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CoHNA slams interfaith tour on ‘weaponization of Hinduism’
CoHNA argued that the program could heighten tensions at a time when, it said, anti-Hindu incidents are already rising.
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Staff Reporter - Sat, 15, Nov 2025
- 15:22 EST
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CoHNA logo. / CoHNA website
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) has condemned a planned interfaith tour that organizers say will examine “the weaponization of Hinduism” in Northern California and India.
The event titled “The Weaponization of Hinduism in Northern California and India and the Relationships to Global Religious Nationalisms: An Interfaith Conversation and Response”—is scheduled for Nov. 20 to 23 and is being promoted by the New York State Council of Churches, its Task Force on Religious Nationalisms, and the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).
Also Read: Mississauga City Council passes resolution against Hinduphobia
In a statement posted on X, CoHNA criticized the collaboration, alleging that the organizers were “teaming up… to target Hindus.”
The group said, “We truly live in a surreal world where entitled non-Hindu activists feel empowered to pontificate to practicing Hindus on what their faith should and should not be. And all under a supposed interfaith banner?”
CoHNA argued that the program could heighten tensions at a time when, it said, anti-Hindu incidents are already rising.
The "New York State Council of Churches" teams up with IAMC to target… Hindus. We truly live in a surreal world where entitled non-Hindu activists feel empowered to pontificate to practicing Hindus on what their faith should and should not be. And all under a supposed… pic.twitter.com/MSNoyQXF2h
— CoHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) (@CoHNAOfficial) November 14, 2025
According to the organization, California’s 2025 data shows anti-Hindu hate increasing for four consecutive years, while the state’s 2024 Civil Rights Department report “showed anti-Hindu hate in California was second only to antisemitism.”
The group said this was “before the horrific explosion of online and real-life hate” faced by Hindu and Indian Americans over the past year, warning that “Hindu haters” were “flocking together to create more violence and hate against a vulnerable community.”
The organization also criticized what it called “privileged academics and media” for downplaying or ignoring reports of Hinduphobia. It tagged several major U.S. news outlets, urging them to “stop the hate.”
The organizers of the tour have not yet publicly responded to the criticism. Promotional material indicates that the program will feature panels and discussions on religious nationalism and its global intersections, presented as an interfaith response.
The New York State Council of Churches’ Task Force on Religious Nationalisms has previously organized events examining Christian nationalism and other forms of religious-political mobilization.
IAMC, a co-sponsor of the tour, describes its work as centered on civil rights, religious freedom, and what it terms “Hindu supremacist ideology.”
Hindu-American groups argue that such discussions often conflate Hindu religious identity with political ideology, overlooking incidents of anti-Hindu bias and leaving the community vulnerable to stereotyping.
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