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President Barack Obama honors the 2013 National Association of Police Organizations TOP COPS award winners during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Saturday, May 11, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Oak Creek, WI, police officers honored by President Obama

May 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

At an event at the White House on Saturday, President Barack Obama paid tribute to the country’s best police officers during 2013, including the eight who responded to the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek last August: I already talked about one of this year’s Top Cops, Brian Murphy, in my State of the Union address. When a gunman opened fire on a temple in Wisconsin and Brian was the first to arrive, he did […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Barack Obama, hate crimes, Lt. Brian Murphy, Oak Creek, Officer Sam Lenda, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Top Cops of 2013, White House, Wisconsin

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"Geography of Hate" map showing concentrations of hate-based tweets on Twitter from June 2012 to April 2013. (source: Floating Sheep)

Quote of the Day

May 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“FBI experts believe the Internet continues to serve as the primary radicalization instrument, used to recruit teenagers and young adults into the radical skinhead movement,” the warrant says. — A recently-released document by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reveals that Wade Michael Page was active on white supremacist websites and social media prior to his attack on the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek last August, in which he murdered six Sikhs, severely wounding another and a police […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes, Oak Creek, Quote of the Day, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wade Michael Page, White supremacy, Wisconsin

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Gilbert Garcia has been arrested in the assault on 82-year-old Piara Singh on May 5 in Fresno, California. (source: Crime Voice)

Rethinking the hate crime villain

May 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After the attack on 82-year-old Piara Singh in Fresno, California, nine days ago, Preeti Kaur (on her blog The Longest There) considers the suspected perpetrator and delves into the meaning of “hate crime”: The term hate-crime is a peculiar term. Others have discussed the definition of hate-crimes and need for such a delineation, of course, but for me its peculiarity is that in the act of describing a hate-crime as a hate-crime, the biggest offense becomes the hate, and the crime […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: California, Fresno, Gilbert Garcia, hate crimes, Piara Singh, Preeti Kaur, The Longest There

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"Bias Motivation Information" section of the FBI's Hate Crime Incident Report 1-699. (source: FBI)

Hate-motivated attack on Piara Singh emphasizes need for tracking

May 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After yet another hate crime against a Sikh American — this time on an 82-year-old man in Fresno, California — Simran Kaur of the Sikh Coalition raises the issue of the absence of tracking by the FBI of hate crimes against Sikhs: You read that right. Although Sikhs continue to experience hate crimes because of their distinct religious identity, the FBI has no distinct category to track such crimes. While hate crimes against other racial and religious groups are tracked, […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Resources • Tags: California, FBI, FBI Hate Crime Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Form 1-699, Fresno, hate crimes, Piara Singh, Sikh Coalition, Simran Kaur

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Kanwaljit Singh, from Port Orange, Florida, reportedly forgives those who shot him in a drive-by shooting two weeks ago. The suspects have still not been identified. (source: WFTV)

Fund established to support Kanwaljit Singh, victim of suspected hate crime

May 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After having been shot twice in Port Orange, Florida during a suspected hate-based attack in February, Kanwaljit Singh and his family have been facing financial difficulties during his recovery. A fund has now been established to offer financial support. Coordinated Sikh Coalition and SALDEF advisories alert us to the dire financial straits that Kanwaljit Singh’s family is now in: Since the purported hate crime attack, Mr. Singh and his family, including his wife and two children, have suffered from significant […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Florida, hate crime, Kanwaljit Singh, Port Orange, support fund

The turban as a beacon of love

May 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After learning of the attack on 82-year-old Piara Singh in Fresno, California, blogger Anita Singha shares her thoughts about the elder Sikhs in her life: Maybe their children have warned them to stay home. I hope not, I need to see their Sikh spirit, their courageous bravery rise to the occasion. Their morning constitutional in a busy city park, sitting on public transportation a silent protest against hatred and ignorance. Read more on Anita Singha’s blog Listening Hard.

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Anita Singha, California, Fresno, hate crime, Listening Hard, Piara Singh

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Fresno PD Chief Jerry Dyer. (source: ABC30)

Fresno Police: Piara Singh was targeted for who he was

May 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Mr. Singh was targeted because of who he was, what he was wearing, his ethnicity, his religion.” — Fresno Police Department Chief Jerry Dyer speaks at last night’s community meeting in Fresno, California, addressing the vicious assault of 82-year-old Piara Singh on Sunday. Sikh24 reports that Piara Singh is likely to be discharged from hospital tonight. According to the Associated Press, Gilbert Garcia, the only suspect, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and elder abuse charges, and that hate […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: California, Fresno, Fresno Police Department, Gilbert Garcia, Jerry Dyer, Piara Singh

Elderly Sikh man brutally assaulted in alleged hate attack – UPDATED

May 7, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last night, news broke that an elderly Sikh man in Fresno, California, was attacked and beaten severely on Sunday in an alleged hate-motivated assault. Piara Singh, 82 years old, was brutally beaten after leaving the Gurdwara Nanaksar in Fresno on Sunday morning: Piara Singh was beaten with a steel rod. He is currently admitted in the hospital undergoing treatment for severe head injuries, and his condition is said to be critical. His rib was also fractured and a lung collapsed during the […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Anup Singh, California, Florida, Fresno, Gurmej Atwal, hate crimes, Kanwaljit Singh, Oak Creek, Paramjit Kaur, Piara Singh, Port Orange, Prakash Singh and Suveg Singh Khattra, Punjab Singh, Ranjit Singh, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Sita Singh, Surinder Singh, Wisconsin

"Among the world’s 25 most populous countries, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Burma (Myanmar), Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria stand out as having the most restrictions on religion as of mid-2010 when government restrictions and social hostilities both are taken into account. Brazil, Japan, Italy, the United States and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have the least restrictions and hostilities." (source: Pew Forum)

Ranking religious freedom around the world

May 2, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a recent TEDx event in Rome, Italy, Brian J. Grim (of the social research organization Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life) discusses his research into government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion among countries around the world. Providing an overview of the research behind the Pew Forum’s recent report Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion, Brian Grim shares two conclusions about the relationships between certain types of government restrictions and social hostilities in countries that rank high […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reports/Studies • Tags: Brian J. Grim, Italy, Pew Forum, Pew Research Center, Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion, Rome, TED, TEDx

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Hate Crimes

Oak Creek, WI, police officers honored by President Obama

Quote of the Day

Rethinking the hate crime villain

Hate-motivated attack on Piara Singh emphasizes need for tracking

Fund established to support Kanwaljit Singh, victim of suspected hate crime

The turban as a beacon of love

Fresno Police: Piara Singh was targeted for who he was

Elderly Sikh man brutally assaulted in alleged hate attack – UPDATED

Ranking religious freedom around the world