Growing Extremism Threatens Religious Tolerance in Kashmir

January 3, 2004

Source: Yahoo! News

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=731&e=1&u=/ap/20040103/ap_on_re_as/kashmir_extremism

On January 3, 2004 Yahoo! News posted an Associated Press article that reported, "For centuries, religious, social and political influences from across Asia trickled into this scenic Himalayan region, making it renowned for its tolerance. But now, caught in the middle of a prolonged conflict between India and Pakistan, Kashmir finds itself struggling with a new extremism — both Hindu and Muslim — that its people say has fundamentally changed its identity. 'Our attitude of tolerance no longer impressed the young. They suspected us of being weak,' said Mohammad Hussain, 64, who sells rugs at his family store in Srinagar, summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state."