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Obama addresses cultural attitudes around Muslims

February 4, 2016 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Over his two terms, President Obama has recognized the Sikh community (and seems comfortable in doing so) perhaps more than any other US president in history. In his recent speech at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, he makes reference to the Sikh American community as victims of anti-Islamic bigotry in the United States. However, it was lacking in specific proposals to help counter America’s Islamophobia.

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Interfaith, Politics • Tags: Baltimore, Barack Obama, Islamophobia, Maryland, President of the United States

"President Obama delivers a traditional Indian greeting before he speaks on Jan. 27 in New Delhi, India. The president, who was guest of honor at India's Republic Day celebrations, wrapped up his visit by talking about the freedom to practice one's religion, the rights of women and the need to provide every child with equal opportunity." (Photo: European Pressphoto Agency. Source: USA Today.).

Obama cites Oak Creek massacre in New Delhi speech, site of 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom

February 12, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While he didn’t visit the Sikh faith’s holiest site during his trip to India two weeks ago, President Obama did create a bit of a stir as he openly advocated for religious freedom and peaceful coexistence of faiths in India, citing in his speech the mass murder of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in 2012: Obama said no society is immune from man’s darkest impulses, as he raised the 2012 shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin that killed six […]

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: Ami Bera, Barack Obama, hate crimes, India, Narendra Modi, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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"The Golden Temple During the Day." (Adam Perez | Huffington Post)

President Obama to bypass Sikh holiest site once again

January 23, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On his state visit to India this week, President Barack Obama is not scheduled to make a visit to Harmandir Sahib (aka the Golden Temple), barring any unexpected developments. As he partakes in India’s Republic Day festivities in India’s capital, his itinerary seems to be focused on solidifying the business/political relationship between the US and India. As reported in the Washington Post: Officials said Obama and Modi are expected to conduct talks around the business climate, trade, climate change, Afghanistan and terrorism. […]

Categories: Events, Politics • Tags: Ami Bera, Amritsar, Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Joe Crowley

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill lay a wreath at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on July 23. Gandhi's granddaughter, Tara Gandhi, is at right. (Source: Deccan Chronicle)

The Veep visits India

July 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As Vice President Joe Biden visits India this week, I was reminded of President Barack Obama’s visit to India in late 2010, in which he avoided visiting the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, Punjab, a site which reportedly draws up to a hundred thousand of visitors per day, not including Presidents of the United States. For a well-known location which has such appeal to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike and to residents of and visitors to India, it was noteworthy that […]

Categories: 1984, Politics • Tags: 1984, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Amritsar, anti-Sikh pogroms, Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, drug trade, drugs, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Joe Biden, Mahatma Gandhi, November 1984, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, Vice President of the United States

Candlelight vigil in Thomas Township, Michigan, on August 15, 2012, after the mass murder of six Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, by a white supremacist ten days earlier. (Source: MLive)

US House Representatives call for religious diversity summit

July 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The targeting of religious minorities in America is reaching a crisis point and we believe your leadership is crucial to stemming this rising tide of violence. — Citing the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, almost one year ago and hate crimes against Muslims, Hindus and Jewish communities since, 37 US House Representatives signed a letter earlier this week requesting that President Barack Obama hosts a summit on religious diversity to help address these […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Barack Obama, Oak Creek, Religious Diversity Summit, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, US House Representatives, Wisconsin

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President Barack Obama outlines future counter-terrorism efforts in a speech on May 23, 2013. (Source: The Washington Post)

What the President said, and didn’t say, about the Oak Creek, WI, shooting

May 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In his speech today about the US government’s counter-terrorism activities and strategy, President Barack Obama made reference to home-grown radicalized “individuals”, citing explicitly the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek last August: Finally, we face a real threat from radicalized individuals here in the United States. Whether it’s a shooter at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin; a plane flying into a building in Texas; or the extremists who killed 168 people at the Federal Building […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Politics • Tags: Barack Obama, hate crimes, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Terrorism, White supremacy, Wisconsin

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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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President Barack Obama (source: White House)

President Obama recognizes history, challenges for AAPI communities

May 1, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In his proclamation to commemorate the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, President Obama not only celebrates Asian American/Pacific Islander communities, but also recognizes the continuing challenges these communities have faced in this country: For many in the AAPI community, that story is one also marked by lasting inequality and bitter wrongs. Immigrants seeking a better life were often excluded, subject to quotas, or denied citizenship because of their race. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Politics • Tags: Asian American, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Barack Obama, hate crimes, Pacific Islander, Pacific Islander Heritage Month, White House

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Boston bombing editorial cartoon. (source: Denver Post)

What, or who, is “terrorism” in America?

April 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald compares the application of the word “terrorism” in the case of last week’s Boston Marathon bombing against recent previous acts of mass violence in the United States: It’s hard not to suspect that the only thing distinguishing the Boston attack from Tucson, Aurora, Sandy Hook and Columbine (to say nothing of the US “shock and awe” attack on Baghdad and the mass killings in Fallujah) is that the accused Boston attackers are Muslim and the […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Arizona, Barack Obama, Boston, Boston Marathon, Columbine, Connecticut, Glenn Greenwald, Guardian, Massachusetts, Newtown, Oak Creek, Salon, Sandy Hook, Terrorism, Tucson, Wajahat Ali, Wisconsin

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Barack Obama

Obama addresses cultural attitudes around Muslims

Obama cites Oak Creek massacre in New Delhi speech, site of 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom

President Obama to bypass Sikh holiest site once again

The Veep visits India

US House Representatives call for religious diversity summit

What the President said, and didn’t say, about the Oak Creek, WI, shooting

Oak Creek, WI, police officers honored by President Obama

President Obama recognizes history, challenges for AAPI communities

What, or who, is “terrorism” in America?