SALDEF in the News
Protecting religious freedom has a domino effect
Sheriff Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was a champion of religious freedom, as in 2015, he became the first turbaned Sikh law enforcement officer in Harris County after the county added a religious accommodation policy to its uniform regulations. The change was made thanks to advocacy by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund and other organizations. The article adds that members of minority religious communities have not always been invited enthusiastically to serve without compromising their convictions. Richard Foltin, senior scholar at the Religious Freedom Center, explains: “Just as Sikhs are confronted with workplaces that place obstacles to their wearing a turban and beard…observant Jews sometimes face the danger of losing or being denied jobs because they are obligated to wear a yarmulke or a beard or, in a more frequent situation, must take days off from work in observance of the Sabbath or holy days.”
Recent News
Delco Sikhs make history in Washington
To honor the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, U.S. Sen. Patrick Toomey invited Giani Sukhvinder Singh and other Sikhs from Delaware County to the morning prayer and an evening reception. In doing so, Singh became the first Sikh to deliver invocation in the Senate’s history. Senator Toomey added that “Guru Nanak’s most famous teachings include that there is only one God, that people … need not go through an intermediary such as a priest to access the one God and that all people were created equal.”
After call from Indian official, library pulls Sikh ‘genocide’ memorial
Three months ago, the Otis Library in Norwich, Connecticut, held a ceremony to unveil its new memorial to the thousands of Sikhs killed in India 35 years ago in a military campaign and ensuing mass violence. Then, according to local media, India’s consul general in New York called the library’s executive director to discuss the memorial. Within weeks, the entire memorial was quietly removed from the library. The memorial included a plaque in memory of the scores of Sikhs who died in a “pre-planned attack” by the Indian army on Amritsar’s Golden Temple, also known as the Harmandir Sahib and Darbar Sahib, the holiest gurdwara for the world’s Sikhs.
Paying tribute to Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal’s service, recently 98 former and current Sikh service members and law enforcement officials delivered letters to the U.S. Department of Defense and national police agencies calling for changes to accommodation policies for religious minorities. These Sikh Americans urged their respective institutions to streamline the process for all Americans that are willing and able to serve with their religious articles of faith intact.
Hundreds Experience Tying Turbans and Learn About Sikh Identity at the Ohio Culture Festival
Sikhs from Springfield and neighboring areas of Dayton, Cincinnati by participated in the annual Ohio Cultural Festival held at the City Hall Plaza. Hundreds of visitors sat down all day at the Sikh booth to experience having a turban on their head. Sameep Singh Gumtala, a resident of Dayton, added that “It is important for our community to participate in such events to meet other people, learn about their culture and also tell them about our culture, Sikhs and its identity, especially about the Turban.”
Local religious community prepares for 9th annual Faith Fest
20 Owensboro area faith communities and the Owensboro-Daviess County Ministerial Association will host the ninth annual Faith Fest throughout November. During the fest, Nonviolent Owensboro will sponsor the showing of two documentary films — “The Imam and the Pastor” and “Divided We Fall.” “Divided We Fall” depicts religious intolerance in the U.S. following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Violence in the Sikh community caused the death of Balbir Singh, a gas station owner in Mesa, Arizona. The 90-minute film tells the story of hate crimes and forgiveness through the eyes of Sikh Americans.
‘Sikhs have been forgotten in the hate-crime debate’
Hardeep Singh, deputy director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, says that the recent hate crimes against Sikhs are overlooked parts of the hate-crime discussion. He sat down with spiked to talk about Racialisation, Islamophobia and Mistaken Identity: The Sikh Experience, a new book he has co-authored with Jagbir Jhutti-Johal. In the interview, Singh added “I had that firsthand experience of suffering a backlash, such as people mocking you, calling you ‘bin Laden’. I remember after the Boston bombings I was just walking in town wearing my rucksack, and three guys turned round and said ‘Don’t press the button!’.” After researching the post 9/11 environment, Singh found that in America it was far worse for Sikhs as there were revenge attacks where people were murdered.