Michelle Obama Visting Sikh Shooting Victims' Families

 

OAK CREEK, Wis. — Mandeep Singh Khattra and his family received Michelle Obama with an embrace Thursday as the first lady consoled relatives of worshippers gunned down earlier this month at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.

 

"She gave us a hug and said, `I'm sorry for what happened,'" said Khattra, 26, whose grandfather, Suveg Singh Khattra, was one of six people killed Aug. 5. "She asked what kind of person he was, and my dad told her he was always good-natured, always at the temple."

Obama spent nearly 90 minutes visiting with the Khattras and other families of Sikh worshippers who were killed or injured in the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. She expressed her sympathies, offered support and listened to many stories about victims.

Relatives of the victims said afterward that Obama asked informed questions that showed she had read up on the plight of those killed and injured.

She especially seemed to know the story of Satwant Singh Kaleka, the temple president who tried to stab the gunman with a butter knife in an effort to stall him so women and children in the temple would have time to hide.

"The thing she kept repeating was, `Your father was a true hero,'" said Amardeep Kaleka.

The visits with worshippers were private, and she took no questions during a public appearance with the Oak Creek mayor and a temple official at a nearby high school. She offered sympathies to them in hushed tones, then went into a classroom for private visits with each of the families.

Six Sikhs were killed and three others injured when a gunman with ties to a white supremacist group strode opened fire at the temple. The gunman also shot Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy nine times at close range before killing himself.

Murphy was released from the hospital Wednesday. As a sign of their deep gratitude, temple members gave his family a $10,000 check along with a large banner signed by well-wishers, said Inderjeet Singh Dhillon, a temple official.

with thanks : Huffington Post : LINK for detailed news.

Sikh man beaten up in US, arrested for keeping Kirpan

Washington: An elderly Sikh man, in his early 70s, was allegedly beaten up by his neighbour in New Jersey following an altercation and was later arrested by the police because of keeping 'Kirpan', a Sikh article of faith.

The incident happened on July 26, nearly 10 days before the shooting at Oak Creek Gurdwara in Wisconsin, United Sikhs, a Sikh advocacy group said yesterday.

Giving details of the incident, the group said that Avtar Singh, a gas station owner and one of the founding members of Glen Rock Gurdwara in New Jersey, went to his neighbouring shop owned by Edward Koscovski to request him to move his truck that was parked and blocking the entrance of his gas station.

The request turned into an altercation in which Avtar Singh was brutally assaulted, it said.

"I kept on yelling that please let me go but nothing moved Edward from hitting me. When I turned around using all my strength, Edward smashed my face, broke my teeth and kept punching me in the stomach. He grabbed my Kirpan and threw it at his attendant."

"The attendant removed the Kirpan from the mian (cover) and hid the mian (cover) in a room inside. He also snatched my phone and put it out of sight," Avtar Singh said.

Upon arrival at the scene, the police arrested the 72-year-old Avtar Singh and charged him with possession of a weapon (Kirpan), United Sikhs said.

 

 

with thanks : NDTV : LINK for detailed news.

Confronting religion: Sikh prohibited from carrying kirpans at airport

By Riaz Ahmad

Published: August 24, 2012

" In my 30 years of service, carrying a kirpan has always been strictly prohibited," ASF official Mian Safdar. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID

PESHAWAR: Sikhs have been prohibited from entering the Peshawar airport while carrying their religious symbol kirpan (a small dagger).

The kirpan is one of the five kakar that are considered a religious necessity for all practising Khalisa Sikhs. Carrying a kirpan, kara (iron bracelet), kanga (Comb), kachera (underwear) and kesh (hair) is considered an essential part of their faith.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Sahib Singh, a representative of the Sikh community and a former member of the district assembly, said that the people of his community had not been allowed to enter the Bacha Khan International Airport with a kirpan.

“If you abandon any one of the five kakar, it means that you are not a member of the Khalisa religion formed by Guru Goband Singh,” explained Dr Singh. He said that people in Punjab understand this rule and do not face any problems at the Lahore airport, where thousands of yatris from across the world are received every year.

Dr Singh further said that as per the 1971 constitution, the Sikh community had been allowed to carry a kirpan of up to three feet.  However, Sikhs in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa carry only small kirpans, of three to six inches in length. “The constitution of this country gives us the right to carry our religious symbol and there is no evidence that we have harmed anyone with it. It is just a symbol of bravery as our Guru also carried a kirpan with him.”

Another member of the community, Ajeet Singh, said that Sikhs cannot just abandon their religion over security measures. He said that they too are citizens of Pakistan and it is the duty of the provincial government to solve the problem.

A representative of the Hindu community, Haroon Sarb Dyal, told The Express Tribune that a number of meetings with government officials had been held but no progress has been made on the issue. Dyal said that the constitution of Pakistan gives minorities the right to live in accordance with their religious teachings and that the government should resolve the problem.

Civil Aviation Authority Public Relations Officer Pervez George said that even personnel of law enforcement agencies are not allowed to bring arms or anything that poses threat inside the airport.

Mian Safdar, assistant director of the Airport Security Force at the Bacha Khan International Airport said that carrying a kirpan in hand luggage is banned all over the country.“In my 30 years of service, carrying a kirpan has always been strictly prohibited.”  He added, however, that kirpans are allowed in
luggage that is checked in.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2012. LINK

More join Shiromani Akali Dal ( Delhi )

Ajay Devgn’s ‘Son of Sardaar’ offends Sikhs!

 

The film runs into legal trouble for portraying Sikhs in poor light

A Chandigarh-based lawyer has served a legal notice against the makers of Son of Sardaar. The film starring Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt has run into trouble for its objectionable content.



On hearing this news we reviewed the promo of the film and thought that though the trailer looked slick and funny, certain phrases were used bluntly. Sample this:

Agar duniya mein Ssardar nahi hote toh kya hota? (What would have happened to the world without Sardars?) Sardar na hote to joke kispe banate? (If Sardars did not exist, what would jokes be made about?) Haramzyada isme pyar hain zyada, teri ma di, teri pen di yeh duniya ko humne sikhayi (We Sardars taught the world these abuses).

After hearing this kind of thing in the two-minute-long promo of the film we wonder, how many more such lines will there be in the film itself? In a desperate attempt to glorify the Sikh community and to poke some fun at Sardars, the dialogue/script writer of this movie has gone overboard. While stereotyping is pretty common in Bollywood films, where people are often clubbed under one common umbrella and jokes are cracked about them, it should be take taken into consideration that the filmmakers should not cross limits and hurt sentiments, religious, ethnic or otherwise.

Clearly in this case Ajay Devgn, who is the producer of the film (he’s also the lead actor and the voice behind the questionable promo), can’t run away from his responsibility of cross checking content.

We also hear that Devgn has been given seven days to respond to the notice and make the necessary alterations in the dialogue, post which legal action will be taken against Devgn and people involved in the execution of this film.

with thanks : bollywoodlife : LINK

Standing ovation, deafening cheers for Sikh community at Milwaukee rally

Oak Creek shooting :

MILWAUKEE- A huge show of support Monday night on Milwaukee's south side for the Sikh community, more than two weeks after the temple massacre.

TODAY'S TMJ4's Annie Scholz reports that a standing ovation and deafening cheers were heard as members of the Sikh temple arrived at a community event in their honor.

"It's pretty amazing," said Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, whose uncle was killed in the August 5 massacre.

People of all backgrounds, races, and religions packed the Faith Builders International Ministries on the south side to listen to speakers and performers, including singer Danny Gokey.

"Yeah, it's very impressive," said supporter Matt Knilans.

But the message from each and every person in the room, was the same.

"We are all human, their God is one," said Oak Creek Sikh temple secretary Inderjeet Singh Dhillon.  "There's only just a different name."

"No matter what the race, no matter what the religion, we're all here together on this earth, and we need to support each other," said Jean Whitstone.

And even though it's been two weeks since the massacre, the hope is that the support won't stop anytime soon.

 

"The local community has shown a tremendous amount of love.  We just hope that it grows from here.  This is a starting point for growth all over the world," said Kaleka.

Reverend Jesse Jackson was supposed to attend, but had a scheduling conflict.

Members of the Sikh community said they were grateful for everyone who made it out Monday night.

with thanks : todaystmj4 : LINK

Gurmat Samagam : Pics

Gurmat Samagam : Delhiites must attend !

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.

US has much to learn from Sikhs: Harvard professor Diana Eck

NEW YORK: As the Sikh community in the US makes efforts to recover from the tragedy of the Gurudwara shooting, a Harvard professor has said Sikhs have emerged as a role model for Americans who can learn from the dignity and generosity the community.

"Most Americans still know little of the Sikh Americans whose history in the United States, dating to the early 20th century, is now firmly part of our common history."

"While we catch up on our basic education, however, it is important to know that Sikhs share three distinctly and deeply American values -- the importance of hard work, a commitment to human equality, and the practice of neighbourly hospitality," Harvard University professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Diana Eck said in an editorial in the Dallas Morning News.

Eck said if the gunman Michael Wade Page had been simply a neighbour or a local visitor, he would have been warmly welcomed by the community and served food in the gurudwara.

The assailant would have "discovered a religious community so confident and expansive in its hospitality that it would embrace a complete stranger".

In the face of immense tragedy after the shooting, Sikhs still offered the food they had prepared to the hundreds of emergency workers, police officers and staff who surrounded the temple.

"The dignity and generosity of the Sikh community in the wake of this violence remind us just how much we have to learn from these neighbors," Eck added.

Eck said no other religious community demonstrates the meaning of hospitality as abundantly as the Sikhs, noting that the huge, "industrial-size kitchens" in gurudwaras prepare food for community members and strangers alike.

"This hospitality is not just a gesture; it is foundational to the Sikh faith. Eating together is what knits the Sikh community together and breaks down the barriers that divide the wider human community," Eck said adding that eating together symboliSes a Sikh's personal rejection of discrimination and prejudice. 

with thanks : ECONOMIC TIMES : LINK : for detailed news.

Teen arrested for killing Sikh in Wisconsin

Washington: A 16-year-old high school student has been arrested on charges of killing an elderly Sikh in Milwaukee, where only days back a shootout at a Gurdwara had left six worshippers dead.

Identified as Deangelo Williams, the suspect has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide-party to a crime and possession of a firearm by a felon.

If convicted he could be sentenced up to 70 years in prison.

A high school student, Williams made a court appearance late Friday afternoon. The judge set bail at USD 250,000.

The suspect is scheduled to be back in the court on Monday, a local television station reported. 

The deceased Dalbir Singh, 56, assisted his nephew Jatinder Singh in running a grocery store in the city. 

The incident happened on Wednesday night when some unidentified men entered the shop and put a gun to Jatinder Singh head.

with thanks : ZEE NEWS : LINK : for detailed news.