Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Minority Hindus staged a rare protest Thursday to condemn the demolition of temples by authorities - a racially loaded charge in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
About 50 protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside the headquarters of Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and threatened to file a civil suit against the government and local councils if the destruction of Hindu temples doesn't stop.
Waving banners that read "Demolishing temples is criminal," the protesters chanted prayers to the Hindu god of destruction, Shiva, and smashed a coconut as a prayer offering.
The activists said hundreds of Hindu houses of worship have been destroyed in the past 15 years across the country, blaming a growing "Islamization" of Malaysia.
At least seven temples have been torn down, partly destroyed, served demolition notices or torched since late February in various parts of the country, they said.
"We are not asking for a club to play billiards. We are not asking for a prostitution center," said P. Uthayakumar, the group's lawyer. "We are asking for our temples to pray."
Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Kamal Pasha Jamal and City Hall officials refused to comment on the demonstration. City Hall has torn down a few temples in the past on the grounds that they were built illegally on public land.
The activists - gathered in a coalition calling itself the Hindu Rights Action Force - were turned away by City Hall police officers who refused to accept a petition denouncing the temple destruction. Such allegations relating to religion are highly unusual and bold in Malaysia, which takes pride in its racial harmony and discourages overt racial disagreements.
About 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people are Malay Muslims. Chinese, most of them Buddhist or Christian, represent about 25 percent of the population and ethnic Indians – mostly Hindus - make up 10 percent.
All citizens have the constitutional right to practice their faith, but minorities have complained in recent years that their rights are being eroded.