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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Vandals attack Sikh temple in Cambridge

Written byGARETH MCPHERSON

24/06/13 CITY temple attacked24/06/13 Cambridge Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) vandalised overnight Sat / Sun. Window smashed . Picture by David Johnson .

A temple was attacked by vandals in Cambridge.

A window was smashed when stones were thrown at the Cambridge Gurdwara, a temple and community centre for the county’s 700-strong Sikh community.

Police are treating the attack, which happened in Arbury Court, Arbury Road, overnight on Saturday, as criminal damage and do not believe it was a hate crime.

But officers are “open-minded” about how the damage was caused and who did it.

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: “We received reports that a window had been damaged at the Gurdwara in Arbury Road, Cambridge, between 8pm on Saturday (June 22) and 6.15am yesterday.

“The matter is being treated as criminal damage.”

Dr Jagjit Singh Srai, a trustee of the temple, said he did not think it was a hate crime.

He added: “We do not know many details. We think it was some kids messing around. We know there were some children around there at the time. It’s one small window pane and we’ve contacted police.”

The Sikh temple is the first to be built in Cambridgeshire when it opened on the site of former pub The Grove at the beginning of the year.

Members at the centre, who discovered the broken window on Sunday morning, said it was the first time it had been attacked.

Nigel Gawthrope, who represents King’s Hedges on the city council and was at the opening in January, was upset when told of the attack.

He said: “It does seem like an act of wanton vandalism. If it was anything to with people like the EDL you would expect some sort of graffiti there too.”

Anyone who knows anything about the incident can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

gareth.mcpherson@cambridge-news.co.uk

with thanks : CAMBRIDGE NEWS : LINK

Sikh couple kicked out of theater due to religious item

EMERYVILLE, CA - A Sacramento man said he and his wife were asked to leave a movie theater because company policy considers his religious item a weapon.

Manjot Singh took his wife to see Man of Steel at an Emeryville AMC theater Saturday night. When he went to buy snacks, he said security guards watched him closely for several minutes.

Then, a manager approached him.

"He's like 'I understand you're carrying a weapon.' And you know I say, 'I have an article of faith, a religious symbol, it's not a weapon.' And he says, 'Yeah, I know all about Sikhs, but we have a zero-tolerance policy so I'm going to have to ask you to leave or relinquish your weapon,'" Singh described.

Singh said he was wearing his kirpan underneath his shirt, out of sight. A kirpan is a short cermonial dagger worn by baptized Sikhs and is one of five articles of faith worn by Sikhs.

An AMC spokesperson confirms the company asked Singh to leave because of the policy, but he said a security guard and the manager saw the kirpan unsheathed.

AMC released the following statement regarding the incident:

"Our 'no weapons' policy prohibits guests from carrying weapons of any kind into our theatres. This national policy is for the safety and security of our guests and staff. The person in question was approached when our security team noticed the guest was wearing an approximately 5-1/2 inch unsheathed knife, in clear violation of our rules. We stand by our policy, as this matter is about the weapon alone and not at all about religious freedoms. The safety and security of all our guests and associates is our duty and responsibility, and we take it very seriously."

AMC said the manager asked Singh to follow the policy, or leave. Singh maintained he was carrying a religious item, not a weapon.

"I was surprised, not only did our night get ruined, but it felt kind of really racist, the way we were treated and kind of kicked out," Singh said.

AMC gave Singh a refund, but he hopes the company will apologize and change the policy to allow religious items like a kirpan into their theaters.

with thanks : News10/KXTV : LINK : for VID & Pics too.