A planned float in NYC's India Day Parade is anti-Muslim and should be removed, opponents say

Source: Associated Press

A planned float in NYC’s India Day Parade is anti-Muslim and should be removed, opponents say

By PHILIP MARCELO
Updated 9:24 PM EDT, August 15, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — A float in Sunday’s upcoming India Day Parade in New York City that celebrates a Hindu temple built over a razed mosque in India is being criticized as anti-Muslim.

The Indian American Muslim Council and other faith-based groups have called on parade organizers to remove a float featuring the Ram Mandir, saying the temple is considered a symbol glorifying the destruction of mosques and violence against Muslims in the South Asian nation.

Hindus make up about 80% of India’s population, but the country is also home to about 200 million Muslims who have frequently come under attack by Hindu nationalists.

“This float presence represents these groups’ desire to conflate Hindu nationalist ideology with Indian identity,” the organization and others wrote in a letter earlier this month addressed to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This is not merely a cultural display, but a vulgar celebration of anti-Muslim heat, bigotry, and religious supremacy.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/new-york-india-parade-float-hindu-muslim-6e0428caed8443c60d8dbe3fb8f4ff0c