Money quote from Philip Cunningham’s Informed Comment post a couple of days ago re the Dalai Lama:
The underlying key to the Dalai Lama’s appeal is rooted in Western perceptions and misperceptions about Buddhism. Given similar grievances, it’s hard to imagine the religious leader of a persecuted Muslim minority group, let’s say in Indian Kashmir, south Thailand or south Philippines, enjoying anything near the same degree of almost unquestioned Western support.
Western perceptions and misperceptions about Islam play a role there, too.
