Tell State Legislators – Swastika is NOT a Hate Symbol!

Note: This is a general consent. Sign it once and every time, any state legislation comes up, we will use this petition and all signatures here and send it out.  

Hitler never used the word “Swastika”, and instead used the same symbol, calling it Hakenkreuz, for the past 70 years, the Swastika continues to remain a vilified and maligned symbol. This must be corrected. Instead of censoring the symbol, we must celebrate the positive  history of it.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) working with the VHPA and other Hindu organizations in Washington, DC has produced a brochure titled, “Understanding Swastika, Use and Abuse of a sacred symbol.”  The AJC brochure quotes, the following from Declaration of the Second Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit, held in February 2008, Jerusalem, “The Svastika is an ancient and greatly auspicious symbol of the Hindu tradition. It is inscribed on Hindu temples, ritual altars, entrances, and even account books. A distorted version of this sacred symbol was misappropriated by the Third Reich in Germany, and abused as an emblem under which heinous crimes were perpetrated against humanity, particularly the Jewish people. The participants recognize that this symbol is, and has been sacred to Hindus for millennia, long before its misappropriation.” 

To label the Swastika as a symbol of hate would be a grave insult to 1.8 billion Hindus and Buddhists around the world. It would be a grave insult to over five million Hindus in America and additional six million followers of Buddhist, Jain and Sikh followers who come from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, and contribute immensely to the community and economy. 

Today’s political climate demonstrates the importance of diversity and celebrating ones’ heritage. Maligning this ancient heritage would be a step backwards in promoting interfaith harmony and would lead to increase in hate crimes and Hinduphobia.  AHAD demands that the meaning and significance of Swastika be included in the educational curriculum so that the hate crimes against Hindus are not perpetuated.