OKLAHOMA: Hopes that Hindus in Oklahoma will have a new Hanuman temple on State Capital grounds soon seem to have turned into a touch and go affair now that the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission has voted for a moratorium on new monuments until a court dispute over the current Ten Commandments monument is settled.
The decision follows a move by the New York-based Satanic Temple which sought establishing its own display at the Statehouse in Oklahoma City. Earlier, the Oklahoma legislature had approved the establishment of a Lord Hanuman temple on the State Capitol grounds in a rare display of religious tolerance and goodwill.
Once erected, the Lord Hanuman shrine would have become a place of pilgrimage and worship for Hindus everywhere and is expected to grow into a major architectural project. This gift from the GOP-dominated Oklahoma legislature came about very quietly, with the erecting of a monument listing the Ten Commandments of the Christian religion on a granite slab, right on the Capitol grounds.
Then came word that a local group of Satanists also wanted a monument to their religion added to the scene. There were some national headlines about that. But the arrival of Lord Hanuman on the scene should rather become great international news in the wake of religious strife and animosity in many parts of the world.
Conservatives seem to have gone a bit nervous and apprehensive about the whole affair and fears were expressed that the Capitol grounds are not spacious enough to accommodate what’s coming.
It should be pointed out that the State Constitution insists on “perfect tolerance” of all religious expressions. A local Satanist group applied to put up a monument to their beliefs, talking right up front about going to court to ensure they get the “perfect tolerance” of their religious views that is their right under Oklahoma law. This discomfited the GOP-dominated legislature. The local Hindus wanted a big statue of Lord Hanuman on Capitol grounds.
The only way to stop this Hanuman “statue” from happening, it is said, is to remove the Ten Commandments monument and let it be known that absolutely no one gets to have a religious marker of any kind on the Capitol grounds.
Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement said that many members of the Hindu community in the USA were very excited and enthusiastic on hearing about the possibility of having Lord Hanuman statue in the future on Oklahoma Capitol grounds and now they are a bit disappointed as the proposed statue would have been the first Hindu religious monument on public land in USA.
Rajan Zed noted that the moratorium was not appropriate and fair for Hinduism, world’s oldest religion with about one billion adherents. They were concerned about the effect of the moratorium and were thinking of consulting an attorney to proceed further on this issue.
Zed further said that Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and Baha’i leaders; United Church of Christ pastor Richard L. Smith, Buddhist priest Jikai’ Phil Bryan, Jewish Rabbi ElizaBeth Webb Beyer and Baha’i teacher Mary Jo Adams respectively had already backed the proposed bid of Hindus of erecting a statue of Lord Hanuman in Oklahoma State Capitol grounds.
Zed pointed out that besides honoring the Hindus living in Oklahoma, this Lord Hanuman statue, which they planned to make big and weather-proof, would raise awareness about Hinduism among Oklahomans.
India Post News Service
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