In a strange turn of events, Buddhists, most often thought to be peace-loving introspective people, have attacked a Mosque in the Sri Lankan capital, Columbo.  In the past month, a group of monks have demanded that the mosque be relocated.  In addition, Buddhists have been waging a campaign against Christians as well.  According to witnesses, a mob threw stones at the Mosque during evening prayers.  The monks had previously protested against the Mosque but agreed to allow Muslims to pray there until the end of Ramadan.  However, Muslim worshippers said Sri Lanka’s religious affairs ministry had granted permission to continue using the site indefinitely.  There has been an upswing in violence in the past year with Buddhists accusing Muslims and Christians of trying to convert them to their faiths.  Both Muslims and Christians deny the allegations.  Seventy-five percent of the twenty million inhabitants of Sri Lanka are Sinhalese Buddhists.  This is just one more example of the destructive nature of religion.  Why shouldn’t everyone be able to pray and believe as they wish?  The answer is simple.  While religion isn’t necessarily evil, the people who follow, no matter how well-intentioned, become evil!  The largest problem with religion is the desire of its believers to convert others to what they believe. What that essentially means is “mine is better than yours.”  That naturally leads to the oppression and murder of non-believers. And so you have the Crusades, and all religious persecution that has stained humanity throughout history.  Why people can’t simply believe what they wish and be happy with their beliefs, is beyond comprehension. But there will never be world peace until all religions and cultures accept and respect, those different from them. Unfortunately, that is nothing more than a ridiculous dream.