Washington, Sep 23 (PTI) An influential US lawmaker has expressed outrage over the recent vandalism of a Hindu temple in New York and called for holding vandals, criminals, and people who commit hate crimes accountable.
The road and the signage outside the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Melville, New York, were sprayed with expletives on September 16.
Melville is located in Suffolk County, on Long Island and is about 28 kilometres from the 16,000-seater Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Prime Minister Modi addressed a mega community event on Sunday.
“In the short term, we need to hold vandals, criminals, and people who commit hate crimes accountable,” Congressman Tom Souzzi said in his remarks in the House of Representatives, days after the temple’s signboard and driveway were spray-painted with “threatening and derogatory anti-Hindu messages”.
“We need law enforcement to work to apprehend these criminals, and we need prosecutors to prosecute them to hold them accountable because people can’t just say whatever they want regardless of the impact it has on other human beings,” Souzzi said.
“In the long term, we need to do a much better job educating people about the importance of love and respect for other people,” said the Congressman who was among the first ones to visit the temple after it was defaced and vandalised.
“On Monday, I stood in unity with the BAPS community gathering with State and local officials, people from different religions, Democrats and Republicans from the Federal, State, and local levels. We spoke out for the values that the people of the BAPS community stand for, that Long Islanders stand for, that New Yorkers stand for, and that Americans stand for,” he said.
Souzzi described it as a hate crime.
“We all know that hate has always been a part of human existence, but we see so many hate crimes today. Late Sunday night, vandals defaced the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Long Island with vile hate and bigotry against the Hindu community,” he said.
“I have seen Hindus many times, and many of you have as well when they place their hands together and they bow and they say ‘namaste,’ ‘I bow to you.’ When they do that, they are recognising the divinity in the person in front of them. They are showing their respect for the person in front of them,” Souzzi said.
“We really need to recognise that with all of our fellow human beings, we are all special, made in God’s image, and we need to treat each other with more respect. What is happening that we see these acts of vandalism, bigotry, and hate happening so often? Is it because of the inflammatory rhetoric we hear all the time?” he asked.
“Is it because of extremism? Is it because of the lack of accountability? What do we need to do to address this problem hate is not the answer. Love is the answer,” Souzzi said. PTI LKJ AMS
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