Week 145: Temple and Festival Safety, Sindhi Hindus of the Canary Islands, Navaratri
09/25/2022 - Modern Hindu Content
This week we highlight: actions Hindu communities need to take in light of recent attacks, the Sindhi Hindu diaspora of the Canary Islands,
Action Highlight: Temple and Festival Safety in light of Hinduphobic attacks in the UK
With Navaratri and Deepavali coming up very soon, and the ensuing gathering and celebrations these holy days bring, this is extremely important to read.
Many of our readers may be aware of recent events over the last two weeks or so where Muslim mobs have been assembling around and sometimes attacking Hindu temples across the UK, from Leicester, to Coventry, to Ilford (thread), to London thread), to Birmingham. British Muslims, notorious for rape and grooming gangs, terrorist attacks, and a high rate of consanguineous marriage, have gone around to Hindu temples claiming to be attacking “RSS/BJP/Hindutva dens”. Needless to say, Hindu temples and communities cannot bury their heads in the sand; they need to be:
Proactively engaging with law enforcement, making sure that law enforcement is aware Hindu festivals are occurring and that there may be threats to them
Refuting Hinduphobic lies in media (whether through social media, letters to editor, phone calls to congresspeople) and concurrently smearing Hinduphobes (most unsurprisingly have links to Communists, Christian missionaries, or Islamic terrorism). No one attacking Hindus should leave with their reputation (and search engine results) unblemished.
Make sure that your temples and festivals are adequately defended with good security protocol, and folks assembled to prevent attackers, thwart them, and (equally importantly) document any disturbances and be ready to film and distribute.
In light of point 3, we are highlighting advice from @BritishHindus shared on their Instagram page.
Community Highlight: Sindhi Hindus of the Canary Islands
One of the more interesting European Hindu communities is that of Sindhi Hindus in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco (see below).
The first Indians to arrive in the Canary Islands were Sindhi men, engaging in commerce, who came largely from places in Africa and the Mediterranean.
https://scroll.in/magazine/1033151/in-the-story-of-sindhi-migration-canary-islands-played-a-small-but-important-role
https://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2008/01/17/hindu-community-in-the-canaries-is-proportionally-the-biggest-in-spain-says-indian-consul/
https://thewire.in/books/sindhi-diaspora-multiple-identities-india-spain-south-america