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HAF wrote a letter to the
editor in response to an Op-ed piece in the San Francisco
Chronicle, "Legal
bah humbug" by David Davenport on December 23,
2004. The author writes about an American Civil Liberties
Union Lawsuit objecting to a religious public holiday display
for Christmas in Rhode Island. In the article, he mentions
how the ACLU has also fought for the removal of the Ten Commandments
monuments. Our letter explains our stance on why the Ten Commandments
ought not to be displayed in public places.
DATE: December 28,
2004
In "Legal bah humbug",
December 23, 2004, David Davenport talks about the challenges
facing the expression of religious sentiments in public places.
However, we think he erred by also referring to the efforts
by the ACLU to ban the display of the Ten Commandments monument
in public places.
The Hindu American Foundation
(HAF) recently led nine other Hindu, Buddhist and Jain groups
in filing an amicus curiae brief (see www.hinduamericanfoundation.org)
with the US Supreme Court in the Orden vs Perry case, asking
for the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from Texas
State Capitol grounds. HAF and the co-signatories regard the
Ten Commandments with utmost respect. But the overtly religious
Monument is a blow to pluralism, and its prominent presence
on Texas Capitol grounds implies an unconstitutional preference
for those precepts etched on the Monument and political and
social exclusion of Hindus, Jains and Buddhists alike.
Non-Judeo-Christian beliefs
regarding the nature of God and the relationship between man
and God differ greatly from those enshrined in the monument.
The Hindu concepts of panentheistic (not pantheistic) monotheism,
the omnipotence and omnipresence of God and the use of consecrated
images in worship directly conflict with specific Commandments.
Similarly the Jain and Buddhist concept that there is no creator/controller
God is shown to be irreconcilable with the premise of the
Commandments, "...that a separate divine entity has handed
down Commandments as a king might set rules for his subjects."
A diverse society such as
ours requires that the government respect all religions equally
and not display undue preference for any one religion's beliefs
and practices.
Swaminathan Venkataraman
Member, Executive Council
Hindu American Foundation
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