KEY POINTS
- Three separate blasts ripped through a gathering of Jehovah’s Witnesses last Sunday
- A 12-year-old girl and two adults were killed and about 50 others were injured in the incident
- The suspect claimed he targeted the group because he felt their beliefs were “anti-national”
As police in India’s Kerala continue to investigate a series of explosions that killed a child and two adults at a gathering of around 2,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses last Sunday, members of the sect say they are still recovering from the incident that left everybody “in shock.”
Three separate blasts ripped through the prayer hall in the southern state of Kerala on what was the final day of a 3-day event of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“Because of this bomb blast, everybody is in shock. I know friends who were sitting just four rows behind where the blast took place. They are shaking,” Joshua David, the national spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses of India, told International Business Times.
Soon after the attack, while scores of people were receiving treatment for injuries, a man, identified as Dominic Martin, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the blasts. He confessed to having planted the explosives at the venue and claimed he targeted the group because he felt their beliefs were “anti-national.”
“I had been a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the last 16 years. I realized that their stand is anti-national and wanted them to rectify it. But they were not ready for it. I could understand this is a wrong ideology,” the man said in the video. “They inject poison into the brains of children that they should not take even a sweet from others.”
Martin later surrendered to the police.
“We understand that the police are still investigating his claim. The alleged perpetrator, whatever he says, is completely offensive to us. He has had no association with Jehovah’s Witnesses for many years,” David said.
“His comments are false and misleading, and deeply offensive to Jehovah’s Witnesses,” he told IBT. “If you know Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are the most peaceful. They are known to foster love and find works within the community.”
When asked whether Martin had any association with the group in the past or had previously attended their meetings, David said he was not aware of it.
While taking full responsibility for the bomb blasts, Martin, in the social media video, said Jehovah’s Witnesses teach its members that the world would perish and they will continue to live.
“Nothing wrong with having a belief. But what they teach is that everyone in this world will perish, and they will continue to live … Living in this country, they demean the entire people here by calling them prostitutes and doomed. They ask their men not to join hands with others and don’t eat food with them. I realized this was a wrong ideology,” Martin claimed.
David said those claims were “false and misleading” and that the bomb blasts were the outcome of misinformation.
“Those are false and misleading. Absolutely false and misleading. We respect everyone. Everybody has a right to profess whatever they want to believe. We are sorry that he does not agree with the practices and the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But there are so many people who don’t agree with Jehovah’s Witnesses,” David noted.
“That doesn’t give anyone the reason to engage in such a ghastly attack. We don’t agree with people’s beliefs. We are happy with that. Each one has the right to believe what they want to and to also disagree. We are sorry that he does not agree with our beliefs right now,” he added.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, on their website, say the members have been victims of mob attacks and other acts of religious intolerance in India.
“Jehovah’s Witnesses have been the target of over 150 violent mob attacks since 2002,” the website reads.
David says the group has largely been able to peacefully practice their faith in India with the exception of a few isolated incidents.
“We are an international, multi-ethnic community. We come from all backgrounds and segments of society,” he said.
According to David, there are about 8.5 million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide and they have a 57,000-member strong community in India.
“We haven’t had much of a problem in India. We respect the government for allowing us the freedom of worship,” David said. “We are happy. We have had the freedom to worship, to have places of worship, to have these larger conventions. If we had problems, we probably wouldn’t have had all these.”
This year alone, the group conducted about 74 conventions in different corners of India.
“We’ve had all the freedom of religion in India. Yes, there have been isolated cases of misinformation,” David added. ” … People don’t know us. Probably they have been misinformed about us. That is why sometimes when we go out in the house-to-house ministry, people feel differently about us [wondering] why we have come.”
“If we could tell people out there, whenever Jehovah’s Witnesses come to your door, sit down with them, have a chat and get to know what they want to say,” he said. “You don’t have to agree with them. We agree to disagree because everybody has a right, a personal choice to make.”
David thanked authorities for the support provided to the victims and said the group is cooperating with police on the bomb blast investigation. “This unfortunate incident has happened. We are sad about it and we are trying our best to keep our composure, to keep our peace and continue to help our people in India.”
