Saturday, August 18, 2012

Sikhs need to clarify identity confusion


In the aftermath of the Sikh Gurdwara of Wisconsin massacre, major media outlets have done a fine job of explaining who Sikhs are, where and when their religion was born and what their five symbols mean.
This attempt has gone over well with the community in the U.S. Even here in Toronto at the August 11 candlelight vigil at Nathan Phillips Square, Sikh leaders could be heard showering praise on some in the media.
But since the media were telling people, some more subtly than others, that Sikhs are not Muslims, they were entering a sensitive territory where they could be seen to be sending a sinister message against the Muslims.
Where the media have failed, is in telling what is at the root of the problem and why Sikhs have been confused with Muslims since 9/11.
The root cause is the turban or headgear. In Islam, only mosque-bound preachers or mullahs or radical leaders wear the turban or headgear. Osama bin Laden wore one. American-born al-Qaida preacher Anwar al-Awlaki wore one. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama’s successor, wears one. Taliban leader Mullah Omar wears one. Ayatollah Khomeini, too, wore one.
The common Muslim man never wears a turban in daily life. But every common Sikh with uncut hair always wears the turban.
What goes through the mind of a racist such as Wisconsin gunman Wade Michael Page when he sees people with turbans?
He thinks: “Hey, these guys look like Osama bin Laden in their turbans, so they must be his people and thus targeted.”

with thanks : Torontosun : LINK : for detailed news story. MUST READ.

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