Bush Steers Clear of “Pagan” Shrine
It is being reported that president George W. Bush when asked if he was going to visit Mahatma Gandhi’s tomb (a long-standing tradition for visiting world leaders) was taken by surprise and uttered something a little less than diplomatic.
“When asked — by reporters on a recent trip aboard Air Force One — if he will be breaking a decades long tradition of foreign dignitaries visiting India paying respect to the Father of India, Mr Bush, as is his wont, was caught off guard and mumbled something about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ views cremation as a pagan practice.”
This has put Bush in a rare position occupied recently by Saudi King Abdullah (a good friend of the Bush family) who refused to visit the shrine on religious grounds. But this political and religious snub was most likely motivated by his need to seem sympathetic to Muslim leaders in the Middle East instead of Christian piety. Indeed Bush seemed to have no problem paying homage to the late Emperor Meiji at a Shinto shrine. Maybe Bush didn’t realize the “pagan” significance of his visit in Japan and does know (along with most Americans) that Ghandi wasn’t a Christian.
In either case the faith-based snub has already offended Indian citizens.
“The Abrahamic religions seem to preach disrespect, so people following them have to, by default, practice intolerance. Intolerance should not be encouraged or appreciated, and that too when expressed by Heads of States. Calling a spade a spade is something that the servile Congress-Left Govt. is incapable of. Therefore, even when a Muslim King and a Christian President betray their bigotry, Manmohan Singh’s Govt. shows the other cheek to receive another slap in style.”
It remains to be seen if the White House will deny the comment and change plans in order to smooth things over. But then again Bush may see an insult to “pagans” as better than an insult to his faith-based backers in America or to leaders in the Middle East.
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