Dalai Lama calls for dialogue with the Islamic State

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September 14, 2016;

The Hindu – September 14, 2016

The Dalai Lama says there should be dialogue with Islamic State extremists to end bloodshed in Syria and Iraq, and argues that religion is never a justification for killing.

The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, speaking on Tuesday in Paris, said dialogue “is the only way,” but didn’t elaborate on how it should take place or with whom. He insisted that Islam should never be conflated with terrorism.

“A genuine practitioner of Islam must respect others’ lives,” he said, adding that someone who kills in the name of Islam or Buddhism “is no longer a Muslim, or a Buddhist.” The Dalai Lama himself fled Tibet and has lived in India for decades, effectively as a refugee.