Suspect Arrested in Prabhjot Singh Attack

SALDEF/Stanford “Turban Myths” research shows most Americans have misconceptions about turban-wearers in U.S.

Contact: media@saldef.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, N.Y.—April 24, 2014—Christian Morales, the 20-year old suspect who allegedly pulled Dr. Prabhjot Singh’s beard in a hate crime, in September 2013, along the north side of Central Park in Harlem, N.Y., is to appear in court this morning.  Morales is just one of multiple attackers in the case who not only pulled Dr. Singh’s beard, but punched him in the face, knocking him to the pavement, while yelling “Osama” and “terrorist.”

Dr. Singh, a Sikh American doctor and Professor at Columbia University, maintains an uncut beard and turban which are articles of faith for followers of Sikhism, the fifth largest religion in the world.

On September 9, 2013, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) unveiled a groundbreaking study, “Turban Myths,” conducted at Stanford University, where research showed:

• Americans tend to associate turbans with Osama bin Laden, more so than with named Muslim and Sikh alternatives and more than with no one in particular

• 49% of Americans believe “Sikh” is a sect of Islam (it is an independent religion)

• 70% cannot identify a Sikh man in a picture as a Sikh

• 79% cannot identify India as the geographic origin of Sikhism

Read Turban Myths or contact SALDEF at media@saldef.org.