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MINNEAPOLIS, Mn (April 12, 2006) –
The Hindu American Foundation joined several Minnesota Hindus
last week voicing outrage over the April 5, 2006 attack on
the soon to be inaugurated Hindu temple in suburban Minneapolis.
The temple, being completed in Maple Grove, Minnesota, planned
and executed by the Hindu Society of Minneapolis, was to join
other temples in the area for Hindu Americans to congregate
and worship. Vandals desecrated and destroyed the Hindu Deities
that were ready to be consecrated at the temple.
The attack also left the auditorium and dining hall walls
and ceilings damaged. Classroom windows were broken. Members
of the tight-knit community who were preparing for the opening
of the 40-acre, $9 million temple, expressed shock and dismay
at community meetings held on April 8 and April 12.
Aseem Shukla, M.D., Member of the HAF Board
of Directors, was present in Minneapolis for the April 8 temple
meeting and joined the trustees and leadership of the Hindu
society in condemning the act as a hate crime and urged local
police authorities and the FBI to launch a thorough investigation
and to apprehend the criminals quickly. Soon after the meeting,
Dr. Shukla and the HAF executive director appealed to state
legislators and members of the U.S. Congress representing
the area to urge authorities for a careful and quick investigation
into this crime.
"The people of our community condemn
the outrageous vandalism done to the Hindu Society of Minnesota's
new temple under construction in Maple Grove," said Congressman
Jim Ramstad (R-MN) representing Maple Grove in the U.S. House
of Representatives, one of the first government officials
to support HAF's condemnation of the attack. "I trust
Minnesotans to treat people of all religious faiths with respect
and tolerance. I also trust that the perpetrators of these
criminal acts will be brought to justice soon."
Minnesota State Senator Satveer Chaudhary
(DFL-Fridley) released a statement on April 7 that categorically
called for an investigation as a potential hate crime. “This
was a crime against an obviously minority institution, and
there is no way the perpetrators did not know that,"
he said. "Also, the focus of the destruction on Hindu
sculptures was particularly heinous. Icons were intentionally
decapitated and dismembered."
The Maple Grove temple is a classical Hindu
structure with hand-carved Deities from India placed in sacred
spaces in the temple. The images of Deities are carefully
sculpted according to strict, ancient religious texts and
traditions. Even minimal damage to the Deities precludes consecration
and worship. Sculpting of new images of the Deities will take
several months and thousands of dollars.
While Maple Grove authorities have been conducting
a search for the arrest of the perpetrators, they have yet
to find any leads or name any suspects.
"The fact that the Deities were destroyed indicates that
the vandals were trying to specifically hurt the worshippers’
sentiments," said Ishani Chowdhury, Executive Director
of the Hindu American Foundation. "It is our hope that
the Maple Grove community will stand firm and committed to
completing the temple and making it a place of worship and
community spirit”, Chowdhury said and called upon community
leaders and elected officials to reassure the Hindu American
community that xenophobia and such acts of hatred will not
be tolerated. She called on the greater American Hindu community
and well wishers to lend support to the Minnesota Hindu community
during this time of crisis.
The Hindu American Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3), non-partisan organization, promoting the Hindu
and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.
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