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Nepal’s religious leaders join pope in Assisi spirit
by Kalpit Parajuli
Nepali Hindus, Muslims and Christians urge people to fight extremism and violence conducted in the name of religion. They express solidarity and mutual respect.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – Nepal’s Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious leaders have welcomed the message of interfaith peace and solidarity issued in Assisi and have pledged to work together against religious extremism and violence. In a press release, various representatives of the country’s religions said, “All leaders should seriously heed Benedict XVI’s message. They should be conscious that war, violence and terrorism in the name of religion lead nowhere but to their own loss.”
Nepal has been a secular state since 2006 after centuries of a Hindu absolutist monarchy. However, a shadow has been cast on the transition towards the separation of state and religion by the intolerance of extremism groups who want a return to a confessional state. Hence, the papal message is very important for Nepal minorities, which have been fighting for months for such separation and for freedom of worship.
Nepal’s more rightwing parties have put pressure on the ruling Maoist administration to revise the penal and civil codes in the area of conversions to religions other than Hinduism. The proposed changes would define all form of religious expression that might affect traditional values as a form of proselytising. This would effectively ban minorities from publicly expressing their faith.
“All religions must live together and leaders must promote and show mutual respect,” said Keshav Chaulagain, president of the World Hindu Federation. “As the pope stressed, Hindus are for peace and justice. Those who commit acts of violence in the name of religion are not Hindus. They are common criminals whose aim is to defame their own religion.”
“When all religions live together the country can only be enriched,” said Ishu Jung Karki, national secretary of Nepali Protestants.
Quoting the pope, “Peace,” he said, “prevails when God is within us”. The “state must protect the rights of minorities and provide them with security.”