More than two dozen followers have been arrested for carrying article of faith By Matthew Artz, STAFF WRITER, The Argus For observant Sikhs, car keys and loose change aren’t the only things to worry about when walking through metal detectors. Their religion requires that they wear a small sword, called a Kirpan, usually slung above their left hip in a cloth casing. The article of faith has been the source of hostile encounters with screeners at airports, courthouses and federal buildings, where several Sikhs have been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. To help avoid such encounters, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week released a poster explaining the Kirpan and giving security screeners tips on diplomatically searching for and confiscating the sword. The posters will be circulated at airports, border crossings and federal buildings across the country and should arrive in the Bay Area within the next few weeks, said Rajbir Datta, associate director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Washington, D.C. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Sikh organization, which worked on the poster with federal officials, has dealt with about 30 instances of Sikhs’ being arrested for carrying a Kirpan. All of the cases have been dismissed, Datta said. “We want law enforcement to understand the significance of the Kirpan, so they don’t view it as a weapon.” Difficulties usually arise, Datta said, when Sikhs forget to either pack the religious sword in their luggage before going through airport security or leave it in their car when traveling to buildings with metal detectors. The poster, which will be placed inside security offices, directs screeners to ask Sikhs if they are carrying a Kirpan and then request to inspect it. “If the Kirpan must be confiscated, explain the reason and handle the Kirpan with respect and care,” the poster says. What happens next to the sword depends on the checkpoint, Datta said. For visits at prisons and several historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Sikhs can leave the Kirpan with security guards. At airports, the Kirpans must be stowed in luggage that is not carried into the cabin. At federal courthouses, they must be taken outside the building. About 15 percent of Sikhs wear Kirpans. The swords typically have a 3- to 6-inch curved blade with ornate designs attached to a metal or wooden handle. Wearing the sword, which hangs from a shoulder strap or a neck chain for smaller blades, is an article of faith for observant Sikhs. The Kirpan is rooted in the persecution Sikhs faced in South Asia and symbolizes the adherent’s duty to uphold justice, Datta said. Sarabjit Cheema, vice president of the Sikh temple in Fremont, said no one from the temple has been arrested for wearing the Kirpan, but that many members have had uncomfortable moments at security checkpoints. “They look at you with a strange kind of look,” she said of the screeners. Before Sept. 11, Cheema said, metal detectors at airports didn’t always detect her Kirpan, allowing her to wear it on planes. These days, she grudgingly packs the sword in her luggage when flying and leaves it in her car when heading to a courthouse. “I don’t feel good about having to remove it,” she said. “Hopefully one day people will be able to recognize its importance to us.” [QL] Staff writer Matthew Artz covers Union City for the Argus. He can be reached at (510) 353-7003 or martz@angnewspapers.com.
Poster urges screeners to respect Sikh sword
Poster to reach over 40,000 federal law enforcement officials; will significantly increase awareness of Kirpan, a Sikh article of faith Washington, D.C., November 15, 2006 – Next Monday, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) will be unveiling a a poster explaining the Sikh Kirpan produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The poster is entitled Sikh Americans and the Kirpan and provides a brief introduction to the Sikh faith, the Sikh article of faith the Kirpan, and security recommendations for law enforcement officials when they come in contact with a Kirpan. The Kirpan, a religious sword, which serves as a constant reminder to a Sikh’s duty to uphold justice, has often caused law enforcement officials much confusion across the country. This poster, a product of an extensive collaboration between DHS and SALDEF, will be used to inform thousands of federal law enforcement officers and security screeners about the religious significance of the Kirpan to Sikhs. The poster will be sent to hundreds of offices under DHS including, the Federal Protective Services (FPS), Transportation Security Agency (TSA), Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE) and the Secret Service to name a few. “This venture is one part of an ongoing effort by SALDEF to change the way individuals in the United States view the Kirpan.” said SALDEF co-founder and Board Chairman Manjit Singh. “We must continue partnering with law enforcement and government officials at all levels to ensure their further understanding of our Sikh practices.” SALDEF similarly collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004 on a project to produce a poster entitled Common Sikh American Head Coverings. The purpose of that poster was to provide local, state and federal law enforcement officials with basic information about the Sikh faith, the significance of the Daastar (turban), and provide recommendations on handling the Daastar when interacting with Sikh Americans. The Kirpan poster will be a formally unveiled in a joint SALDEF – DHS Press Conference on November 20, 2006 at the National Gurdwara (details below). Individuals scheduled to speak include: Dean Hunter, Acting Director of the Federal Protective Services Daniel Sutherland, Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Department of Homeland Security Satwant Kaur Bell, President, National Gurdwara Manjit Singh, Chairman, SALDEF Unveiling of Kirpan Poster National Gurdwara 3801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC Monday November 20, 2006 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Members of the mainstream and ethnic media will be in attendance. SALDEF encourages the Washington, DC-area Sikh American community to attend and show their support for continued collaboration and partnership between the Sikh American community and the Federal Government. The poster will be available at www.saldef.org for review and download after the unveiling.
Washington, DC — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), issued a new set of directives today that specifically address the issue of racial profiling and turban-searches facing Sikh Americans at airports. This new guidance explicitly explains the importance of the Sikh turban and kirpan, and describes how to be sensitive and respectful during conducting search of Sikh American passengers at airport security. In its ongoing efforts to help the federal government understand Sikhism, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national civil rights advocacy group, has been closely working with and providing comments to the Department of Transportation and FAA on these guidelines and directives. The new guidelines are aimed at stopping the current “turban removal and searches” that occur at airports, and help Sikh Americans feel comfortable to fly again. They clearly state that profiling a Sikh for wearing a turban, including extra searches beyond those done to non-turbaned people, and asking Sikhs to remove their turban, is illegal. The guideline states: “Persons or their property may not be subjected to inspection, search and/or detention solely because they appear…Sikh. Individuals MAY NOT be selected for additional screening based solely on appearance or dress. Selecting a man for screening solely because he is wearing a turban, as some Sikh men and women do, is UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION.” They also clearly explain the kirpan and allow small kirpans worn around the neck in and beyond the security area. “A kirpan is a sheathed sword…[and] is a mandatory article of faith for initiated Sikhs…almost always carried on the person. Some Sikhs wear mini-kirpans…that are not knives on necklaces. These mini-kirpans….are permitted beyond screener checkpoints.” All regular kirpans must be checked in carry-on luggage.
Germantown, MD – The Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national Sikh American civil rights advocacy group, advises all Sikhs traveling on a commercial aircraft in the United States that the carrying of a kirpan on the individual’s person or carry-on luggage is prohibited by law. The applicable federal regulation states: ” . . . no aircraft operator may permit any person to have a deadly or dangerous weapon, on or about the individual’s person or accessible property when onboard an aircraft.” 14 C.F.R. § 108.201(e) A kirpan, regardless of the size or sharpness of the blade, will be viewed by airport security authorities as a dangerous weapon. Therefore, any person wishing to transport a kirpan in the course of their air travel should place it in their check-in luggage. Small kirpan lockets are less likely to be classified as a weapon, but the airport authorities are granted the discretion to make this determination at the time of inspection. This being the case, Amritdhari Sikhs should be prepared to check in kirpan lockets as well, if requested to do so. Contact SMART to file a report if you were prevented from wearing your 5 K’s other than a kirpan, for reasons stated above.