Condemn Temple desecration

Condemning the Vandals for desecrating the temple in Trinidad.

Dallas, Texas. Sunday, August 5, 2007- "It is a shame that people stoop so low to desecrate a place of worship. We condemn this crime" reflects Mike Ghouse, head of the Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress.

All places of worship must be treasured as national heritage. A place of worship is a public domain and as such, it is the responsibility and duty of every citizen to guard and protect the place as we do with the national flags, no matter who it belongs to.This code of honor gets broken down every now and then by some one or the other. I appeal to all the sane people to consider this an act of lunatics and not religiously motivated, even if it appears that way..

I believe religion is not the culprit, it is the greedy, crooked and insecure individuals who are responsible for this act. Please place the blame on individuals. I would wrong the bad guys and not their religion. Individuals must be held responsible, so we can account for it. When you hold religion responsible, it is like shooting in the darkness with no particular target in aim and no results achieved.

I had written to the Danish Embassy and the news paper to bring to court those particular 8 individuals directly responsible for the destruction of their embassy in Syria. People will not defend criminals, but they will defend them if we label them with a religion. If we need results, we have to go after the criminals and not their families or nation or religion.

Similarly, I urge the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago to find the vandals and treat them as criminals, and end the issue at that point. As a society, we have to treat this cancer as cancer and not touch the whole body system. We have to close the loops.

On a societal level, I would urge people of all faiths to familiarize their faith to their neighbors and co-workers to reduce and demystify the myths. Let me put it this way, as my friend Dr. Cohen says "other persons prayer format looks weird" without thinking that ours would look weird to the others. We have to fall these barriers. Please feel free to browse the Web site www.FoundationforPluralism.com and hope there is some material that will help us open our hearts and minds.

Peace and balance in the society does not come from pointing fingers at others. If I am not peaceful, I should not expect others to be. Let each one of us take the pledge to be remove the hate for a week from our hearts, if we like it, we can renew it for another week. Let's emit peace and love.

Mike Ghouse
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/
http://www.worldmuslimcongress.com/
http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,61829.html

Vandals desecrate Temple by the Sea
By HERMAN ROOP DASS Sunday, August 5 2007

click on pic to zoom inThe Sewdass Sadhu Temple by the Sea at Waterloo, Carapichaima, yesterday....« prev photo next photo »VANDALS desecrated the landmark Sewdass Sadhu Hindu Temple by the Sea in Waterloo, Carapichaima, smashing murtis (depictions of Hindu gods), piling up the pieces in the centre of the temple and attempting to burn them.

The vandals also destroyed carpets, electrical wiring, lights, glass windows and concrete pillars.

The cost to repair the damage and burglar proof the structure is estimated at more than $100,000.

The destruction took place on Friday night after the building was secured by a caretaker.

Randolph Rampersad, president of the temple expressed horror at the damage done to the famous religious site.

“This temple is regarded as a National Treasure to Trinidad and Tobago. It is staggering to think that people living in a civilised society could do something like this and desecrate somebody’s religion.

“This defies logic in a country that is aspiring to achieve 2020 vision.”

The temple, which was rebuilt in 1995 under a committee of which Rampersad was chairman, received assistance from the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), as well as from overseas.

Rampersad was on a fishing expedition when he received the “disturbing news.” The murtis destroyed were Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanooman, Mother Durga, and Lord Krishna. The only one left standing was Lord Shiva.

The temple is not affiliated to any religious organisations in the country but Sat Maraj, secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, expressed concern about the vandalism. “This is a religious tragedy against the Hindu community that could have far-reaching implications. It is a clear case of religious intolerance and it must be investigated thoroughly by the Government and the Ministry of National Security to ensure incidents such as these are not repeated,” he said.

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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161186035
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161186031

...More than just brick and mortar

Sunday, August 5th 2007

desecration: A devotee of the Sewdas Sadhu Temple on the Sea at Waterloo (top) points yesterday to damage done to the Mother Durga murti by vandals on Friday night.

The Sewdas Sadhu Temple on the Sea at Waterloo is more than brick, mortar and murtis.

It represents the struggle of an indentured East Indian labourer named Sewdas Sadhu to build a place of worship to practise his religion in the manner taught to him by his forebears. To do this, he embarked on the construction of a temple on land belonging to Tate and Lyle, the former owners of Waterloo Estate.

Admitting he had encroached on their lands, Sadhu had begged the management to allow the temple to remain because it was giving divine service to the small estate community of which he was a part.

The owners of the estate rejected his plea, although the temple was occupying only a very small plot of land near the verge of the bay.

Sadhu was taken to court, and a magistrate found him guilty of building a structure and causing damage to lands belonging to Tate and Lyle.

He was fined $500 by the magistrate and, in default, he was to serve a two-week jail sentence. Sadhu, at the time, did not have the money to pay the fine so he opted to go to jail.

Having served the sentence, Sadhu paid the fine after his return from prison in the hope that the company would allow him to complete the construction of the temple.

They again refused him.

In desperation, Sadhu told them, "You break my temple on land, but I will build one in the sea and you will not be able to do me anything."

Determined to prove his point, Sadhu started the temple in 1947 by first building a stone road leading out to sea at Waterloo. Then, every day, he would take a bucket of material to the site.

Ousman Dill Murad, 73, who lives at Waterloo, said he was a young man when Sadhu, popularly known as Bapa, used to take buckets of stone and gravel on his bicycle from the village to the sea, where he was building the entrance to the temple on the sea.

"We used to call him Bapa. He was a Sadhu from Calcutta and he was a very devoted man to his religion," said Murad.

After the temple was completed Sadhu was pleased that he had accomplished what he set out to do.

For years, hundreds of visitors went to Waterloo to look at the achievement of Sadhu. The temple became a national shrine for Hindus, and later a tourist attraction.

But, in time, it deteriorated and the government intervened in 1995 and assisted the new owner, Randolph Rampersad, in reconstructing the temple. The cost then was around $300,000.

Sadhu came to Trinidad in 1903 from Calcutta, India, and started to work on Waterloo Estate. He died in 1970.

His wife by a second marriage, Lowkee, now 80, lives on the Waterloo Main Road.

A monument in honour of Sadhu was erected near the temple. -LBH


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http://www.guardian.co.tt/news10.html
"We have the blood of Jesus. You are idols."

Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, Satnarine Maharaj, is calling on Prime Minister Patrick Manning to take steps to prevent any upsurge in racial tensions in this pre-election period.
Maharaj's call came yesterday as Hindus reeled in shock and sorrow at the news that the Siewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir, better known as the Temple-In-The-Sea, in Orange Valley, was vandalised, and an attempt made to burn it down.

Vandals toppled and smashed murtis of four Hindu deities—Lord Ganesh, Lord Krishna, Mother Durga and Lord Hanuman.

They also used jhandis and boulders to smash glass window panes and attempted to burn down the structure by setting fire next to the southern wall inside the temple.
Officials of the temple's committee noted, however, that the collection boxes remained untouched.

Samdaye Siewdass, widow of the man who single-handedly built the temple, was reduced to tears when she entered the temple yesterday afternoon.

She was so saddened by the destruction that she could not say a word.
A fisherman who was in the area on Friday night said a carload of men in a black car entered the temple's car park after midnight.

He said the occupants of the black car chased away occupants of four cars that were in the parking lot—a haunt of amorous couples.

He said the occupants then alighted from the black car, jumped the gate of the temple and went inside.

He said he could hear the sound of the murtis crashing and the men in the temple saying:
"We have the blood of Jesus. You are idols."

The fisherman said he gave Freeport police this information yesterday.
Commenting on the desecration of the temple, Maharaj said:
"T&T is poised for a racial and religious eruption, and the SDMS is calling on the Minister of National Security and the Prime Minister to investigate this latest assault on Hindus.
"This is an election year, and it would appear that some elements are trying to use race and religion to divide the nation so they go back to tribal voting."

Referring to a recent report by the Washington-based Hindu-American Foundation about attacks against Hindus in T&T, Maharaj said:
"There were some in our community who condemned us for informing about the discrimination against Hindus and the attacks against them.
"The international agency was able to quote from court matters such as the SDMS case to get a radio licence, the Trinity Cross judgment and other cases that Hindus brought against the State.
"They also highlighted attacks on Hindus in their homes and communities.
"This attack on the Temple in the Sea is the latest manifestation of an organised and concerted attack on the Hindu community.

"Our places of worship are now being desecrated."
The destruction wreaked by the vandals on the Temple-In-The-Sea was but another example of the growing aggression against Hindus by people seeking to create pre-election racial and religious tensions, said Maharaj.

Vandalism of the Temple-In-The-Sea comes within 24 hours of the chopping death of Kamal Harripersad, a pundit of Orange Field Road in Carapichaima.
Harripersad was hacked to death on Friday by men who entered his home and chopped him in the presence of his wife and four young children.

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http://www.guardian.co.tt/news4.html
Temple members want security for compound
By Cori Baynes


Members of the Siewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir are calling for security measures to be set up on the temple's compound after it was broken into and vandalised over the weekend.


Pamela Gokool, secretary of the mandir's committee, also known as the Temple in the Sea, said she received a call around 7 am yesterday informing her that the temple had been broken into. • See Page 5
Pointing to an area on the wall that was singed from the ground upwards, she said cupboards inside the building were emptied and the contents, along with puja items were piled into a corner and set afire.
"This is a heinous crime, undoubtedly committed by some ungodly person with a lot of hate and animosity inside," she said. "People are supposed to have respect for God and for this holy place and I am angry and hurt that this has happened.
"There have been petty break-ins before, but this by far is the worst."
Scores of temple members, devout Hindus as well as curious onlookers all braved the heavy rains and flocked to the temple as word of its vandalism spread.
Deonarine Maharaj, a temple member, deemed the act as disgusting.
"The person or persons who did this had to be very evil," he said.
One man, who did not wish to be named, said that he became emotional on seeing the damage done to the mandir.
"A real Hindu looking at this will be hurt to the core. Words cannot express what I want to say right now," he said.
"All I will say is that whatever these vandals deserve in life they will surely have it and I prefer it comes to them quicker than slower."
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http://www.guardian.co.tt/news4.html

Temple members want security for compound

By Cori Baynes
Members of the Siewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir are calling for security measures to be set up on the temple's compound after it was broken into and vandalised over the weekend.
Pamela Gokool, secretary of the mandir's committee, also known as the Temple in the Sea, said she received a call around 7 am yesterday informing her that the temple had been broken into. • See Page 5
Pointing to an area on the wall that was singed from the ground upwards, she said cupboards inside the building were emptied and the contents, along with puja items were piled into a corner and set afire.
"This is a heinous crime, undoubtedly committed by some ungodly person with a lot of hate and animosity inside," she said. "People are supposed to have respect for God and for this holy place and I am angry and hurt that this has happened.
"There have been petty break-ins before, but this by far is the worst."
Scores of temple members, devout Hindus as well as curious onlookers all braved the heavy rains and flocked to the temple as word of its vandalism spread.
Deonarine Maharaj, a temple member, deemed the act as disgusting.
"The person or persons who did this had to be very evil," he said.
One man, who did not wish to be named, said that he became emotional on seeing the damage done to the mandir.
"A real Hindu looking at this will be hurt to the core. Words cannot express what I want to say right now," he said.
"All I will say is that whatever these vandals deserve in life they will surely have it and I prefer it comes to them quicker than slower."