Watch | Church group protests against 90-foot Lord Hanuman statue in US, calls it 'demon god'

Houston, US

As many as 25 members of a local church protested against the newly unveiled 90-foot bronze statue of Hindu god, Lord Hanuman, at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, roughly 35 km from Houston.

The leader of the church, Greg Gervais, called Lord Hanuman a 'demon god' in one of the viral Facebook videos as his followers gathered near the statue, praying and proselytising until one temple leader threatened to call the police.

“Initially we thought the group was there to see the statue because they had read about it on the internet or something. So, nobody confronted them,” Dr Ranganath Kandala, joint secretary of the temple was quoted as saying by Houston Chronicle.

However, after a while, the group started praying and walking in a counterclockwise circle around the statue. Some of the protesters started approaching the temple visitors and insisted that Jesus was the only true god, according to Kandala. 

"May all the false gods burn to the ground," some of the protesters could be heard saying.

(Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of the below media)

“I told them, ‘our teachings say that worship your own, but respect all. I respect your God and you and I expect you to respect us,’" Kandala said.

"Some of the people who felt they were being intruded upon spoke back, saying ‘What do you know about our Bhagavad Gita and Vedas that you’re lecturing me?’ Fortunately, nothing bad happened.”

Gervais said his congregation had gone to the temple to pray peacefully but maintained that Jesus was the only true god. 

"We do believe that Jesus is the only way, and that (the statue) is what you would call representative of a false idol which has spiritual implications. But that doesn't mean we're not peaceable with everyone.”

Watch | Gravitas: Hindu temple vandalised again in Canada

Third tallest statue in the US

The Lord Hanuman sculpture, built at the cost of $8 million and called the "Statue of Union", is now the third tallest statue in the US, behind the Statue of Liberty, and the Pegasus and Dragon statue. It’s also the tallest Hanuman statue outside India. 

During the consecration ceremony, a helicopter showered flowers upon the statue. A large garland, around 72-foot-long, was also placed around Lord Hanuman’s neck as devotees chanted the name of Lord Ram and Hanuman.

(With inputs from agencies)