A woman in Bahrain seen smashing statues of the Hindu deity Lord Ganesha in a video circulated in social media has been charged with intentional damage and publicly insulting a religious symbol, reported by NST.
The video shows two women in a shop, standing near a display of the statues. One of them is seen grabbing statues and smashing them on the ground.
“This is a Muslim country, correct?” one woman is heard saying to a man in the shop.
“Let us see who will worship these statues. Call the cops,” the other says.
The incident sparked outrage on social media.
The police said on Sunday that the 54-year-old woman was summoned after the video on social media showed her “intentionally damaging a shop… and breaking religious idols” in the Juffair area in the capital Manama, according to the interior ministry.
The public prosecution issued a statement saying the woman had admitted to breaking the statues and was charged with multiple counts of criminal damage and of insulting a religious symbol, quoted by China Press.
Khalid al-Khalifa, advisor to the king of Bahrain and former foreign minister, said the woman’s act was unacceptable.
تكسير الرموز الدينية ليس من طبع اهل البحرين . و هي جريمة تنم عن كراهية دخيلة و مرفوضة . فهنا تعاقبت و تعايشت كل الاديان و الطوائف و الشعوب . و من قام بها غريب ليس منا #البحرين_بلد_الجميع
— خالد بن أحمد (@khalidalkhalifa) August 16, 2020
“Breaking of religious symbols is not the nature of the people of Bahrain. It is a crime… of hatred and is rejected,” he tweeted.
“Here, all religions, sects and people co-exist.”
Info via China Press