Organization: Penn State University
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 10:38:05 EDT
From: <DXA4@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Moslem Intolerance must be dealt with now.
Distribution: na

Such incidents by individual-Muslims to issue contemptuous remarks about Hindu
gods and beliefs are nothing in comparison of what goes on in some of the
Islamic Republics, and nothing can be done about it because this is the law of
the land of that particular Islamic Republic and any protest against such laws
is considered interference with internal matters of the country. I would like
to substantiate this fact by the following three examples all occurred in Soudi
Arabia - a paragon leader of Umma (Islamic nation). These incidents originally
were reported in Times of India, Indian Express, India To-day in the last 4-6
years, the last incident is the latest (June 1990), I do not remember the exact
dates of other two. Please note that these are just the reported incidents
which manage to make the newspapers, there may be numerous other incidents in
these and other Islamic republics which never come out of the countries due to
press restrictions etc.

1. One Aryasamaji Indian was in Riyad for a visit and staying in a Hotel. In
the morning as his normal practice after taking his bath he was reading 'Satya-
rth Prakash'. Somehow, the hotel management found it out when the attendent
informed them. This poor man was arrested for possessing a religious book not
belonging to Islam, and was sentenced for six months in prison. Since according
to the local law it is a crime in Soudi Arabia for possessing any non-Islamic
books or practice any non-Islamic religion even in your privacy.

  The Arya Pritinidhi Sabha of Delhi met Rajiv Gandhi, PM at that time to inter
vene in the matter and get this man out of the Saudi Arab's prison. He forward-
ed the matter to the foreign ministry, who after making enquiry expressed their
helplessness in the whole affair since it was the internal matter of a country.

2. About four years ago one Indian diplomat was on an official visit to Saudi
Arabia, he went with his wife. At the airport, while the custom officer check-
ing the baggage and its contents, he spotted in the lady's bag a pocket size
version of Gita and a small idol (saligram), and asked her what they were? And
after realizing what they were, this custom officer tore the Gita, threw it in
the waste basket and crushed the idol into piece under his foot. The poor south
Indian lady, a deeply religious and simple woman, could not believe her eyes
that there would be a human being in the world so insensitive to others' religi
ous beliefs and symbols. The whole traumatic experience left this woman a
psychological wreck for several months.

3. The latest case is one of Mr. Sunil Vadehra, a Hindu mechanic who died of an
accident in Saudi Arabia. His father went to the court for compensation. A
Greek national was found guilty of negligence which resulted in Mr. Vadehra's
death, and was asked to deposit 300,000 Riyals with the Saudi Officer concerned
to pay to Mr. Vadehra's father. Six years later however, on June 2, 1990, the
court ruled that since the deceased was a Hindu, a non-muslim, and hence his
life is worth only 1/10th of that of a Muslim, so only 30,000 Riyals be paid to
his father. Mr. Vadehra's father approached Indian officials in Delhi but as
usual nothing could be done.

Dinesh Agrawal....