The only problem I have with the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Exhibit is that it's a big fib. To rank Daisaku Ikeda alongside Gandhi and King is disingenuous -- and that's the nicest word I have for it.

The University of Denver, which is now hosting the exhibit dead link , says: "Indias Mahatma Gandhi, the American Martin Luther King Jr. and Japans Daisaku Ikeda each made a significant impact through peaceful protest for the cause of human rights."

Peaceful protest for the cause of human rights? In the case of Gandhi and King, that's absolutely correct. In the case of Ikeda, that's hilarious.

Gandhi and King were harassed and jailed by the government, yet still managed to change the law in their respective nations. Meanwhile, Ikeda built an outrageously wealthy religious corporation, paid enormous sums for Renoirs and other works of art, and started a political party that is now in the ruling coalition in Japan.

In other words, Ikeda became the establishment and, arguably, the goverment -- peaceniks should note that Ikeda's party, the New Komeito, supports sending Japanese troops to Iraq. Where is Ikeda's record of nonviolent protest for the sake of human rights? Where is his bus boycott? Or his salt march? Ikeda did spend some time in jail -- for electioneering, I think it was, but he was cleared of all wrongdoing.

I assume that if you're reading this blog, you already know quite a lot about SGI, Daisaku Ikeda and Nichiren Buddhism. The Gandhi-King-Ikeda Exhibit is apparently for those who know nothing about these things and therefore cannot critically evaluate the claims that are being made about Ikeda. In my view, the exhibit is an obvious attempt to mislead idealistic college students into thinking that SGI and Ikeda are synonymous with nonviolence and peace activism.

From the other side of its mouth, the SGI claims to be the only organization in the world that promotes and teaches a correct understanding of Nichiren Buddhism. FYI, Buddhism and Gandhism unavailableare perhaps similar, but significantly different.

This exhibit reminds me of how SGI (when it was called NSA) was busted by the Boston Globe dead link for cloaking itself in American patriotism to gain access to classrooms and children. In both cases -- with the Liberty Bell ruse and now with the G-K-I exhibit -- SGI is misrepresenting itself in the name of "making friends."

Dr. Lawrence Carter of Morehouse College dead link -- who claims that he came up with the idea for this exhibit on his own, without financial consideration from SGI -- has said that he wanted to show that three people from different religions and cultures could successfully apply the principles of nonviolence. In that case, the Dalai Lama would have been a better choice. The Dalai Lama is the real deal when it comes to nonviolence.

It's one thing to say you're committed to nonviolence (as Ikeda perhaps claims), and another thing to say it while the Chinese army is shelling your house and murdering your country, as in the case of the Dalai Lama. Oh -- and let's not forget that Ikeda and SGI created an exhibit to honor one of the men responsible for the Tibetan genocide, "The Great Leader Zhou Enlai dead link ."

Please check out the video that accompanies the Gandhi-King-Ikeda exhibit dead link . At about 18 minutes and 35 seconds into it, Dr. Carter says that Daisaku Ikeda is Gandhi, King and Jesus all rolled into one! No lie.

The video claims that Ikeda has distinguished himself by dedicating his life to championing the work of Gandhi and King. Huh? In the SGI, we are told all the time that Ikeda is great because he propagates the teachings of Nichiren, and that he is the foremost practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism in the world. Funny, that's never mentioned in the video -- especially funny considering that the video was written, produced and directed by a group of hardcore SGI members.

In other words, in my opinion, the video brazenly misrepresents Ikeda's work, and glosses over the fact that for more than 40 years (longer than Castro has been dictator of Cuba?) Ikeda has been the charismatic leader of a controversial and often-fanatical religious sect. (And let's not forget that Ikeda gave Castro an award on behalf of Soka University, and recently reiterated his praise for Castro's peace efforts! Scroll down to Feb. 8, 2004 at this link dead link to read Ikeda's remarks.)

On top of it all, the video itself is an example of revisionist history. For months, the video was on SGI's web site, but was taken down, edited, and re-posted. What was edited? Remember our good friend Dr. Alfred Balitzer, who once sang the praises unavailableof Daisaku Ikeda louder than anyone outside of SGI? He used to be in the G-K-I video, singing the praises of Ikeda as usual, but he was recently cut from the show. Balitzer, as you may remember, was the dean of faculty at Ikeda's Soka University. He was involved with the school being sued for religious discrimination unavailableby former professor Linda Southwell.

Dr. Lawrence Carter may be Ikeda's biggest fan and promoter right now -- as Dr. Alfred Balitzer once was. But I've seen how quickly things can change.