Washington: United President Barack Obama has generated controversy by saying that Mahatma Gandhi would been shocked to see the religious intolerance in India.
President Obama had invoked the example of India to make a plea for religious intolerance.
In his 25-minute address to the National Prayer Breakfast, Obama explained how religious intolerance effects not only India, but also Pakistan and Paris.
He said, “But it was also a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs. These would have deeply affected Gandhiji who was the one behind India’s liberation.”
He told the meeting attended by international leaders like Dalai Lama, “So this is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith.”
Obama said, “We see faith driving us to do right. But we also see faith being twisted and distorted, used as a wedge – or, worse, sometimes used as a weapon.”
He said, “From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it.”
Bureau Report
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