Buddhist monk, mistaken for Muslim, attacked in US

Sampson sustained injuries to his face from the attack and described the suspect as a white male with brown hair

In an incident of hate crime, a Buddhist monk in Oregon was attacked after being mistaken for a Muslim, police said Wednesday.

Kozen Sampson was getting out of his car to do obedience training with his dogs when he was suddenly approached by a man who yelled and kicked his car door into him, hitting him in the head, Hood River Police Department said.



"I pulled over, someone ran up and yelled. I turned around, they kicked the door, hit me in the side of the face and knocked my head into the frame of the car," Sampson said. "I do remember [him yelling] an F bomb [about] Muslims, and that was it."

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Sampson, who is a Buddhist monk and was dressed in a brown robe at the time, sustained injuries to his face from the attack. He described the suspect as a white male with brown hair.

Instead of feeling anger towards his attackers, Sampson said he only feels forgiveness and compassion.



"I was thinking, 'That poor man.' Can you imagine living your life in fear and anger? Can you imagine wanting to do something that you had to hurt somebody?" Sampson said.

Speaking about Islam, the monk said, “I don't know the Islamic faith well, but I do know that Muslims are our brothers and sisters and I would encourage everyone to just take a hard look at how supportive are you of all God's children.”

This article originally appeared on KATU