Why a hyper-conservative Indian organization is praying to the Hindu gods for a Trump presidency

Hindu Sena, a far-Right nationalist organization based in New Delhi, is convinced that Donald Trump is humanity’s last chance at salvation from radical Islam. Now, it’s praying to the Hindu gods that Trump becomes the America’s next president.

The group recently gathered in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, the nearly 300-year-old astronomical observatory, armed with photos of the GOP frontrunner, a number of golden idols, and the ingredients necessary to light small, ritualistic fires as prayer to the gods.

“The whole world is screaming against Islamic terrorism, and even India is not safe from it,” Hindu Sena head Vishnu Gupta told the AP. “Only Donald Trump can save humanity.”

From Gupta’s perspective, it’s Trump’s bizarre promises to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. that ultimately won his organization’s support. Perhaps the more limits Trump could place onto Muslims in the U.S., the less terrorism abroad there would be? The logic doesn’t exactly make much sense, but that didn’t stop the members of Hindu Sena from anointing pictures of Trump with “tikkas” in the middle of his forehead and chanting spiritual mantras to Shiva and Hanuman.