Interfaith communities express anguish over placing revered Hindu, Jain idols in casino for decoration

By Shobhna Jain | Posted on 24th Jun 2020 | VNI स्पेशल

Las Vegas,US/N. Delhi (VNI) different faith leaders have expressed their anguish over placing revered Hindu and jain idols as showpieces in a casino night club here. Expressing concern,they have said that this is highly disrespectful , inappropriate and have hurted religious sentiments of people not only in US but all over world. They have urged casino management to take immediate corrective steps and shift these idols from this casino.They have said deities are sacred and are meant for temples not for casinos.

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, they have all come together and are protesting over this issue. Christian-Hindu-Buddhist-Jewish-Jain religious and community leaders here have urged the Las Vegas casino Mandalay Bay to shift idols of various Hindu and Jain deities from its Foundation Room night club, calling it highly disrespectful and inappropriate.

According to a statement released by them, Nevada’s Greek Orthodox Christian Priest Stephen R. Karcher, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, prominent Buddhist Priest Matthew T. Fisher, well-known Jewish Rabbi ElizaBeth Webb Beyer, and renowned Jain community leader Sulekh C. Jain; in a joint statement in Nevada today, said that placing highly revered Hindu and Jain deities to adorn a casino night-club was very disrespectful, out-of-line, and could be disturbing to the adherents of these faiths. All of them urged William Hornbuckle and Paul Salem, Acting CEO and Board Chairman respectively of MGM Resorts International, parent company of Mandalay Bay Casino, to shift these idols instantly and offer a formal apology to Hindu and Jain communities for this insensitivity.Mr. Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that Hindu deities Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, goddess Saraswati, etc.; were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be thrown around loosely in a casino night club for dramatic effects or mercantile/other agenda. Such denigration of sacred deities was hurtful to the devotees.Mr.Sulekh C. Jain stressed that pratimas of Lord Mahavira belonged in a temple for veneration and not to be misused or mishandled by the patrons of a night club. He suggested that the Mandalay Bay Casino should right away send it to a Jain temple.He even offered that Jain community would gladly pay for its transportation.They said that they, the faith leaders, were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers.

Statement says that description of Foundation Room in this casino, whose tagline is “Good Karma Awaits”,and very sadly says: Immerse yourself in our DEITY dancer experience; party the night away amidst the Vegas lights . This “luxurious den for the city’s elite to socialize, scandalize, and sip in high style”, located on 63rd Floor of Mandalay Bay.

In Delhi, many Jain community leaders have expressed their displeasure and anguish over this matter and said that management of the club should immediately shift these idols from casino so that they may be placed in temples.They are highly respectful and their place is temple not entertainment zones of this type, they said.

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is set on 120 acres featuring Mandalay Bay Beach.VNI