The "Buddha" has become persona non grata in Tehran after "he" became the latest target of stupid Iranian government fatwas. Iran has previously banned
Barbie and Ken and
Homer Simpson dolls for promoting that evil Western culture, so what's up with Buddha statues? They're not Western at all. It seems in
this case it's viewed as a "cultural invasion", at least so says Saeed Jaberu Ansari, an official with the protection of Iran's cultural heritage. Maybe someone should inform him that Buddhism isn't a culture, it's a religion, and even so, most people who buy Buddha statues do so because they are an exotic decorative item for home and garden (and in Iran, their cars), not because they are adherents of the religion. But since the only minority religions allowed in that country are Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism, as per
Article 13 of their Constitution, the Buddhists are out of luck.
So, in order to stop the spreading of Buddhism through the purchase of those insidious statues, Tehran police have been "cleansing" Iran by
confiscating Buddhas from stores located in the capital city.
According to one store owner who carries the mostly China-made statues:
“As I understand, none of customers cared about Buddhism, they only bought it for decoration,” said Reza Sanaei, a shopkeeper who sells the statues.
And a comment from a customer:
Marjan Arbabi, said she personally did not like the statues. “But my parents have set of five Buddah’s statues at their home simply because they think the statues are beautiful,” she said.
I wonder if they'll start raiding people's houses and cars?
No comments:
Post a Comment