Protesters Disrupt Hindu Prayer In Senate

Police Remove Three From Visitors Gallery Who Shouted During Invocation By Hindu Clergyman

(AP)  A Hindu clergyman made history Thursday by offering the U.S. Senate's morning prayer, but only after police officers removed three shouting protesters from the visitors' gallery.

Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple, gave the brief prayer that opens each day's Senate session. As he stood at the chamber's podium in a bright orange and burgundy robe, two women and a man began shouting "this is an abomination" and other complaints from the gallery.

Police officers quickly arrested them and charged them with disrupting Congress, a misdemeanor. The male protester told an Associated Press reporter, "we are Christians and patriots" before police handcuffed them and led them away.

For several days, the Mississippi-based American Family Association has urged its members to object to the prayer because Zed would be "seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god."

Zed, the first Hindu to offer the Senate prayer, began: "We meditate on the transcendental glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the Earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of the heaven. May He stimulate and illuminate our minds."

As the Senate prepared for another day of debate over the Iraq war, Zed closed with, "Peace, peace, peace be unto all."

Zed, who was born in India, was invited by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat. Speaking in the chamber shortly after the prayer, Reid defended the choice and linked it to the war debate.

"If people have any misunderstanding about Indians and Hindus," Reid said, "all they have to do is think of Gandhi," a man "who gave his life for peace."

"I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak in communication with our heavenly Father regarding peace," said Reid, a Mormon and sharp critic of President Bush's Iraq policies.

Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the protest "shows the intolerance of many religious right activists. They say they want more religion in the public square, but it's clear they mean only their religion."

Police identified the protesters as Ante Nedlko Pavkovic, Katherine Lynn Pavkovic and Christan Renee Sugar. Their ages and hometowns were not available.

[wadyaknow]

First - there should be no public prayers on my dime.
They are there to legislate, not pontificate. They have their individual houses of worship in which they can practice whatever superstition they choose.
That being said I think this is a very lovely prayer!

[Syndicate]

Christians like these give the rest of you a bad name.

[candy-apple]

Politicians are quick to push the issue of seperation of Church & State when it comes to "regular" citizens. What makes them any better than we are? If they are abiding by their own rules, they should not perform any prayer (Christian, Jewish, Hindu, etc.) before their meetings. After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[extremophil]

Christianity at its best.

[fantomas4]

Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the protest "shows the intolerance of many religious right activists. They say they want more religion in the public square, but it's clear they mean only their religion."

This just about sums up my feelings toward neo-con Christians. If you wish to subjugate all other faiths in this country to your mandates, then don't be shocked or offended when another religious organization moves in and tries to establish their own form of worship. I mean c'mon, it was meant to establish open diplomacy between our faiths, not to convert us, you paranoid sheeple!

[gunownerdan]

"Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all law-religions, or religions established by law." - Thomas Paine

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It Neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." - Thomas Jefferson

"Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?" - James Madison, 1785

Every man "ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience." - George Washington

"Religion flourishes in greater purity without than with the aid of government."
- James Madison, July 10, 1822

"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries." - James Madison, 1803

[peacethinker-2009]

Why do they have any prayers in there each morning?

And that guy saying "we are Christians and patriots", oh boy, watch out for those types.

[actornaught]

For the AFA's info, moslems consider christians "seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god."

-Mahavana Goottime Vishnu Waheer

[peacethinker-2009]

GunOwnerDan

Nice quotes. Most people think the founders of this country were christians, they were not, most of them were deists.

[knyghtwolf]

Another fine example of pseudo-christianity at work. Most people that are christian do not do this kind of thing. There are TWO distinct groops now in christianity: the REAL christian faith & the militant left christian who has no real education to speak of, nor has actually gone much further than the sixth grade, easily led by violent activities, LOVES guns, weapons of mass destruction, and preys daily for Armaggeddon, probably either a dedicated republican or a wishywashy democrat, perhaps even a closet liberal, believes their god talks to them on a daily basis in interactive conversation, reads supermarket tableoids looking for clues of impending dooms, and eats lima beans with tuna noodle casserole for breakfast along with left over pizza from the night before & washes it down with a bottle of Mad Dog. Peace be with all of you.

[gunownerdan]

Instead of prayer, it would be wise for senators to just say the pledge of allegience every morning, then maybe they will start obeying their oaths of office for a change!

[bareemperor]

Bu$h supporters are dangerous...

[chino1922]

This is a nation founded on God! We have prospered so much because of this. Now that we are taking God out of our lives, look at whats happening to our nation. As soon as something happens in everyones lives they want to turn to the Lord. Give him his praise all the time and see the amazing things he will do in your life.
What is everyone so afraid of? There is another religon we need to worry about case you haven't noticed! God bless America!!

[texas468]

I'm a Republican Christian, Yet I thought that Hindu Prayer was absolutely beautiful. I think those people were CLEARLY in the wrong to protest!! Everyone in this country has the right to believe in who they do and do not want to, and until everyone gets it, there will always be turbulance! I'm glad they were locked up.....and I copied that prayer down as well.

[shafteriffic]

If everyone would read the comments in the news that were made by the Pope, then this would never have happened! He only speaks the truth.

[gunownerdan]

"The greatest tragedy in the history of mankind may be the hijacking of morality by religion."
- Arthur C. Clark

[wiccantexan]

It's ironic, really. To shake things up about the reasons behind separation of church/state, there must be a counterbalance of that enacted.

If Judeo-Christian only was used, no one would be protesting. But when it comes to walking the walk, aka "what's good for the goose...," what that truly means becomes clear and upsets the comfortable majority.

[trumpetstuff]

Texas468, thank you and God bless you.

Freedom of religion is part of what America is all about.

[passerby2]

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,..." - 1st Amendment Bill of Rights

[xzavierbrown]

now why would a democrat invite religion to have a second to advertise a religion. I thought the democrats are the champion of seperation of state and church?

[russ1985]

You know, it's obscene that those people would protest Clergyman Zed's prayer. How they can call themselves Christian and be that intolerant is beyond me. The news of this upset me so much that I am going to attempt to send an email through Harry Reid's office apologizing for these three people's lack of values.

[huskerarmy]

I'm a Republican Christian, Yet I thought that Hindu Prayer was absolutely beautiful. I think those people were CLEARLY in the wrong to protest!!
Posted by Texas468
Well aren't you the floater in the punch bowl at a GOP convention...

[hypnotoad72]

What if the dude preached Islam instead?

Still, vote him in place of Reid (or Hillary). Wouldn't make any difference in the end and it'd save taxpayers a lot of money...

And, heck yeah, there is supposed to be a separation between church and state. Hmmm...

[mitywhity]

"The greatest tragedy in the history of mankind may be the hijacking of morality by religion."
- Arthur C. Clark
Posted by GunOwnerDan

That's the most incredible statement I have ever read! You cannot trace what we consider TRUTH or JUST without ending up at God. Humanity is not the source of morality and Arthur is wrong. If humanity were the source of ANY virtue at all then why are our world's cultures completely in disagreement with each other? The answer is simply that they are not the source of virtue. I applaud the vocal trio who shouted down the hindu invocation. Our country was not founded upon elephant-headed incestuous deities from the far east but rather on the principles drawn from the Bible. Yes, I am intolerant - what is so redeeming about spinelessness that you have no conviction at all about anything whatsoever? I call that cowardice! Our country's founders were not perfect men, but they NEVER turned the country over to hinduism, buddhism, voo-doo, islam or any other "me-too" cults, sects or philosophies. Harry Reid has shown his complete ignorance with this farce!

[hypnotoad72]

GunOwnerDan - re: the Pledge of Allegiance, are you talking America's?

Or India's?

[gunownerdan]

MityWhity,
God and religion are not the same thing. One can believe in god without being a religious nut.

[gunownerdan]

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
au.org

"...the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion..." - Treaty of Tripoli, 1797 - signed by President John Adams

[bobgee_1999]

"Most Christians will be so shocked at the moment of their death..."

Posted by onodream

Actually, ALL of you will, when you discover God never existed in the first place. Of course you won't really be shocked, since none but the most drooling of you really believe in God in the first place, you've just convinced yourselves that you do.

"How they can call themselves Christian and be that intolerant is beyond me."

Posted by trouble1985

You're kidding, right? Intolerance, hatred and violence are Christian traditions. When you embrace fantasy and the irrational, you don't get to pick and choose who is a "good Christian" and who isn't. Fred Phelps probably thinks you are a "bad" Christian.

I make no distinctions between Christians, Muslims, Jews or Scientologists. Every devout person is either nuts, lying or full of it. It was religious thought and practice that killed 3000 people on 11 September 01, you may recall.

[micma-2009]

If we are going to allow public prayer (a clear violation of the seperation of church and state) in a Federal building then they should not favor one religion over another but allow all religions to be represented. Our government should not be in the business of favoring one religion over another.

[finewoven]

Every man "ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience." - George Washington

These wise words are lost on those who have no conscience; those that instead prefer to dictate to others who, when, where, and how to worship. And if you don't follow their dictates, then they want to murder you. No conscience whatsoever.

[jimc52]

Religious freedom, means just exactly what it says, and I think this was a wonderful idea to have a Hindu prayer in the Senate. I hope this sets a precedent and we have Buddhist, Islamic, Shinto and other religion's prayers there because the word "religion" isn't the exculsive property of Christianity. God is in everyone
and everything. It's all a matter of whether or not you want to real-ize just exactly who it is that you really are. There is no such thing as a false religion, however, there are those who are in error, believing they have exclusive rights to God. Religion, in and of itself, is not needed as a means to attain spiritual connection...but merely one of many avenues. It doesn't matter what religion you belong to, it is what is in your heart and mind that "matters." I, as an American Citizen say: WELCOME, to all religions in OUR country. Long live the individual's right to spiritual freedom, expression and representation in OUR country without ideological oppression!

[random_radar]

The male protester told an Associated Press reporter, "we are Christians and patriots"

Obviously this was staged to make Christians and patriots look bad. No true Christian or patriot would do something like this.

[revbates]

In a country with so much religious diversity, why was this the first time a non-Christian was asked to present the prayer? That is the problem and the reason why so many Christians are so aggressive and arrogant in their actions. The American Family Association is led by arrogance. Our political leaders have allowed the separation of church and state to be so blurred that you can hardly tell the difference between politics and religion. And so many Christians have so little understanding of the teachings of Jesus that hypocrisy in politics and religion has become the true moral decay of our country. When do we begin to do better than this?

[revbates]

In a country with so much religious diversity, why was this the first time a non-Christian was asked to present the prayer? That is the problem and the reason why so many Christians are so aggressive and arrogant in their actions. The American Family Association is led by arrogance. Our political leaders have allowed the separation of church and state to be so blurred that you can hardly tell the difference between politics and religion. And so many Christians have so little understanding of the teachings of Jesus that hypocrisy in politics and religion has become the true moral decay of our country. When do we begin to do better than this?

[myidoncbs]

I don't expect to change the minds of any of the intolerant bigots here, but all this *** about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus being the one and only way is extremely tiresome, and absolutely does nothing at all to help the various and diverse people of this country, and this world, to learn to live together in peace. Your insistence on being right is tiresome, boring, childish, insensitive, foolish. I hate to think of the disappointment you are going to feel if, when you die, you discover you were wrong!

Personally, I think Krishna had the best idea. In the Baghavad Gita he says something like: Many people worship Me in the wrong way or they worship the wrong gods, but I accept it all.

[susanhelit]

It's an abomination... that this is the first time a Hindu has provided the prayer. We have freedom of religion here, and the Senate is there to uphold it. While a christian majority means quite often the blessing will be from a christian preacher of one variant or another, obviously all religions should be invited.



And yes - true patriots would be upholding and supporting the wisdom of the founding fathers in creating a secular government, not opposing it and trying to establish a state religion, explicitly or de facto.

[condumism]

"we are Christians and patriots" before police handcuffed them and led them away.

Jerry Falwell had a group of followers that are now the biggest hypocrits in US history. Only neocon scumbags, most of whom are either in the US Military or Southern White trash (Falwells flock of braindead fools) find some relationship between christiantiy and patriotism. I've got a gut feeling that Falwell is rotting in hell!

[xxmorosxx]

It's really sad that these "patriots" don't even know that the USA doesn't have an official religion, and that we accept all faiths. Just pathetic and embarrassing.

[junogoose]

ban religion.
http://www.venganza.org/

[tf4peace]

One light - many lamps...

The essence of all the Prophets of God is one and the same....

[toolmangler-2009]

I've got a gut feeling that Falwell is rotting in hell!
Posted by condumism at 05:34 PM : Jul 12, 2007


I agree with you on that, but the problem is that the rest of your statement seems to indicate that you may well be standing next to him as he receives his 'roasting'. You apparently feel that the Military, Christians and/or Southerners are nothing but scumbags or trash. Thats a bit over the top isn't it? My statements are not an attack but an observation seeking clarification.
Posted by a "thinking Southern Christian"

[hedonist3]

As an agnostic, religious issues always intrigue me. I read back a couple of pages of posts, and they were all about Christian (a la seriously brainwashed singinrick)verses the U. S. being a country of religious freedom.

Prayer in the Senate; NO prayer in the schools. Hmmmm..........what am I missing here? Is there a special dispensation issued to the Senate that allows prayer? If so, please enlighten me; I seriously don't know.

[pepperp1]

this is not about religion it is about mental illness instead of jail they should be taken in for observation at the looney bin, praise the lord pass the potato...

....we are Christians and patriots

no your not your nuts and traitors and rude

[mitywhity]

MityWhity,
God and religion are not the same thing. One can believe in god without being a religious nut.
Posted by GunOwnerDan.......................In other words you can believe in something and it not affect you, right? Do you believe in the right to bear arms? Of course you do because it has changed you and made distinguishable from those who do not support gun ownership. Sure, someone can say they support gun ownership with lip-service alone and never personally own a gun. They are simply pandering for approval. In essence you are a "gun-owning nut". So, no, you cannot truly believe in God and not be a "religious nut"- a person's beliefs compose the person. I believe, therefore I act...even if it is nutty to some.

[hedonist3]

aww, he// - dinky, little laptop keyboard --

"versus"

[hypnotoad72]

Hedonist3 - agreed; the hypocrisy in all this is disgusting. (prayer on Senate floor, and not in schools) Apparent hypocrisy anyway, I'm sadly assuming Reid wants religion out of schools because most people think the same way in that one regard; the separation...

*** was Reid on by allowing this, of which he's going to get just due flak come next election period.

[sero5]

A Hindu prayer for peace and understanding in a largely empty Senate Chamber. This event and Mahatma Gandhi got ruthlessly condemned by hatemongers from the AFA and on the radio by Mike Savage. Hey Mike, you have a lot to learn about Gandhi. When asked if he was a Hindu, Gandhi replied "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew."

[condumism]

Posted by ToolMangler:

Condumism: You apparently feel that the Military, Christians and/or Southerners are nothing but scumbags or trash. Thats a bit over the top isn't it? My statements are not an attack but an observation seeking clarification.
Posted by a "thinking Southern Christian"

Not at all. But I can understand why you felt I was referring to all Military, Christains, and Southerners. My disgust was only directed towards Neocons in the Military, Neocon Christians, and Neocon Southerners. I lived 5 years in Pinewood TX. I do know the difference between you and them. Thanks for your feedback!

[hedonist3]

*** was Reid on by allowing this... -- Posted by hypnotoad72

hypno - I hope I correctly understand the above to mean why did Reid allow the prayer -- not who performed the prayer.

The Senate's website read, "During the past 207 years all sessions of the Senate have opened with prayer..."

I did not know this. Admittedly, I am behind in Senate procedure.

How can there be no prayer in schools!?! I am flabbergasted, and very surprised that we're the only two posters who seem to realize the underlying issue here. Perhaps arguing religion simply fills a more passionate need.

Although, I do disagree with Reid on other issues...

[ringading3]

Innocent children do not "need" to pray. Senators and Congressmen who frequent ******, sell themselves, and steal from their countrymen do NEED to pray.