Religious intolerance: Hindu temple vandalized in Texas; Christian gang suspected behind the attack

By NewsGram Staff Writer

A Hindu temple was vandalised in Texas by an international gang from a predominantly Catholic nation of El Salvador, media reported.

The vandals painted the doors of the North Texas Hindu Mandir in Lake Highlands suburb of Dallas with the mark of Mara Salvatrucha, a symbol of devil worship.

Talking about the graffiti which has shocked both Hindus and non Hindus alike, the temple board member Krishna Singh told 11CBS network in Dallas-Fort Worth that it was a big shock for the community.

A nine-year-old devotee Gracie Reed, told 11CBS that it was a horrifying incident. "To me, it's really horrifying because I don't know who would do this to a church," the child said.

Where is religious tolerance in US?

While the US President Barack Obama was first to criticise India over religious tolerance, he along with other Christian leaders have not reacted as of Sunday to the Texas vandalism.

A lot of Christian leaders like former Republican Party's presidential nomination, Pat Robertson, have also called Hinduism a demonic cult.

Robertson is not alone, a Christian pastor Franklin Graham, has also denounced Hindus as followers of a "false religion". He even went on to say that "none of their 9,000 gods is going to lead me to salvation. We are fooling ourselves."

Previous attacks on Hindu Temples

February 2015: Two temples were vandalised in Washington State in north-west US

August 2014: Lord Shiva's statue at the Vishwa Bhavan Hindu Mandir in Monroe in the state of Georgia was desecrated with black paint.

July-October2014: 17 separate incidents of anti-Hindu vandalism in Loudon County in Virginia