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Chicago museum stops selling doll depicting Hindu god

CHICAGO (AP) - The Field Museum in Chicago has stopped gift shop sales of a doll depicting the Hindu god Lord Shiva after a Hindu group called those sales inappropriate.

Universal Society of Hinduism president Rajan Zed said Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, should be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not used as a toy.

Museum spokeswoman Jaclyn Johnston tells The Chicago Tribune that it works to ensure all religions are respectfully represented and removed the $22, 11 inch-tall plush doll from its shop.

Brooklyn-based company Unemployed Philosophers Guild makes the doll as part of its "Little Thinkers" series that includes dolls of Albert Einstein and Socrates. Company co-owner Stephan Shaw says his wife is Hindu and that Hindu deities are depicted on many items in India.

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

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