|
The Rajan Zed prayer protest were events surrounding the first official offering of a Hindu prayer at the United States Senate. On July 12, 2007, Rajan Zed, a Hindu cleric and a noted leader in Interfaith Relations from the Indian Association of Northern Nevada based in Reno, appeared at the United States Senate as its guest Chaplain. ==Prelude to the protest== ;AFA and David Barton Several days prior to the scheduled prayer the American Family Association (AFA) called on its membership to phone and email their Senators "expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer." In the Action Alerts to their membership the AFA cited self-styled historian David Barton saying he wonders "why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto 'One Nation Under God'."〔 They quoted Barton as saying "In Hindu(), you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods. And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration (Independence ) when they talked about Creator — that’s not one that fits here because we don’t know which creator we’re talking about within the Hindu religion. This () is not a religion that has produced great things in the world.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Previous Hindu prayer in the House; Opposition prior to the Senate prayer )〕 You look at India, you look at Nepal — there's persecution going in both of those countries that is gendered by the religious belief that is present there, and Hindu dominates in both of those countries."〔 While admitting the prayer is legal, he stated "One definitely wonders about the pragmatic side of it. What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?" Critics of Barton take issue with his implication that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, saying "it is a henotheistic religion, like very early forms worship described in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Hindus recognize a single deity. They view other gods and goddesses as facets, forms, manifestations, or aspects of that one supreme God."〔 They also took issue with his claim that Hinduism has not produced great things pointing to contributions by Hinduism like "Mahatma Gandhi whose ''Path of Nonviolence'' inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. to fight racism and segregation, and formed the basis of Nelson Mandela's fight against Apartheid".〔 and inventions by Hinduism such as Yoga, Kalarippayattu, Ayurveda, The Decimal Number System, Chess and Plastic surgery. ;Faith2Action Former U.S. Navy Chaplain, Gordon Klingenschmitt (who was court-martialed for disobeying a direct order and protesting non-sectarian prayer while in uniform) protested the Hindu prayer on July 10, 2007 by going to offices in the Senate and requesting "equal time" to pray "in Jesus' name." Reid's office informed him that they wouldn't sponsor him as he was not a constituent of Nevada that the Senator represents. As Klingenschmitt was from New York he requested Hillary Clinton's office give him "equal time". Her staff refused "because Senate Chaplain Barry Black is a Seventh-Day Adventist who regularly prays on the Senate floor" so they held that the question of "equal time" for "praying in Jesus' name" was moot. Klingenschmitt resented this feeling as Black "prays "'non-sectarian' prayers".〔 He was told that Black might be able to schedule him as a guest chaplain. Black's staffers told him his appointment calendar was booked till 2009. As Klingenschmitt was set to appear on her radio show the next day, Janet Folger of Faith2Action declared "Our national motto isn't 'in gods we trust. I believe U.S. Government-sanctioned Hindu prayers are an abomination." She told her audience "Unless you sing 'gods bless America...', use your Freedom of Speech to let your Senators know you are outraged". ;Americans United Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) remembering the Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala prayer controversy of September, 2000 where a Hindu prayer in the United States House of Representatives sparked controversy and negative comments from the Christian group the Family Research Council (FRC), AU stated "Now the FRC gets a chance to really make amends. We challenge the group to issue a public statement affirming religious diversity in America and welcoming Hindus to our rich tapestry of faiths. If we must have such prayers before Congress, they should respect religious diversity. Surely the FRC has no problem with that?"〔 ;Zed's comments Rajan Zed, an Indian immigrant and American citizen, had served as guest Chaplain for the Nevada state Senate and Assembly and delivered the first Hindu prayer there (on March 19 and May 7, 2007).〔 Speaking of his upcoming appearance before the Federal Senate he spoke about the prayer in an email to Cybercast News Service. Zed, apparently aware of the email campaign to prevent the prayer, anticipated the invitation would not be revoked and the prayer would go smoothly. He said "I believe that despite our philosophical differences, we should work together for the common objectives of human improvement, love, and respect for others." He called the event "an illustrious day for all Americans and a memorable day for Indian Americans when prayers from ancient Hindu scriptures will be read in the great hall of democracy." He stated that the prayer would draw on Hindu religious texts including the Rig Veda, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita, and likely begin and end with "'OM,' the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work." He stressed it would be "universal in approach." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rajan Zed prayer protest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|