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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