June 2013

A service by The Sikh Gurdwara of San Francisco. (Source: The Sikh Gurdwara of San Francisco Facebook page)

Bay Area synagogue opens doors to Sikh congregation

June 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The San Mateo Daily Journal provides a profile of The Sikh Gurdwara of San Francisco, a Sikh congregation in the West Bay area of greater San Francisco, California. The Gurdwara, having just celebrated its first year of existence, is unique: the congregation actually meets monthly in a space provided by a synagogue called Peninsula Temple Beth El: “We’re willing to make room for them whenever we can … until they expand or run out of space [for their services],” [Peninsula […]

Categories: Interfaith, News Bits, Profiles • Tags: Blair Brown, California, Mehar Singh Mahal, Peninsula Temple Beth El, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Mateo Daily Journal, The Sikh Gurdwara of San Francisco, West Bay

Attacker of WA Sikh cab driver pleads guilty to hate crime

June 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last October, Jamie W. Larson severely assaulted a Sikh cab driver for whom he was a passenger near Seattle, Washington: Jamie W. Larson attacked the cab driver during an Oct. 17 ride after commenting on the man’s turban. According to charging documents, Larson, 48, tore out chunks of the man’s beard during the assault, which also loosened one of the driver’s teeth. During the attack, Larson issued various epithets and made derogatory comments about the victim’s ethnicity. As a result, was […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Federal Way, hate crime, hate crimes, Jamie W. Larson, Seattle, Shepard-Byrd Law, taxicab, Washington State

House Rep. Bera seeks CA Hall of Fame for Dalip Singh Saund

June 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In May, US House Representative Mark Takano of California honored Dalip Singh Saund in the House Chamber as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Dalip Singh held the same seat from 1957 to 1963 as the first Asian American, Indian American and Sikh American House Representative in the United States. Yesterday, during a speech in the House Chamber, Representative Ami Bera, an Indian American, called on California Governor Jerry Brown to induct Dalip Singh into the California Hall of […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Ami Bera, California Hall of Fame, Dalip Singh Saund, Jerry Brown, Mark Takano, United States House of Representatives

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Oak Creek, WI, Sikhs to commemorate anniversary of mass shooting in August

June 27, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin last August, the Sikh community in Milwaukee is holding a six kilometer run/walk in memory of the six victims of the massacre: The “Chardhi Kala” run/walk will be six kilometers (3.7 miles), in memory of the six victims. “Chardhi Kala” refers to a sense of resilience and optimism. Participants can now register at http://www.chardhikala6k.org. The event will be held Aug. 3, two […]

Categories: Events, Hate Crimes • Tags: Chardhi Kala 6K, hate crimes, mass shootings, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

Kultar's Mime playbill. (Source: United for Justice with Peace)

New MA theater company debuts play about 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms

June 27, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Boston Globe features a young theater company in Hopkinton, Massachusetts (30 miles west of Boston), called Two Paths Productions. Started by a group of teens, their first production is called Kultar’s Mime, an adaptation of the poem of the same name by Sarbpreet Singh (who has been featured on this blog before) about the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in New Delhi, India, in which thousands of Sikhs were murdered in organized killing after the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira […]

Categories: 1984, Art, Events, Profiles • Tags: Hopkinton, Kultar's Mime, Massachusetts, Mehr Kaur, Sarbpreet Singh, Two Paths Productions

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Google Reader is shutting down on July 1. (Source: LifeHacker)

Google Reader shutting down on July 1

June 27, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Many readers of American Turban automatically receive updates from this and other blogs using Google Reader, one of the most (if not the most) popular RSS feed readers on the internet. Its ease of use and cross-platform functionality made following many websites very easy and efficient. If you are a Google Reader user, this is to remind you that Google is ending this service on July 1, after which date the service will be retired and you will no longer […]

Categories: American Turban • Tags: Google, Google Reader, News aggregator, RSS

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Lesley Hazleton. (Source: The Accidental Theologist)

Is doubt essential to faith?

June 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

At a recent TEDTalk event in Edinburgh, Scotland, Lesley Hazleton, a biographer of Muhammad and referencing his story, spoke about the relationship between faith and doubt: We have to recognize that real faith has no easy answers. It’s difficult and stubborn. It involves an ongoing struggle, a continual questioning of what we think we know, a wrestling with issues and ideas. It goes hand in hand with doubt, in a never-ending conversation with it, and sometimes in conscious defiance of […]

Categories: Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: doubt, faith, Lesley Hazleton, TED, TEDx

Christina Antonakos-Wallace, of with WINGS and ROOTS.

An interview with Christina Antonakos-Wallace, filmmaker of with WINGS and ROOTS

June 25, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Two weeks ago, I introduced the film project with WINGS and ROOTS by filmmaker Christina Antonakos-Wallace. with WINGS and ROOTS is a 90-minute documentary that tells the stories of five people from different immigrant communities living in New York or Berlin, Germany, who have struggled to shape their identity in various ways. The film features The Langar Hall’s own Sonny Singh, a Sikh living in New York. Part of his story was featured in the well-received short documentary Article of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Profiles, TV/Movies • Tags: Article of Faith, Berlin, Christina Antonakos-Wallace, Germany, immigrants, Immigration, New York, Sonny Singh Brooklynwala, Where are you from from?, with WINGS and ROOTS

Kaur Foundation at a Punjabi mela (festival) in Washington, D.C., in May. (Source: Kaur Foundation)

The Kaur Foundation: promoting cultural diversity and Sikh awareness

June 14, 2013 by American Turban Guest Contributor

Founded in 2002, the Kaur Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create awareness of the Sikh identity, heritage, and secular values, while promoting and pursuing cultural literacy through education in classrooms. As its primary focus, the organization works to accomplish these goals by providing teachers and students specific tools and resources for use in their classrooms. Through its innovative outreach programs, the Kaur Foundation is building institutional partnerships to help create safe and inclusive learning environments for […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Resources • Tags: Jessica Arora, Kaur Foundation, Sikh awareness

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Monthly Archives: June 2013

Bay Area synagogue opens doors to Sikh congregation

Attacker of WA Sikh cab driver pleads guilty to hate crime

House Rep. Bera seeks CA Hall of Fame for Dalip Singh Saund

Oak Creek, WI, Sikhs to commemorate anniversary of mass shooting in August

New MA theater company debuts play about 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms

Google Reader shutting down on July 1

Is doubt essential to faith?

An interview with Christina Antonakos-Wallace, filmmaker of with WINGS and ROOTS

The Kaur Foundation: promoting cultural diversity and Sikh awareness