According to <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2021/04/14/hank-azaria-invited-meet-hindu-american-foundation-apu-guilt/">TMZ</a>, Shereen Bhalla, a rep for the Hindu American Foundation, has invited actor Hank Azaria for a sit-down discussion about the alleged harm his “Simpsons” character Apu has inflicted upon the world.
&#8220;Hank doesn&#8217;t have to torment himself for his work on &#8216;The Simpsons,&#8217; or at least he doesn&#8217;t have to do it alone. Bhalla says she and the staff at HAF would love to have a sit-down with him,&#8221; reported TMZ. &#8220;She tells us coming to the table with them would help Hank do a lot of the learning he seems very open to at this point. Shereen says they can expose him to Indian people&#8217;s lived experiences, and have a dialogue about his lingering guilt.&#8221;
&#8220;If Hank&#8217;s concerned about &#8216;cancel culture&#8217; &#8230; HAF does not want to see that happen to the veteran actor,&#8221; TMZ continued. &#8220;We&#8217;re told the group doesn&#8217;t feel Hank needs to be excommunicated, and believes he&#8217;s genuinely sorry and willing to educate himself &#8230; which HAF would love to help him do. As for how to proceed, there are a few options. For one, HAF is offering Hank a third-party facilitated dialogue with Indians across the nation, on or off the record &#8230; his choice. Also, HAF has a podcast called &#8216;That&#8217;s So Hindu&#8217; and would be more than happy to have him as a guest.&#8221;
Speaking on the “Armchair Expert” podcast with host Dax Shepard earlier this week, Azaria said he finally stepped away from the role of Apu after attending several seminars and learning from other people about how the character hurt them.
“I was speaking at my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input,” Azaria said, as reported by <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/simpsons-actor-hank-azaria-feels-he-needs-apologize-to-every-indian-for-apu">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. “A 17-year-old … he’s never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. It’s practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.” Azaria told the boy that he apologized and that he promised to convey to Hollywood that how they portray certain people matters in the real world.
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“I really do apologize,” Azaria said. “It’s important. I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do.”</section>
Apu was never presented as a dumb Indian immigrant who runs the Kwik-E-Mart. In fact, multiple episodes spent time developing his complexity as a character throughout the show’s near three-decade run. Contrary to perception, he holds a Ph.D. in computer science, graduated from the top of his class at “Caltech” (Calcutta Technical Institute), and only runs the Kwik-E-Mart because of the joy it brings him to spend time with friends and customers.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-cleese-mocks-hank-azarias-apology-for-playing-apu">John Cleese Mocks Hank Azaria’s Apology For Playing Apu</a>
</section>

FYC Event For IFC’s “Brockmire” And “Documentary Now!” – Inside

Hindu American Group Invites Hank Azaria To Talk About ‘The Simpsons’ Character Apu

Hinduism

The Simpsons

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), who is an ordained United Methodist minister, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?507549-1/opening-day-117th-congress-us-house-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opened the first session of the 117th Congress</a> on Sunday by praying in the name of a Hindu god and twisting the word &#8220;amen&#8221; into a commentary on gender.
&#8220;Eternal God, noiselessly we bow before your throne of grace as we leave behind the politically and socially clamorous year of 2020,&#8221; began Cleaver, who served as the pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1972 to 2009.
&#8220;We gather now in this consequential chamber to inaugurate another chapter in our roller coaster representative government. The members of this august body acknowledge your sacred supremacy and therefore confess that without your favor and forbearance, we enter this new year relying dangerously on our own fallible nature,&#8221; he continued.
Cleaver went on to ask divine assistance during what he described as &#8220;a moment when many believe that the bright light of democracy is beginning to dim.&#8221; Imploring God to empower the 117th Congress to maintain liberty for future generations, he also asked God to maintain his presence even during times of &#8220;heightened disagreement.&#8221;
Quoting the benediction from Numbers 6:24-26, Cleaver concluded, &#8220;Now may the God who created the world and everything in it bless us and keep us. May the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. May the Lord lift up the light of his countenance on us and give us peace; peace in our families, peace across this land, and — dare I ask, O Lord — peace even in this chamber, now and evermore.&#8221;
Though his prayer was replete with explicitly Christian themes, terminology, and references, Cleaver closed it by appealing to the deities of &#8220;many different faiths,&#8221; implying they are all the same.
&#8220;We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and &#8216;god&#8217; known by many names by many different faiths,&#8221; said Cleaver.
&#8220;Amen and a-woman,&#8221; he closed, in an apparent attempt to render the word fair to both sexes.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The prayer to open the 117th Congress ended with &quot;amen and a-women.&quot; 
Amen is Latin for &quot;so be it.&quot; 
It&#39;s not a gendered word.
Unfortunately, facts are irrelevant to progressives. Unbelievable. <a href="https://t.co/FvZ0lLMDDr">pic.twitter.com/FvZ0lLMDDr</a>
&mdash; Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) <a href="https://twitter.com/GReschenthaler/status/1345866081815187459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Brahma is a four-faced Hindu deity who &#8220;was born from a golden egg and created the earth and all things on it,&#8221; according to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Encyclopedia Britannica</a>. He was later believed to have come out of a lotus that emerged from the navel of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vishnu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vishnu</a>, another Hindu deity.
The word &#8220;<a href="https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&amp;strongs=h543" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">amen</a>,&#8221; often translated &#8220;so be it,&#8221; finds its root in the Hebrew for &#8220;faithfulness&#8221; or &#8220;fidelity.&#8221; It has been used adverbially since antiquity to express affirmation of belief and agreement, and has nothing to do with gender.
Cleaver was involved in the ordeal that led to the House chaplain&#8217;s <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-chaplain-prays-to-exorcise-all-spirits-of-darkness-at-play-in-the-peoples-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">exorcism of the lower chamber</a> in July 2019.
Cleaver was presiding over a contentious debate when shouting erupted on the floor over a resolution to condemn tweets from President Donald Trump that urged members of &#8220;the Squad&#8221; to &#8220;go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.&#8221;
Claiming both sides &#8220;just want to fight,&#8221; an exasperated Cleaver threw down the gavel and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/i-abandon-chair-rep-cleaver-stuns-colleagues-protest-over-partisanship-n1030711" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">abandoned the chair</a> in a historic display of frustration.
&#8220;[House Chaplain] Father Patrick [Conroy] and I sat together earlier the day of all of the chaos and confusion during the resolution concerning President Trump,&#8221; Cleaver recalled to Fox News host Martha MacCallum. &#8220;And he said to me — leaned over and said, &#8216;You know, I feel a presence in here, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/rep-cleaver-on-the-possibility-of-dark-spirits-in-congress">an evil presence</a>.&#8217; He said it&#8217;s not a Democrat or a Republican. He said there&#8217;s something else going on here. He said, &#8216;I&#8217;m going to have to pray tomorrow to ask God to cleanse this place.'&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thyself-is-thy-master-the-satanic-temple-claims-religious-freedom-laws-apply-to-abortion-ritual" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘Thyself Is Thy Master’: The Satanic Temple Claims Religious Freedom Laws Apply To ‘Abortion Ritual’</a>

Emanuel Cleaver and Brahma

‘Amen And Awoman’: Minister Invokes Hindu God, Offers Gender Lesson During Opening Prayer For 117th Congress

Christianity

Congress

Religion

A group of at least 25 Hindu extremists attacked Christians attending the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Baburia Kheda, Uttar Pradesh state, located in Northern India. 
Last month, radicals assaulted innocent civilians who had gathered to worship. The attackers did not spare women, children, or the elderly as they charged into neighboring homes seeking to murder lead Pastor Kamlesh Kumar, who was successfully hidden away, Morning Star News <a href="https://morningstarnews.org/2018/05/pastors-wife-hides-husband-from-hindu-extremists-seeking-to-kill-him-in-northern-india/">reports</a>. 
Kumar said in an interview, &#8220;They manhandled women, beat them, pulled their clothes, spoke to them in a filthy language and disgraced them.&#8221;
The extremists assaulted people with wooden clubs, sending several people to the hospital with severe injuries. 
Congregation member Ram Prasad, 55, tried to stop the attackers, who then seized him and beat him into unconsciousness.
&#8220;I saw Ram Prasad fall on the floor bleeding profusely after being hit by a brick, but the attackers continued kicking him and hitting him with wooden sticks until he lay motionless on the floor,&#8221; Pastor Kumar&#8217;s wife Shashikala said.
When the attack was over, the congregation contacted local law enforcement, but when the police arrived, they instead blamed the church members practicing their faith. 
Pastor Kumar said, &#8220;Instead of taking action against our plight, the police began to question us as to, &#8216;Why are you running a church? You are not supposed to worship here&#8230; otherwise you will get killed and we can do nothing to help you.&#8217;&#8221;
He went to say that the police interrogated church members as suspects in a crime instead of victims of a brutal assault. 
Law enforcement officials filed a First Information Report, but have not proceeded with the investigation or made any arrests. 
The Hindu extremists living in India have ramped up their targeting of pastors and ministers. Earlier this year, radicals violently attacked a pastor and his wife living in the state of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28582/extremists-violently-assault-pastor-and-his-wife-jacob-airey">Tamil Nadu</a>.

Hindu Extremists Assault Church Members In Northern India, Force Pastor Into Hiding

Foreign Policy

India

Persecution

The Christian community in Nepal was rocked earlier this month when three churches were burned down and another was bombed. Though no one was injured, the property damage was catastrophic for all four congregations. 
Morning Star News <a href="https://morningstarnews.org/2018/05/christians-in-nepal-suspect-hindu-extremists-in-sudden-attacks-on-churches/">reports</a>:
<blockquote>
The Hebron Church building in the eastern hilly region was set on fire on May 9, Emmanuel Church&#8217;s building in western Nepal&#8217;s Doti District was burned on May 10, and the Kanchanpur Emmanuel Church building in the midwest hilly region was set ablaze on May 11. Before midnight on May 12, the Mahima Church building in Dhangadhi, in western Nepal, was bombed. 
</blockquote>
Thousands of dollars of equipment, furniture, windows, and infrastructure were damaged.
Pastor Dhirendra Rana, senior pastor of Kanchanpur Emmanuel Church said in an interview, &#8220;The miscreants broke the lock of the church and formed a heap of all the stuff present in the building, including the records of the church, 300 kilograms of grain and electric appliances, and they set everything ablaze.&#8221;
The local police released tepid statements stating that the Biplab Group, a communist political party in Nepal, is under suspicion. The Christian community, however, is suspicious that a group of extremist Hindus are behind it. They cite recent social media posts with the hashtag &#8220;Esai Karan ke Virudh Hindu Jagaran Abhiyaan,&#8221; translated as &#8220;Hindu Awakening Against Conversion&#8221; as evidence.
The communities affected by the attacks have expressed disapproval at the slow speed of the investigation. Though authorities have met with and taken statements from the church leadership and congregants, the investigation is seemingly stalled. No suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made. 
Chair of the Religious Liberty Forum Nepal Tanka Subedi is convinced that the government has been slow-walking the investigation.
&#8220;They have not made any arrests yet, as it seems that they have been clearly notified to not carry out arrests in these cases,&#8221; he told Morning Star News.

PERSECUTION: Four Churches Attacked In Nepal By Extremists

Communism

Police

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Hinduism

Hindu American Group Invites Hank Azaria To Talk About ‘The Simpsons’ Character Apu

‘Amen And Awoman’: Minister Invokes Hindu God, Offers Gender Lesson During Opening Prayer For 117th Congress

Hindu Extremists Assault Church Members In Northern India, Force Pastor Into Hiding

PERSECUTION: Four Churches Attacked In Nepal By Extremists