Tibetan monks join Ferguson protesters; church adopts 'no shoot' position

(Photo: REUTERS / Joshua Lott)The casket containing the body of Michael Brown is carried to its final resting place in St. Peter's Cemetery located in St. Louis, Missouri, August 25, 2014. Family and supporters on Monday celebrated the life of Michael Brown, a black teenager slain by police in Ferguson, Missouri, with a music-filled funeral service and calls to remember him with peace and political change. Brown's body lay at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in a black and gold casket, topped with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap he was wearing when he was killed on Aug. 9 in nearby Ferguson by a white police officer.

A group of exiled Tibetan Buddhist monks travelled from India to join protesters in Ferguson, Missouri earlier this month in support of an unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by police.

The International Business Times reports that the protest the monks supported is for Mike Brown, who was shot to death by police on August 9.

His funeral was at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Ferguson on August 26.

The FBI is analyzing an audio recording that might give more clues about Brown's shooting, CNN reported Wednesday.

The monks joined the protestors and stood with their hands up, the 'no shoot' gesture that has become a symbol for those fighting justice for Michael Brown.

Michael Brown was shot dead by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson on August 9. He was shot multiple times and was killed by a mortal wound to the head.

Brown was visiting his grandmother, Desuirea Harrison, when he was shot in the working-class St. Louis suburb.

Since the death of the 18-year-old Brown, Ferguson residents have staged protests claiming an unfair treatment on the black community.

Some protests have been peaceful, but others turned violent.

Violent protesters have looted stores, set buildings to fire, and threw cocktails and other objects to police. Police reacted with tear gas, smoke bombs, and sound cannons, leading to further chaos.

The violent outbreaks led Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to declare a state of emergency in Ferguson.

HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT

Brown's reported gesture of surrender, the 'hands up, don't shoot' position was adopted by Middle Collegiate Church in New York in its prayers.

Rev. Adriene Thorne of Middle Collegiate Church explained that the same gesture is an ancient prayer posture known as the orans position. This prayer custom is common to both Jews and Gentiles.

"It was a gesture of surrender to God. So we're going to invite you to pray in this ancient prayer position this week, which happens to also be the position that some witnesses say that Michael Brown was in when he was shot," Thorne said.

During the sermon, Thorne prayed for global peace as well as peace for communities in the United States. "We surrender, but we do not give up hope," she said, the Huffington Post reported.

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