A video went viral on social media where a Burqa clad woman was seen ferociously breaking the Hindu Lord Ganesha’s idols on the floor of a supermarket in Bahrain.
In the video, two burqa-clad women can be seen standing near an aisle where idols of Hindu God Ganpati are kept on the display ahead of the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival. One of the women picks up the idols and starts throwing them on the floor one by one, following which the idols shatter into pieces as the other woman records the incident on her mobile phone. The woman can be heard yelling at an attendant at the shop in Arabic.
In the video, the woman can be heard raising objection over the Ganpati idols being sold in a Muslim country, saying “this is Mohamed ben Issa’s country, do you think he approved of this?”
“This is a Muslim country, correct?” the woman is heard saying to the man in the shop.
“Let us see who will worship these statues. Call the cops,” the other woman says.
The incident reportedly took place at a supermarket in the Juffair neighbourhood of Bahrain’s capital Manama.
This happened in #Bahrain! Disrespecting and Vandalizing our Lord Ganesha's Murti.
This just shows how little they can think!
It's Shameful!!!
No religion teaches envy and disrespecting other’s beliefs.
This is Highly condemnable! pic.twitter.com/3BwdtqgCHJ
— Vedant Lalwani- वेदांत लालवाणी (Modi Ka Parivar) (@vedantlalwani_) August 16, 2020
The video received a lot of criticism on social media and from the Indians after which the Bahrain Police took prompt legal action against the woman who broke the Ganpati idols into pieces. According to reports in local media, the 54-year-old woman has been charged with disrespecting religious sentiments and rituals of a community.
Issuing a statement, the Capital Governorate Police Directorate under the Ministry of Interior in Bahrain said that the woman has been summoned for intentionally damaging a shop in Juffair and breaking religious idols.
Capital Police took legal steps against a woman, 54, for damaging a shop in Juffair and defaming a sect and its rituals, in order to refer her to the Public Prosecution.
— Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) August 16, 2020
Khalid al-Khalifa, advisor to the king of Bahrain and former foreign minister, said the woman’s actions were unacceptable.
“Breaking of religious symbols is not the nature of the people of Bahrain. It is a crime… of hatred and is rejected,” he tweeted.
“Here, all religions, sects, and people coexist,” he added.
Though Islam is the state religion in Bahrain, it enjoys a reputation for a reasonable level of religious tolerance and promoting a pluralistic outlook between diverse cultures and faiths. Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the previous monarch of Bahrain was widely regarded as an inclusive ruler.
With a huge Indian diaspora, Bahrain is home to many Hindu temples including Shreenathji (Krishna) temple, Bahrain’s oldest, dating back nearly 200 years, and few Ayyappa temples.❐
