Not all brown people are Muslim

February 26, 2026

I am getting tired of having to say I’m Buddhist to everyone. I was born in Sri Lanka which is a Buddhist country and I’ve extensively studied Buddhist and Hindu scripture.

I’m tired of people telling me that they like Muslims, before ascertaining my religion.

I quickly correct that I’m Buddhist and they never acknowledge this but continue their rant.

I have Muslim friends in Australia and UK, but I object to being put into their bucket.

I won’t hold out hope that you’ll do an article pointing out that not all brown people are Muslim, but seriously, it wouldn’t surprise me to meet Australians who think Indians and Sri Lankans are Muslims too.

We/they are not. Our countries have Muslim populations and they are generally managed well, but conflict between the groups inevitably occurs.

The public needs to know that we are not all Muslim. I am tired of having to constantly state I’m Buddhist.

I primarily identify as Australian as I’ve lived 99 per cent of my life here, but my alienation from mainstream Aussie culture is deepening.