SALDEF in the News
A new study published in the Journal of Religion and Health looks at the role of religious and spiritual faith in preventing and recovering from substance use disorder. At any given time, there are 20 million Americans afflicted with a substance use disorder (SUD), for which when it comes to long-term recovery, faith-based programs are a driving force. The study found that 73% of substance abuse treatment programs incorporate spiritual components such as 12-step programs and was conducted through a grant by one of SALDEF’s partner organizations, Faith Counts.
Recent News
In photos: A glorious history of Sikhism
Guru Hargobind built the Akal Takhat facing the Harmandir Sahib, and thus began a new era in Sikhism. “The takhat became a converging point for people from all walks of life—from the common man to elite, from a banker to a lender, from a farmer to a trader, from a scholar to an illiterate—who came to seek advice, share their grievances, and get clarifications about their faith.”
Sikh Canadian politician goes viral for response to man’s anti-Muslim remarks
A video shared on Twitter and viewed more than 700,000 times shows NDP Gurratan Singh replying to a man that he first noticed acting aggressively and shouting as he gave a speech during MuslimFest in Mississauga. The man can be heard in the video asking, “What about sharia? Political Islam? You’re hiding, bud. I’ll debate you anytime.” Singh later tweeted that he will never respond to Islamophobia with “I am not a Muslim,” and Singh added that “Instead, I will always stand with my Muslim brothers and sisters and say hate is wrong.”
Family of Sikh man stabbed to death grateful for arrest
Tracy police arrested Anthony Kreiter-Rhoads, 21, on Saturday after investigators said he killed Parmjit Singh. Police said surveillance video showed him running through the neighborhood the night of the killing. Harnek Singh Kang, the victim’s son-in-law added that the family would like the city to consider renaming the park where Singh was killed in his honor.
NYC Revs Up Anti-Hate Crime Office As Spike Continues
New York City has opened the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, with Deborah Lauter as the executive director to combat hate crimes amid a continued spike in bigoted attacks that has hit Jewish New Yorkers especially hard. “The office is starting its work as the city grapples with a 41 percent increase in hate crimes this year.” Lauter’s team will work with other city agencies to understand what motivates attackers to act on their hatred and educate targeted New Yorkers about the resources available to them.
Thousands of Indians Facing Persecution Back Home Seek Refuge In California
Five days a week at 8 p.m. sharp, a bus pulls up at the High Desert Gurudwara in Hesperia, carrying newly-released detainees from the High Desert Detention Center in nearby Adelanto. Gurbakshish Singh Jnagal welcomes as many as 25 arrivals from the immigration detention facility every week, part of the temple’s role in the community since 2009. Kanwalroop Kaur Singh, a UCLA law student who has studied the history of Sikh immigration, said many of the reasons Sikhs are coming to the U.S. are economic or political. Additionally, Farming, the traditional Sikh occupation, is becoming increasingly more difficult in Punjab due to decades of controversial agricultural policy exacerbated by climate change.
ICE Office Must Stop Keeping All Asylum Seekers Locked Up, Federal Judge Orders
In 2016, Immigration and Customs Enforcement released 75 percent of eligible asylum seekers in Deep South detention centers on parole. By 2018, that figure had dropped to 1.5 percent, and so far this year, it’s zero. In response to this, Washington, DC, district court judge James Boasberg ordered ICE to provide asylum seekers detained in the Deep South with a fair chance of being released. (Picture: Lauren Wood/AP)
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton wants more action on hate crimes in city
Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C. is demanding answers from the U.S. Attorney’s office about the apparent lack of prosecution of hate crimes in her city. “The District currently leads the nation in reported hate crimes per capita, and a recent report in the Washington Post called attention to the fact that the majority of these cases are never prosecuted.” For example, in 2018 police investigated a record 204 cases of potentially bias-motivated attacks, but only three people were prosecuted for hate crimes.