South Asian Buddhist Event
More than 70 percent of the 19 million Sri Lankans are Sinhalese and they are mostly Buddhists. Tamils, mostly Hindu, make up 18 percent of the island's population; another 7 percent are Muslims, many of whom have ancient Arabic origins. Since the 19th century, Christian missionaries have converted many people here.
Sri Lanka became independent of its British colonial power in 1948.
Perehera is a holy Buddhist event held during the summer in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
What is distinctive about this
photograph?
Answers:
lots of elephants decorated with colorful things;
"royal" treatment given to the head elephant which carries
the tooth of Buddha;
and
a large crowd of people.
Although not many Sri Lankans practice Islam, Islam is a widely practiced religion in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. For Muslims, the compass direction for the five daily prayers is critical. Towards which direction would a Muslim pray in Eau Claire?
Christianity in South Asia.
When Pope John Paul arrived
in Delhi on November 5, 1999 for his second visit to India, the country planed
to be on its best behavior. The pope's visit has stirred Hindu activists
who equate Christianity with conversion, which they regard as a latter-day
form of colonialism. Conversions "aimed at enslaving the country once
again will destroy our culture and resources," says a leader of the National
Cultural Forum, which has sent a protest caravan from Goa to Delhi. Protesters
say they do not oppose the pope's visit but want him to apologize for
forced conversions and other "crimes" committed by the Catholic church against
the Indian people. Nowhere does Christianity appear to them more threatening
than in the north-east, where several states have Christian majorities and
Christians have figured among those taking part in the region's many insurgencies
and secessionist movements.
Much of this anxiety seems misplaced. The Christian share of the population
had declined to 2.3% in 1991, according to the census that year, from 2.4%
recorded ten years earlier (Hindu and some Christian groups say "hidden
Christians" make the real number much higher). There is little hard information
to back up the accusations and denials about what has happened since. Clearly,
many Christian groups would like to win Indian souls, but some go about it
offensively by denigrating indigenous religions. Much proselytizing is said
to result in "sheep stealing", luring Christians from one denomination to
another. [Source: The Economist, 6 Nov. 1999]
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