On 16th September (local time), the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Hindu Temple), located in the hamlet of Melville in New York State, was vandalised by extremists. Visuals of the defaced temple board surfaced on social media. The sacred Hindu temple was desecrated with disturbing slogans such as ‘F*ck Modi’, ‘Modi is a Terrorist’, and ‘Hindustan Murdabad’.
ABC’s Eyewitness News reported the incident but with an unexpected twist. Instead of speaking to Hindu Temple administration, they decided to interview Hassan Ahmed from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Anti-Bias Council and Afaf Nasher, Esq., Executive Director of CAIR-NY. Notably, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has been found to have links to the terrorist organisation Hamas. CAIR-NY is the New York chapter of this organisation.
Yet another Hindu temple has been vandalized in US with a video released by a coordinated bot network.
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) September 16, 2024
The temple is the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Melville NY
Sukhpal Singh was arrested for the last temple vandalization in NY state in Queens. pic.twitter.com/ionj3X8YzS
The report by Eyewitness News on began with the phrase, “The Muslim community and advocacy groups are speaking out after a Hindu temple on Long Island was vandalized.” Throughout the report, there was no mention or statement from the temple authorities, except at the end, where, without naming the priests or administration of the BAPS Temple, the media outlet noted that they expressed concern, stating such vandalism has become “a growing concern at places of worship not just on Long Island, but worldwide.”
Quoting CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, Esq., the report stated, “We condemn this apparently bias-motivated vandalism and urge all community leaders to speak out against the rising bigotry that inevitably results in such attempts at religious intimidation.” She also “urged” all houses of worship (including Hindu temples) to refer to CAIR’s Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety guide, claiming that it contained security advice “applicable to institutions of all faiths.” In short, CAIR wants Hindu temples to follow the instructions provided in CAIR’s document.
Similarly, they quoted Hassan Ahmed, a member of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Anti-Bias Council, who called the Hindu Temple vandalism incident “disgusting.”
CAIR-NY also issued a press release on the same lines. The press note read, “Nasher said Washington, D.C., based CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.”
Nasher clearly mentioned that CAIR that is based out of Washington DC. The organisation has links to terrorist outfits including Hamas which is responsible for terrorist attack on Israel on 7th October 2023 that killed over 1,300 people and forced Israel to start a military operation against the terror outfits involved.
CAIR and its problematic connections to terror outfits
CAIR identifies itself as a Muslim civil rights organisation in the United States that claims to protect ‘civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims’, The fact, however, is that CAIR is an Islamist group that has spoken against India and Hindus on several occasions. The organisation has been vehemently pushing Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu propaganda in India.
In 2022, CAIR released a report titled “Still Suspect: The Impact of Structural Islamophobia”, in which it said that there has been a rise in discrimination against Muslims living in the United States.
In its report, CAIR claimed that it had received 6,720 complaints nationwide last year involving a range of issues, including immigration, travel discrimination, law enforcement, government overreach, hate and bias incidents, custody rights, school incidents, and free speech incidents.
The CAIR claimed that government discrimination and bias continue to have a disproportionate effect on American Muslims and further demonstrate that Islamic communities continue to be viewed with suspicion. The report also listed the impacts of severe structural and interpersonal Islamophobia in the United States.
Ironically, CAIR, which always complains about alleged Islamophobia in the United States, has been aggressively promoting Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu propaganda in India. We are aware of how CAIR had extended support for the extremely Hinduphobic ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva‘ conference.
Not only this, but in December last year, CAIR had reportedly taken offence at the display of the names of the LeT terrorists and scenes from the deadly 26/11 terror attack that were displayed on a mobile billboard truck in New Jersey. While calling the movement of the vehicle ‘deliberate and well co-ordinated’, CAIR criticised the broadcast of 26/11 footage as ‘messages of hate.’ This was despite the fact that the mobile billboard truck did not display anything contentious but the truth.
In January 2022, CAIR launched Hinduphobic propaganda based on a report by alleged journalist Rana Ayyub. In a press release, CAIR demanded the movie theatres not to release Sooryavanshi, a Hindi movie. In the press release, CAIR alleged the movie spreads “disgusting and dangerous” anti-Muslim propaganda inspired by the ‘fascist Hindutva movement.’
The organisation has also called for the release of 49-year-old Pakistani terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving 86 years in prison for attacking US Army and FBI personnel in Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that CAIR has links with the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist terror organisation Hamas. Hamas has a long history of violating human rights. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organisation by several countries, including The European Union, the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom etc.
Attacks on Hindu Mandirs in US
In January this year, the Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward city in California state of the United States was desecrated with pro-Khalistani slogans. The temple was spray-painted with slogans such as ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ and ‘Modi is terrorist.’
On 22nd December 2023, the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha in Newark city of California, was defaced with pro-Khalistan, anti-Modi and anti-India slogans. The outer wall of the temple was defaced with slogans such as “Khalistan”, “Shaheed [Martyr] Bhindrawale”, “F$%k Modi Jindabad” and “Modi Is Terrorist”.
Similar attacks have taken place in the past, both in the United States and its neighbouring Canada, wherein Hindu temples have been attacked, vandalised and defaced with derogatory graffiti.
India has already voiced alarm over the increasing activities of Khalistani terrorists and has asked countries to cracked down on groups and people attempting to incite separatism in India.
7th October terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel
On 7th October, Hamas terrorists launched an all-out attack on Israel from sea, land, and air. At least 5,000 rockets were launched into Israel from Gaza, and tunnels were used to breach the Israeli territory and butcher Israeli civilians, particularly in the border villages. A music festival hosting more than 200 people was turned into a slaughter ground with many women raped, mutilated and abducted to Gaza. At least 1,300 people, including some foreign nationals, babies, women and senior citizens, were killed in the attacks. More than 200 were abducted and taken to Gaza. Following the attack, Israel launched a counterattack to eliminate Hamas. The Israel-Hamas war is soon to complete a year.
