Thursday, December 3, 2015

#WeAreOne Rally on December 4 to Protest 40 Jhandi Flag Burnings

 

QUEENS, NY – Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, joined by elected officials, Hindu leaders, community organizers, and faith-based leaders, will hold the #WeAreOne rally at the corner of 89th Avenue and 80th Street in Woodhaven, Queens on Friday, December 4 at 7 p.m., to promote peace and denounce hate-based crimes and violence. 

During Thanksgiving weekend, an anti-Hindu hate crime occurred in Woodhaven. Over 40 jhandi flags were burned in the front yard of a Hindu home. Jhandi flags are customarily raised at the culmination of Indo-Caribbean Hindu prayer rituals and are representative of various Hindu deities.

“Jhandi flags are the biggest identifier of Hindu Indo-Caribbean homes in New York City, representing both our cultural and religious identities,” said Aminta Kilawan, co-founder of Sadhana. “These flags represent some of the core tenets of Hinduism; among them peace, love, and friendship. This incident was a blatant attack against the Hindu faith, but more so, against humanity. This incident also raises the question of how Islamophobia is impacting our community. Hatred for those who ‘look like terrorists’ is spreading all over the world, and we need to stand in solidarity and uplift peace in spite of these disturbing incidents.”

Several elected officials renounced the hate crime and expressed the need to make New York City a safe, tolerant, and peaceful place to live.

“This attack on the Hindu and Indo-Caribbean communities is absolutely unconscionable – here in the most diverse city in the world, we cannot tolerate hate crimes of any sort,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “We send our support to the families affected, as well as to the entire community, and we thank the Hate Crimes Taskforce for the great work they do every day to make our City safer for all residents.”

“Crimes which target religious expression are hate crimes, and should be treated as such,” said New York City Council Member Eric Ulrich. “Whoever is responsible for the burning of these flags must be held accountable. We simply cannot tolerate any form of religious persecution.”

New York State Assembly Member Michael Miller stated, “In our community, we pride ourselves in our diversity and welcome individuals of all faiths and backgrounds.  Our compassion for one another is what ultimately unites us together during times of tragedy and it is also what makes our community so unique.  When I received news that someone had burned more than three dozen religious flags on Thanksgiving morning, I was in disbelief to hear that it happened so close to home.  I want to condemn the actions of this individual and ask people of all faiths in our community come together in solidarity against any form of flag burning such as what happened here in Woodhaven.  As we move forward, we will not let incidents such as this one change our acceptance and tolerance for all faiths and backgrounds in our community nor should we live in fear of ignorant acts such as the one this criminal committed.  I urge anyone with any information to please reach out to the NYPD.  Thank you.”

New York State Senator James Sanders Jr. said: “It is sad and disheartening that here in Queens, the city’s most diverse borough, some callous individual would burn 40 Jhandi flags outside of a Woodhaven home. I stand in solidarity with the victims of this incident along with the entire Hindu and Indo-Caribbean community in condemning this crime and calling for the perpetrator to be brought to justice. I want to send a strong message that this type of hatred will not be tolerated in our community.”

Many community leaders and activists are partnering with Sadhana to organize the rally and have condemned the hate crime as an intolerable one.

“There are so many intersections between religion and anti-LGBT hate violence. Violence against any person due to his or her identity must be denounced. We must strive for a world of inclusion, peace, and respect for all,” said Mohamed Q. Amin, Executive Director of the Caribbean Equality Project.

“We are a diverse, tolerant and peaceful community.  We’re coming together and taking a public stand to condemn this hateful act because it is both unusual and unacceptable.  We must find the perpetrator and demand the maximum punishment to show that we have zero tolerance for hate crimes,” said Richard David, member, Community Board 9.

"The Guyanese American Workers United condemns this despicable and hateful act by those who want to perpetuate hatred, in this case, against Hindus, by burning this family's Jhandi flags. Religious, racial intolerance and disrespect has no place in our society and should be condemned by peace loving people," said Chuck Mohan, President of GAWU, "An injury to one, is an injury to all, and everyone in the community should feel violated and disrespected; whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jews, Christians etc."

“When one person or family is targeted in our community and they are made to feel unsafe, no one in community is safe”, said Kenrick Ross, Executive Director of the Indo-Caribbean Alliance. “As we promote multicultural dialogue and foster tolerance and understanding, let us also be mindful that the onus is not on minorities, immigrants, and communities of color to justify why they should be treated with basic fairness, dignity, and respect.  It is rather on all of us, particularly public figures, to make sure that we create environments which are inclusive, tolerant, and supportive.”

“After 9/11, after Paris, and after the next incident subjecting communities to racial and religious profiling, one theme is clear: our communities continue to be criminalized. Whether this heinous act was meant to be anti-Hindu or anti-Muslim, the perpetrators of such hate violence send a loud message. Yet, we also send a message: we are standing up as a community in solidarity against this act of hate. We refuse to live in fear,” said Simone Jhingoor, co-founder of Jahajee Sisters.

“Caribbean Hindu immigrants should be treated with respect as other immigrant groups in NYC,” said Lakshmee Singh of Let’s Talk with Lakshmee. “Intolerant and despicable acts against Hindus must be addressed strongly by the authorities.”

“Despite the fact our numbers are significant, we need to be vigilant, united, and focused,” said Vishnu Mahadeo, President of the Richmond Hill Economic Development Council. “When our tradition, culture, or religion is degraded and abused, we must seek corrective actions and justice.”

Harpreet Singh stated, "On behalf of Sikh Center of NY, Flushing, Tristate Gurudwaras & Flushing Interfaith Council, We are standing in solidarity with our Hindu brethren while they became a victim of hate crime last week. There is NO place for hate crime in our society! Be victim a Hindu or a Muslim, a Sikh or a Jew, person, emblem or house of worship, we all must come forward immediately to condemn any & every hate crime! We love our diversity and respect each & every ethnicity that make this borough of Queens, The world's borough and this city, the greatest city of the world! Once again, while condemning strongly, we urge law enforcement to deal with it sternly so that a strong message goes out to every evil force that thr people of New York are united in our fight against hate!”

In as much as this is a community concern, it is also one impacting Hindus across America. Various Hindu groups, both national and local, have expressed their support and partnership of the rally and concerns for the victimized family.

“Our community is united in calling for the prosecution of the perpetrator of this hate crime.  Hopefully, this rally shines a much needed light on bias motivated attacks on Hindus in New York City and across the country.  HAF stands with Sadhana and the greater Hindu family of New York, particularly our Guyanese and Trinidadian brothers and sisters, in making sure that this crime doesn’t get ignored by local and federal law enforcement agencies,” said Murali Balaji, Director of Education and Curriculum Reform, Hindu American Foundation.

"It is with great concern and sorrow that our community has come to know of the unfortunate incident of burning of several Jhandi flags, the religious symbol of our Indo-Caribbean Hindu friends in our Woodhaven neighborhood, particularly during the Thanksgiving time. We strongly condemn this act of hate-crime and we hope good sense will prevail on the perpetrators and the community will enjoy peace and harmony,” said Dr. Uma Mysorekar, President, Hindu Temple Society of North America.

Sadhana is a coalition of Hindus in the United States and around the world wanting to assert a progressive Hindu voice into the public discourse of our times. Sadhana is a mechanism and a platform for progressive Hindus to obtain relevant information, access resources, and speak up and act for progressive social values and social justice. Sadhana seeks to mobilize people of Hindu faith worldwide to positively focus on and assert principles of tolerance and inclusiveness, ahimsa (non-violence), and sadhana (faith in action) which can be found throughout Hindu philosophy, culture, history, and in Hindu religious practice. Among our grassroots projects are a green initiative to promote eco-friendly worship near New York City waters, and a healthy relationships initiative to promote gender equity and loving relationships within an individual’s self, partner, and community.

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