Free Republic

OAKLAND — Authorities say a Buddhist monk has been arrested and charged with attempted murder following a recent stabbing of another monk in a San Francisco Bay Area monastery. The Oakland Tribune reports (http://bayareane.ws/1Hd73fg) Tuesday that authorities say 30-year-old Sokphanna Phen admitted stabbing 66-year-old Mahamonirath Pinn multiple times in the face and head with two kitchen knives at an East Oakland monastery last Tuesday. Pinn was being treated at an Oakland hospital. Officer Bradley Miller says Phen told police he was angry with the head monk for his disciplinary tactics. Police say Phen, who was arrested last Thursday at the...

‘969’: The three digits that are terrifying Muslims in Burma This photo shows the cover of two CDs with the '969' logo at the top. On the far right is the monk Wirathu, the leader of the '969' campaign. The CD is titled "Monks' teachings: How to protect our religion and nation." Photo courtesy of MMedia. Brightly-coloured posters and stickers bearing the number "969" are popping up in cities all over Burma. These look innocuous enough at first glance. However, “969” actually denotes an anti-Islam campaign led by hardliner Buddhist monks. Burmese Muslims say it has stirred up hatred and...

Buddhist monks lead Thai soldiers and civilians as they perform religious rites at a temple in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand BANGKOK, Thailand --Troops raided an Islamic boarding school Thursday in the first action under a state of emergency to combat a Muslim insurgency in Thailand's three southernmost provinces. The government declared the emergency Tuesday in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, where about 900 people have been killed in the last 18 months in sectarian violence. In a separate incident, motorcycle gunmen presumed to be Islamic insurgents shot and killed a city garbage worker Thursday in Narathiwat province in apparently the...