Thích Huyền Quang (19 September 1919 – 5 July 2008
[Vietnamese Federation For Fatherland's Integrity](_blank)
) was a Vietnamese
Buddhist monk,
dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...
and activist. At the time, he was the Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, a currently banned organisation in his homeland. He was notable for his activism for human and religious rights in Vietnam.
In 1977, Quang wrote a letter to then-
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Phạm Văn Đồng detailing counts of oppression by the communist regime. For this, he and five other senior monks were arrested and detained.
In 1982, he was arrested and put on permanent house arrest for opposition to governmental policy after publicly denouncing the establishment of the state-controlled Vietnam Buddhist Church.
In 2002, he was awarded the
Homo Homini Award
The Homo Homini Award ( Latin: "A human to another human") is given annually by the Czech human rights organization People in Need to "an individual in recognition of a dedication to the promotion of human rights, democracy and non-violent solution ...
for his human rights activism by the Czech group
People in Need, which he shared with
Thích Quảng Độ and
Father Nguyễn Văn Lý.
Death
Quang died peacefully on Saturday, 5 July 2008, aged 88, at his monastery. His funeral was held on Friday, 11 July 2008, without incident.
References
External links
''The Times'' obituary for Thích Huyền Quang
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thich, Huyen Quang
1919 births
2008 deaths
Vietnamese Buddhist monks
Vietnamese religious leaders
Civil rights activists
Unified Buddhist Church Buddhists
Vietnamese democracy activists
Vietnamese human rights activists
Vietnamese prisoners and detainees
Vietnamese anti-communists
Vietnamese Zen Buddhists
Buddhist pacifists
People from Bắc Ninh province
20th-century Buddhist monks