratna, “is\ncurrently being waged in Southern Thailand.” Not a day goes by here\nwithout an attack. On some days, state-run schools are set on fire and teachers\nmurdered, and on others unknown attackers in pickup trucks target Muslim\nteahouses in drive-by shootings. A train carrying military recruits was blown\nfrom its tracks in 2005. Armed assailants armed with machine guns and hand\ngrenades wiped out a nine-member Muslim family because the father had worked as\na police informant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

INVOLVEMENT OF TAMIL\nLTTE TERRORISTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nLTTE Tamil terrorists were involved with Muslim activists of Southern Thailand\nduring the latter part of the 20th<\/sup> century, especially in the Phuket\narea of Southern Thailand. There LTTE Tamil terrorists were involved in heroin\nsmuggling with the assistance of Muslim activists. They used drug proceeds to\npurchase weapons which were transported to Sri Lanka for terrorist activities.\nIn 2000, Thai government pledged to halt the use of Thailand as a logistics\nbase by the LTTE following the discovery in June 2000 of a partially completed submarine\nat a shipyard in Phuket, in Southern Thailand, owned by an LTTE-sympathizer.\nThey also discovered an unclassified paper by Canadian intelligence published\nin December 2000 that outlined the LTTE use of front companies to procure\nweapons via Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DISRESPECT, DISREGARD AND\nINDIFFERENCE <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do Muslims battle all\nsocieties they infiltrate? Also, why are Muslims not accommodative of non\nMuslims living in Muslim countries, especially by not permitting them to freely\npractice their religions? Why are there no Muslim democracies? These are relevant\nquestions for one to pose. The fact is that in general, Muslims are more\nintransigent, belligerent and are  notoriously\nmilitarized, and thus are disproportionately involved in conflicts in the world\n(http:\/\/www.thereligionofpeace.com). It is common knowledge that although Muslims speak of\nbrotherhood, there is strong disunity and dislike among the various Muslim\nfactions. Sunnis dislike Shias, Shias dislike \nSunnis, both Shias and Sunnis join together to harass the Ahamediyas.\nAll Muslims dislike all infidels – Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Sikhs and\nHindus. Buddhists, wherever in the world they live, are accommodative of other\nreligions. Also, unlike in the case with Muslims, Buddhists, whatever may be\nthe countries they belong to, whatever may be the schools of Buddhism they observe\n – \nMahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana, Zen, there is no disharmony or animosity\nat all among them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

History reveals vividly how Muslims invaded many former Buddhist\ncountries and subjugated their people subjecting them to extreme forms of\nviolence and untold misery unless people converted to Islam. There have been\nproblems of a varied nature in all countries where Muslims form a\nminority.  Indonesia and Malaysia were Buddhist countries at a certain time in\nhistory. With Muslim invasions most of the Buddhists in these places were\neither killed or converted to Islam. More recently in 2001, in the name of\nIslam, the Taliban destroyed the world renowned monumental Bamiyan Buddha\nstatues built in the 6th<\/sup> century, citing that these were \u2018idols\u2019\nwhich are forbidden under Sharia law in Islam. These\nactions show disrespect, disregard and sheer indifference towards people of\nother religions. Such attitudes do not allow any community to assimilate with\nother communities, especially with mainstream communities in countries where\nthey live as a minority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vancouver, Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pictures of Muslim Violence against Buddhists in Thailand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Daya Hewapathirane Buddhists account for about 95% of the population of Thailand and most foreigners refer to it as the Land of Yellow Robes\u201d. Buddhism has been the established \u2018religion\u2019 or spiritual force in Thailand for many centuries, according to some historic sources, since the 9th century, and therefore has had a marked influence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-daya-hewapathirane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}