Sikh vigil gathers neighbours of many faiths

 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- A circle of more than 120 visitors and members of Huntsville Sikh community sat together in prayer Friday evening in a demonstration of unity in the face of the violence of Sunday’s shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

“I look out, and I see all religions, all races here,” said Huntsville police Capt. Tommy Presley Jr. “This is our America. I know some people don’t see it that way, but this is the real America.”

The gunman in Sunday’s attack, which killed six people and wounded four others, including a police officer, was a member of white supremacist organizations.

Dr. Daniel Crosby, a psychologist who said he became friends in high school with a teenage member of the congregation because, as a Mormon and a Sikh, they both faced misunderstanding of their faiths, also spoke. 

There was a good reason for people in Huntsville to gather, he said, even though they are more than 600 miles from where the attack happened.

“Violence against one faith group is violence against the bodies of all faith groups everywhere,” Crosby said, speaking with a voice strained with emotion. “Doing harm to any of God’s children is doing harm to all of God’s children.”

The tragedy that had brought so many visitors to the temple and prompted many to learn about Sikhs should lead to action, Crosby said. 

“Moments like this vigil are bought at an expensive price,” Crosby said. “The least we can do is to determine how we will become part of a brighter tomorrow.”

Rajinder Singh Mehta, one of the congregational leaders, thanked visitors for their support of the Sikh community. 

“We are refusing to accept that human beings are malicious and hateful,” Mehta said. “We are rejecting the notion that we need to live in fear.”

with thanks : AL : LINK : for detailed news.

Thousands Gather to Mourn Six Dead in Shooting at Temple

 

OAK CREEK, Wis. — One by one, six coffins were rolled into a high school gymnasium here Friday and were surrounded by Sikh men and women singing traditional Punjabi hymns. As they sang, thousands of people from around the world streamed into the gym to mourn the six worshipers who were shot and killed on Sunday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin here.

The deaths have rocked the town and reverberated throughout the global Sikh community, leading neighbors to skip work and visitors from as far as India to converge at Oak Creek High School for a group memorial service and wake. 

“These bullets have hit their hearts,” said Rajwant Singh, chairman of Sikh Council on Religion and Education, who traveled from Washington. “It has become a big family gathering. It is really a shaking moment hitting the core of the community.” 

During the visitation, families of the victims stood next to the bodies of their loved ones. Wooden coffins, draped with white cloth, were lined up under the basketball nets. Behind each coffin was a portrait of the victim and flowers.

A line of visitors stretched out the door and into the parking lot. 

Though the gym was packed, with bleachers overflowing, the room was completely still as the victims’ names were read over a loudspeaker: Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; Prakash Singh, 39; Paramjit Kaur, 41; Suveg Singh, 84; and the temple’s president, Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65. 

People of a range of races and faiths wore colored head scarves out of respect for the Sikh religion. Some were red-eyed from crying. Others clutched rosary beads. It was the most recent example of the outpouring of support from a community that has held vigils, sent comforting e-mails, and helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the victims’ families over the past week.

“I don’t see how we can forget this,” said Barbara Henschel, 41, of who lives in nearby Milwaukee and took time off work to attend the service. “There’s a lot of healing that will have to begin.” 

Representatives of the victims’ families, Sikh religious leaders and government officials spoke during the memorial service, among them Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. 

“No matter what country your ancestors came from, no matter where you worship, no matter what your background, as Americans, we are one,” said Mr. Walker. “When you attack one of us, you attack all of us.” 

with thanks : NYTimes : LINK : for detailed news.

Sikh rams car into boards outside U.S. Embassy

The person disclosed that he lost his cool after he read about the shooting incident in Wisconsin and had gone to the Embassy to register his protest.

Enraged over the shooting incident at a gurdwara at Wisconsin in the US in which six members of the Sikh community were gunned down and dozens injured by a U.S. Army veteran this past Sunday, a young Sikh allegedly rammed his car into some signboards outside the U.S. Embassy in the high-security Chanakyapuri area of New Delhi on Wednesday. He was let off after he tendered a written apology for his conduct. 

An alert was sounded at the U.S. Embassy around 8 p.m. and the Delhi Police immediately summoned after security guards deployed near the rear portion of the Embassy premises on Nyay Marg noticed a man in a Wagon-R car ramming some signage boards put up outside the visa section. The man also allegedly entered into an altercation with a security guard.

The suspect was overpowered and handed over to the police. A senior security officer at the Embassy said the person had created a ruckus earlier too as he had been denied visa on two-three occasions. However, according to a police source, the person disclosed that he lost his cool after he read about the shooting incident in Wisconsin and had gone to the Embassy to register his protest.

“He was identified as a resident of Tilak Nagar, following which we contacted his family. We counselled him and informed him that the U.S. authorities had expressed regret over the killings and that the American flag at the Embassy was also kept at half-mast as a symbol of mourning,” said an officer. Having verified his antecedents, the police contacted the U.S. Embassy officials to ascertain if they wanted to pursue the matter. “They sought a written apology from him,” said the officer, adding that the person was let off after he apologised in writing.

with thanks : The Hindu : LINK : for detailed news.

Lawsuit filed in US against Punjab CM Badal

 

On a visit here to commiserate with the Sikhs after the Gurdwara shooting, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has been hit with a federal lawsuit by a US-based human rights group alleging the 'torture' of Sikhs in the state. 

The lawsuit contends that Badal had command and control of law enforcement officials, who "inflicted cruel and inhumane treatment and extrajudicial death" on three named plaintiffs and thousands of other unnamed members of a requested class of plaintiffs, the Journal Sentinel newspaper here said. 

Badal is visiting Milwaukee for a wedding and to attend the funerals of victims in Sunday's Gurdwara shooting in which six Sikhs were killed. 

The 30-page complaint was filed in US District Court in Milwaukee by Avtar Singh of New York, who lists himself as coordinator of 'Sikhs for Justice.' The daily said Badal declined to comment about the suit, saying he hadn't seen it. 

with thanks : Deccan Chronical : LINK : for detailed news.

'Why are these s****** in India burning the US flag?'

Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC

Dr Rajwant Singh, a high-profile Sikh American community leader, has blasted protestors in New Delhi who have taken to burning the American flag and shouting anti-US slogans outside the US embassy, calling it totally counterproductive to the perception of Sikh Americans. 

Singh has been appearing all over CNN and other media outlets explaining what Sikhism is all about following the horrific massacre of Sikhs at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin gurdwara

Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and the long-time executive director of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation gurdwara in Maryland, told rediff.com that the actions of these protestors was "just outrageous," particularly at a time when 'the Sikh community has received a significant outpouring of support from all levels of government, the mainstream media, and the broader American public.'

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

Sikh rights body strongly condemn flag burners in New Delhi

New York (August 8, 2012): Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a human rights advocacy group which is spearheading a US wide campaign against religious intolerance that resulted in the killing of six Sikhs during a shootout at Wisconsin Sikh temple took a strong exception to the burning of American flag by members of National Akali Dal in New Delhi.

SFJ legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stated that it is unfortunate that members of National Akali Dal have burnt the American flag in Delhi as this sends a wrong signal to the US government which is taking every measure to safeguard the interests of the Sikh community after the Sikh massacre. As the attack on Wisconsin Sikh temple suggests, “there are already Anti-Sikh sentiments budding in some quarters of American Society and the action of burning American flag by National Akali Dal will only fuel such more sentiments against the Sikhs, a religious minority” added attorney Pannun.

In an organized move to raise religious awareness amongst the American community, Sikh Rights Group, SFJ has been joined by American Gurudwara Prabhandhik Committee (AGPC), Sikh Youth of America (SYA) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) along with management committees of various Sikh temples across North America.

While praising President Obama for ordering the US flags to be flown at half mast until August 10 to honor the victims of the Wisconsin Sikh temple massacre, attorney Pannun stated that “US administration should take concrete measures for the safety of the religious minorities in the States”. A US Government backed educational TV program should continuously make American community aware of the different religious minorities that have become integral part of the society and should also state the consequences of hate crimes so that it deters future such horrific attacks against religious minorities. SFJ has already announced a $10,000/- gallantry award for the officer Brain Murphy who risked his life to defend Sikhs in a shoot out at Wisconsin Sikh Gurudwara.

with thanks : sikh siyasat: LINK

Ardas Samagam at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib : DSGMC

Sikh body seeks to reward injured police officer

New Delhi: Moved by the courage of the police officer who took eight bullets trying to rescue one of the victims of the shootout at a gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee has decided to present him with $5,000.

“There were 300-400 people in the gurudwara when the shooting took place. Had there been any lapses on the part of the police, the loss would have much more. We have decided to give $5000 to the police officer who has been injured. We are trying to get more details about him and whether we are allowed to reward the police officer,” said Harvinder Singh, former president of the Committee.

Gloom of death. AP

Singh, who handed over a letter to the US ambassador Nancy Powell on Monday urging the government to curb gun culture, said she assured him that all steps necessary would be taken to ensure that such a incident is not repeated.

Praising the swift response by the police department and the US government, Singh said, “A police officer put his own life in danger and killed the gunman. We are very thankful to the police department. Within two hours, gurudwaras across country were provided with security cover.”

The “identity problems” faced by the Sikh community, which number three million across the United States and Canada combined, was due to a general lack of awareness among the American public about the Sikh community and religion, said Singh.

with thanks : FIRST POST : LINK for detailed news. 

Sikh temple leader, police officers hailed as heroes

His community under attack, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin president Satwant Singh Kaleka fought back with all his strength and a simple butter knife, trying to stab a murderous gunman before taking two fatal gunshots to the leg.

Shot nine times and left for dead as he tended to a wounded victim outside, Oak Creek police Lt. Brian Murphy tried to wave off his colleagues' aid, insisting worshippers indoors needed their help more.

Under fire in the temple parking lot, 32-year veteran Oak Creek police officer Sam Lenda took aim and shot back, downing the gunman who refused to drop his weapon after killing six people as they gathered for Sunday services.

Kaleka, Murphy and Lenda — one dead, one critically injured and one physically unharmed — are being hailed as heroes for saving lives in the shootings that sent more shock waves through the nation just two weeks after a gunman killed 12 people inside an Aurora, Colo., movie theatre.

Police say gunman Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old army veteran and former leader of a white supremacist heavy metal band, unloaded a 9-mm handgun at the temple. They have not determined a motive.

What they have done is hailed the actions of those caught in the crossfire.

with thanks : CBA : link for detailed news.

Sikh temple shooting: Barack Obama calls for 'soul searching' on US violence

 

President Barack Obama said on Monday that mass killings like the shooting rampage at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin were occurring with "too much regularity" and should prompt soul searching by all Americans, but he stopped short of calling for new gun-control laws.

"All of us are heart-broken by what happened," Mr Obama told reporters at the White House a day after a gunman opened fire on Sikh worshippers preparing for religious services, killing six before he was shot dead by a police officer.

But when asked whether he would push for further gun-control measures in the wake of the shootings, Mr Obama said only that he wanted to bring together leaders at all levels of American society to examine ways to curb gun violence.

with thanks : TELEGRAPH : LINK for detailed news.

Americans pour out for mourning of Sikh shooting victims

Americans poured out in hundreds to offer support and join solemn farewell prayers for the six victims of a shooting tragedy in a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek.

One by one, the mourners in barefoot stepped forward to bow down their heads to pay their last farewell at the mourning organised at a Gurdwara just 40-km from the scene of Sunday's bloodshed.

Dozens more stood in the lobby to register their support as there was no room for them to join the prayers.

The mourners, mostly white Americans, were touched when the grief-stricken Sikh community opened the doors of the Brookfield gurdwara to embrace hundreds who came to offer their support in the aftermath of the shooting.

"I came with my family to show our support to the grief-stricken people. It was a bad man who did the killings," a tearful Hope Bailey of Muskego told the local Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

with thanks : DNA INDIA : LINK for detailed news.