An interfaith coalition is pressing the world's largest brewer to remove the name of a Hindu god from a popular beer that dates to the late 1800s — a dispute the beermaker insists is a case of mistaken identity.
The group, which includes representatives of the Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Jain religions, is calling on
Brahma was first produced in 1888 by
“It is the right time to fix an old wrong — the trivializing of the faith of our Hindu brothers and sisters for about 132 years," coalition spokesperson
Lord Brahma, the god of creation in Hinduism, is a highly revered figure who should be worshiped in temples or home shrines, “not misused as a ‘toasting tool,’” Zed said.
He said the coalition also objects to what it calls “raunchy” marketing of the brand by using the image of a scantily clad woman to promote the beers.
“Anheuser-Busch InBev should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege and ridiculing entire communities,” the coalition said in a statement, calling on the company to "prove that it cares about communities by renaming its Brahma beer.”
But
“We deeply respect all religions, faiths and their histories,” Rossi said in a telephone interview. Hindus are a tiny minority in
The name offends regardless of its origins, Zed said.
“The stated history behind the name does not reduce the pain of the Hindu devotees when they see their creator god on alcohol cans,” he said.
Zed, who is based in
Last month, the interfaith coalition launched a separate campaign aimed at pressuring
© 2020 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source