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doubtful
@tsukimoto who wrote, "SGI does this quite a lot: sponsors all of these organizations that make no mention of being affiliated with SGI...they're for the arts, for anti-violence initiatives, "peace studies," the environment, educating youth. If you don't know the rhetoric -- or who SGI leaders are -- you have no idea that the organization is linked to SGI. With that link that Nichijew posted, "Ian McIlrath" and the "Victory over Violence" campaign are just about the only clues that "Art for Peace" is linked with SGI. There's the Spirit of Knowledge Academy (Soka) in Worcester, Massachusetts, possibly the Barack Obama Charter School in Los Angeles, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (with pictures of Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. on its website), the International Peace Research Association...the list goes on and on. Even to kids' cartoons" Okay, in the interest of fairness, I will post this question: Is it possible that many or all of these apparently secular initiatives are motivated by a sincere desire to make a positive change in the world? I don't think even the most rabid former SGI member or critic would claim SGI is attempting to do something evil or destructive in any way.
Doubtful, I'm sure that many SGI members are well-intentioned, idealistic people who want to make positive change in the world. My question is, "Why are they not more open about their connection with SGI?"
The Spirit of Knowledge Academy in Massachusetts, for example, makes no mention of its affiliation with SGI. Well, fine, would a religious organization be able to get state money to open a charter school, probably not. Their initial application mentioned "Daisaku Ikeda, a Japanese educator and writer." Now, if you go to the Massachusetts Department of Education website, all mention of Ikeda has been deleted. Why?
Dr. Majid Tehranian, director of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, and Dr. George Wolfe, director of Peace Studies at Ball University in Indiana, have mentioned, when pressed, that their organizations received "....some funding from a Buddhist group." "Some funding from a Buddhist group," my foot! The organizations were funded and created by SGI!
The same is true for the performing group that Nichijew posted a link to...no mention of SGI. They do mention "vov," which, if you are familiar with SGI, means, the SGI "Victory over Violence" campaign. There is a link to the VOV campaign. If you click on that link, and read the write-up, I believe that SGI is mentioned somewhere near the end.
The Liberty Bell campaign in the 80's, where SGI youth division members were bringing a replica of the Liberty Bell to schools -- again, if pressed, members admitted that they were part of "NSA, a peace organization."
My question is -- these groups were created and funded by SGI. So why don't they just say so? Education, peace, patriotism, anti-violence -- these are all postive things. Why wouldn't SGI want to be openly linked to that? Why wouldn't they want good publicity?
This is all very cleverly done. SGI does not deny a connection with these groups -- and yet, unless someone knows SGI's buzzwords, unless people know things like what Victory over Violence is.....they won't realize that SGI is connected with these activities and groups.
As Anticult has said, SGI is VERY wealthy -- and yet it's almost unheard of in most parts of the United States. This was no accident. An organization doesn't make that much money from happenstance and dumb luck; it takes a well-planned, long-range strategy. This policy of flying under the radar is deliberate -- and comes from the most senior levels of SGI. What is the long-range goal here? More wealth and power for SGI. We should be asking what it is that SGI plans to do with their wealth and power.