Hate Hits Home: When My Friend Became A Target
Guest blogged by Simran Jeet Singh Last night, I received the kind of phone call that everyone dreads: a close friend was hurt, and on his way to the hospital. But the news got worse, as I learned that my friend, Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a young Sikh American professor at Columbia University, had been...
Prayers for Boston & for an End to Racist Backlash
As you have probably heard by now, Boston is reeling in the aftermath of a few explosions near the Boston marathon this afternoon. Two people have been killed and dozens injured and being treated at local hospitals. I’ve been texting, calling, and checking up on friends in the area all afternoon....
Two Muslims attacked in one week by bigots (and the media)
Last week, two separate brutal attacks against Muslim men took place in Queens, New York.  On November 24th, 72-year-old Ali Akmal was nearly beaten to death while going on his early morning walk  and remains in critical, but stable, condition. CBS New York reports: Akmal’s tongue was so badly swollen...
NYC transit system’s “turban-branding” policy defeated
On the morning September 11, 2001, long time train operator Sat Hari Singh (aka Kevin Harrington) was driving the 4 train towards lower Manhattan when news of the attacks came in.  He quickly directed the train in reverse, leading all his morning commuters to safety.  The Metropolitan Transit Authority...
Tracking Anti-Sikh Hate Attacks
Over ten years after 9/11, the persistence of hate attacks targeting Sikhs in the US, whether in the form of bullying in schools, vandalism of gurdwaras, or even cold blooded murder, is a sobering reality for our community.  Jodha and I have both discussed elsewhere that the root cause of much of the...
Anti-Muslim Bigotry Strikes Michigan Gurdwara
It’s sobering (and depressing) to hear about another hate attack in the United States fueled by Islamophobia, this one in the form of racist graffiti on a gurdwara under construction in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  SALDEF‘s recent statement about the incident states: …the vandalism...
A Tool in the War on Terror
It isn’t new in our community.  A colonial official promises us money, land, and riches.  Hundreds of thousands of Sikh javaans found themselves in the deserts of Iraq, the jungles of Burma, or even in the mountainous regions of France during WWI and WII seeking greater opportunities.  One need...
Obama Rings in the New Year with Indefinite Detentions
As many of us in the US and around the world have been celebrating the beginning of a new year this past week as well as the Gurpurab of Guru Gobind Singh, a new draconian law has been brought upon us in the United States with near silence from the mainstream media.  On New Year’s Eve, President...
Burqa ban crosses the Atlantic
The legal banning of the burqa and niqab has once again been in the headlines this last week, but this time beyond Europe, in Canada (or as Tanmit from G.N.E. called it last week at Lahir, “America’s pagh”). Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, known...
Fighting for our right to oppress: Gays, Sikhs & the Military
Last week the US military officially ended “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) after President Obama signed a repeal of the 18-year-old anti-gay policy last December. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members (note the absence of transgender people, who are still not allowed to serve openly) and advocates...
Burqa Ban Spreads in Europe
Along with the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the last few weeks have seen an increase in momentum for laws that ban the wearing of the burqa and niqab in European countries.  We’ve talked about France before, where the implementation of its law banning Muslim face covering began this past...
The Divisive Taboo of Halal for Sikhs
Like many Sikhs, I grew up eating meat.  It was something I never really questioned until I was in college and started learning more about the treatment of animals on factory farms and the environmental impact of the meat industry. But growing up I never thought about where my spicy deep-fried chicken...
NYPD diversity training with a sinister twist
Since 9/11, Sikh advocates and community members have been proactive about providing training for law enforcement officers to educate them about our religion and articles of faith and to foster positive relations between local police and Sikhs.  My feelings about the role of the police in our communities...
Will Obama give into bigotry?
By now, most of you have likely heard about the controversy surrounding Obama’s potential visit to Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in Amritsar.  The Sikh Coalition reported this week that the President’s travel plans in India are still not finalized and is encouraging community members...
Stupid or Evil?
As the debate over the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” wages on in the media with plenty of misinformation and a whole lot of fear-mongering, we finally get some worthwhile news from The Daily Show on the subject. The Parent Company Trap www.thedailyshow.com
Post-9/11 hatred rages on near Ground Zero
Guestblogged by Brooklynwala Yesterday morning I was reading the ubiquitous, free “AM New York” newspaper on the subway on the way to a meeting and was disturbed and saddened to learn about a protest of 1,000 people in lower Manhattan against an Islamic Center being built near Ground Zero, the site...
Raghead, really? Enough is Enough. Time to Mobilize
I don’t believe I agree with much of anything when it comes to Nikki Haley’s politics.  Nimrata Randhawa (her name before marriage) is currently a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the South Carolina.  Again, I don’t care for her political positions, endorsements, that she converted...