Idols and Icons: The Misrepresentation of Hinduism in the Press

Excerpts from “Idols and Icons” by David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri; emphasis mine).

..All the religions of the world – with the general exception of Protestant Christians, Muslims and Jews – use some sort of images or statues in their religious worship. Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches abound with statues, paintings and pictures of various types.

Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto groups use them as well. …The use of images appear as an integral part of human religious practices and no universal religion could be regarded as complete without them. Even many Protestant Christians have pictures of Jesus in their house or church, and Muslims often have pictures of their religious or political leaders, occasionally even depictions of Mohammed.

Idols or Icons?

However, there is a strange dichotomy in how such religious imagesare judged. When they are part of the Christian tradition they are called icons and classified as works of art and regarded as sacred in nature.

When they are part of non-Christian or pagan traditions they are called “idols,” which is a derogatory term that indicates not the sacred but mere superstition. In the case of native American and African images, even when done by a culture as advanced as the Mayas of Central America – which built great pyramids and had many great cities – they are lumped along with so-called primitive art.

An image of Christ as the good shepherd is called an icon and viewed with respect. An image of Krishna as the good cow herder – which is a similar image of the Divine as watching over the souls of men – is called an idol, which encourages one to look down on it. This is prejudice and negative stereotyping in language of the worst order.
….

To call such images as idols implies that those who worship them practice idolatry or take the image itself as a God. This adds yet more prejudice and error to this judgement. The use of an image – whether we call it an icon or an idol – does not imply belief in the reality of the image. That we keep a photograph of our wife and children at our work desk does not mean that we think our wife and children are the photograph. It is a reminder, not a false reality.

Moreover, the use of the term idol inflames the sentiments of anti-idolatry religions like Christianity and Islam, as both the Bible and the Koran, at least in places, instruct their followers to oppose idolaters and smash their temples and images.

The use of the term idol in the press, particularly in the Indian press, is thus careless, insensitive, inflammatory, and communal. It should be removed in an effort to promote greater understanding and good will between religious groups.

The use of such terms indicates that the news media of India uncritically and unnecessarily uses terms that encourage anti-Hindu attitudes. It is a hold over from the British rule in the intellectual sphere, even though the British have long left the country. What majority community in the world is so unaware of its new media to allow such practices to continue? Yet this issue only reflects many other rejudicial terms like Hindu chauvinism, Hindu fundamentalism, and Hindu militancy which the often anti-Hindu Indian news media frequently uses, while at the same time not using them in regard to Islam and Christianity, even when they are much more appropriate relative to the exclusivistic attitudes and greater intolerance of these belief-oriented religions.

Using such terms as idols, the news media is not fostering communication but promoting discrimination and violence. Such abuse of language should be challenged and replaced wherever it is found, whether relative to Hindus or anyone else.

[Above article was given to Hindu Students Council (An International Forum To Provide opportinity to learn Hindu Heritage) for publicity]

Read the article in full here or here

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Related: Word as Weapon by Dr Frank Morales on Sanatan Dharma, Idols, Icons, Murti, Myths, Sacred

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7 Responses

  1. संदीप नारायण शेळके says:

    “the news media is not fostering communication but promoting discrimination and violence”
    I think that is their sole motive. They (Secular Media) have always tried to set plot against Hindus, the natives because Media is run mostly by Christians or Muslims so called secular forces. Neither Bharatiya Government nor Media has ever genuinely attempted to understand Hindu Dharma (the only dharma, rest are faiths/religions).
    So the results are clear; Hinduism is more maligned in the eye of commoner than any other sin. There haven’t been a single sincere attempt to understand what is underneath there that is being so vehemently opposed and alleged.

    Jai Hind!

  2. Arjun says:

    “They (Secular Media) have always tried to set plot against Hindus, the natives because Media is run mostly by Christians or Muslims”

    Well there’s no doubt that the Indian media is usually against Hindus but is it really run mostly by christians and Muslims ? I’ve known many journalists in the Indian media and to my experience most of them have pro Hindu sentiments but they did point out that the editors and chief journalists are usually from communist backgrounds or the usual colonial leftovers from the british Raj..But another thing some journalists have pointed out is that Hindu leaders and spokespeople do come across totally inarticulate and can sound like a bunch of extremists which the media then reports..

  3. संदीप नारायण शेळके says:

    *** COMMENT EDITED ***

    “Well there’s no doubt that the Indian media is usually against Hindus but is it really run mostly by christians and Muslims ?”

    Communists and Socialists are Hindu haters that is well known. Congress is the party flourished because of initial strong Hindu leaders and now its the biggest enemy of Hindus. Second CPM and other communist parties are sworn haters of Hindus and Hindutva(Bharatiyatva).

    Congress born under the able leadership of Lokmanya Tilak and flourished under Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and others. But after Nehru took over the reigns of Congress it turned into a Hindu basher party…[read this to know it better]

    “P.S.: I don’t have the evidence to prove my claim of media being run by Muslims/Christians, so reserve my words till theproof is gathered or will reverse my words.”

    Jai Hind!

    *** NOTE by MODERATOR ***

    Pl. be careful while making allegations. Unsubstantiated statements are not helpful.

  4. Arjun says:

    संदीप नारायण ,

    I already know about post independence Nehruian India and its communist developed anti Hindu policies which has created a confused Indian identity by divorcing it from its Hindu roots…The truth is most India educated Indians are victims of a colonial education system left over by the british and then further perfected by communists to turn Indians into what they are now. So it doesn’t surprise me when they Hindu bash Hindus in the Indian media ..

    .I was watching a programme last night about fresh immigrants coming into the UK and becoming traffic wardens and the abuse they face by the locals One guy called Durga from Nepal nearly had mental breakdown when he realized that what he had been educated about the English in School in Nepal turned out to be totally false after the abuse he faced on the street. He realized this is not the country where everyone is quoting from Shakespeare or where the well mannered Englishmen lay their coats on a puddle so a woman can walk over without getting her feet wet like he was brought up to believe but a country of football hooligans and drunkards and other chav culture .He said himself that the books in his country need to be changed to tell the truth about the West..So if the greatness of the British is still being taught in Indian or Nepali schools even in 2009 then it’s not surprising that Indians have a slave mentality and then they look down on Hinduism

    But coming back to my main point about the allegations like christians and muslims are running the media ( which I hear from many other hindus as well) then we need to have hard facts to back it up or it can make us look like a bunch of conspiracy theorists. Which can do more harm for the Hindu cause than any good.

  5. संदीप नारायण शेळके says:

    Arjun,
    I realised that after I submitted the statement. I’m looking for the substance for backing the allegation.
    “He said himself that the books in his country need to be changed to tell the truth about the West”
    Thats really very true, because I’ve heard of conversations like “British have given us technology and education, without them we would have been nowhere”
    This is something need to be changed on priority so that the next generation at least can have fair and true history to learn.
    Some of my friends staying in UK say that you can not roam alone there as the threat of harassment and physical assault is much more in UK than Bihar for non-whites.
    I don’t know the truth as I’ve never been to UK for any reason.

    Thats apart,
    But the situation is dire here in Bharat where the media makes a non-issue an issue and suppresses the facts. Like the recent news about the involvement of Sanatan Sanstha in Madgaon, Goa blast. But when the some of the top police official from Panji, Goa said that Hindu group is not involved in blast. But after this clarification the take did not make rounds of debates and telecast of the innocence of Hindu group. This is another case of bias.

    Jai Hind!

  6. B Shantanu says:

    Someday I hope mainstream media adopts a policy around the use of the word “idol” vs. “icon”: In UP village, unbroken faith in broken idols by Faiz Rahman Siddiqui, TNN | Apr 11, 2015

  7. B Shantanu says:

    In this context, also read, “Word as Weapon” by Dr Frank Morales on Sanatan Dharma, Idols, Icons and Murtis and “Myths” vs. Sacred Stories or Sacred Texts etc.