The co-owner of a Crozet statuary company has vowed to continue selling religious figures despite threats from abroad.
The company attracted attention last week when two Hindu groups, Nevada’s Universal Society of Hinduism and New Jersey’s Forum for Hindu Awakening, condemned it for selling certain statues of Hindu deities.
Bhavna Shinde, of the Forum for Hindu Awakening, cited as an example a statue of the god Shiva sitting cross-legged with a nude woman in his lap, facing him.
Since then, the company has received about two dozen unhappy e-mails, said Liana Kowalzik, who owns the company, Sacred Source, with her husband. About half of those were threats, she said.
“How hard you pray and how hard you try, you shall not escape, the days are coming, when each part of your body starts decomposing while you are alive,” one angry person wrote.
Wrote another, “I want to kill you at least cut your tongue for doing this. Regards.”
Kowalzik said she won’t be swayed by the violent messages.
“Who are they going to threaten with death next if I cave?” she asked.
People have offered resounding support on the company’s Facebook pages, she said. She said the statues are made in India, by Indians.
Because many of the threats appear to originate from foreign countries, including India and Dubai, the FBI has been notified, she said.
Albemarle County police Lt. Shawn Schwertfeger confirmed that local police have also been alerted and have increased patrols in response.
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