Islamophobia |

"President Barack Obama speaks to members of the Muslim-American community at the Islamic Society of Baltimore." (Source: ThinkProgress.org)

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

The case for “mistaken identity”

January 20, 2016 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In an article published in Lawfare, law professor Dawinder S. Sidhu offers an coincidental counterpoint to Monday’s post about the concept of “mistaken identity” and its use to explain hate crimes in which Sikh Americans are victims. Professor Sidhu finds that dismissing mistaken identity arguments is problematic and counter-productive to addressing hate crimes affecting the Sikh and Muslim communities in the post-9/11, post-Paris and post-San Bernardino environment.

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Dawinder S. Sidhu, hate crimes, Islamophobia, Lawfare, mistaken identity

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The US flag is raised in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. (Source: Martin Ramirez)

“Since 9/11”

September 15, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The neighborhood in which I live is one of those that sprung up during the real estate bubble eight years ago. The houses are, for the most part, very similar. Composed of four or five standard models, the streets offer a consistent character of a typical Californian subdivision. There is one house among the many, however, that is a bit different. It is unique in that an American flag waves outside its front door. The residents of that house are […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: 9/11, hate crimes, Islamophobia, Sikhophobia, xenophobia

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Sunando Sen was shoved to his death on a number 7 train platform in Queens on Thursday December 27th, 2012. He was Cremated on Monday December 31st, 2012. (Photo credit: DNAinfo/Theodore Parisienne)

Hate speech versus hate crimes

January 2, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On Salon, Wajahat Ali discusses the role of Islamophobic rhetoric in last week’s murder of Sunando Sen, a man of Hindu background who was pushed off a subway platform into the path of an oncoming train in New York last week: A senseless tragedy like this affords an opportunity, requires necessity and demands urgency for diverse American communities, especially Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, to unite in solidarity against hate and intolerance. In America, there exists space for legitimate criticism, debate, […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Erika Menendez, hate crimes, Islamophobia, New York, subway murder, Sunando Sen, Wajahat Ali

Let’s call it what it is: “Sikhophobia”

July 11, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A number of different American communities have been impacted by Islamophobia, and practitioners of the Sikh religion make up one of the most adversely affected minority groups. The distinctive physical appearance of typical Sikh males in particular — brown skin, turban, beard — correlates with the stereotypical images of terrorists projected in western media. Scholars have recently described this perceived relationship as a racialization of religious identity. This process has led to a conflation of Sikhs and Muslims, and therefore, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Brampton, California, Canada, Elk Grove, FBI Hate Crime Statistics, Fresno, hate crimes, Huffington Post, Islamophobia, Michigan, Ontario, Sikhophobia, Simran Jeet Singh, Sterling, Sterling Heights, Virginia

Religion and US Politics: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

August 4, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Jasmeet Sidhu writes a piece on The Huffington Post contrasting between Canada and the United States the roles of faith groups with government: It seems to me, that though this country has its fair share of heated debates around religion (the ground zero mosque controversy comes to find [sic]), there are also seems to be a yearning and a willingness by policy makers, community groups and other stakeholders to publicly engage and bring into the fold Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh […]

Categories: Interfaith, Politics • Tags: Barack Obama, Government, Huffington Post, Islamophobia, Jasmeet Sidhu, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry

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The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

March 30, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Regrettably, while nearly a decade has passed since 9/11, we continue to see a steady stream of violence and discrimination targeting Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South-Asian communities. In each city and town where I have met with leaders of these communities, I have been struck by the sense of fear that pervades their lives – fear of violence, of bigotry and hate. The headwind of intolerance manifests itself in many different ways.” — an excerpt of Assistant Attorney General Thomas […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, News Bits, Politics • Tags: civil rights, Dick Durbin, hate crime, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim, Peter King, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, Thomas Perez, United States Department of Justice, US Attorney General

No. 9 on Time Magazine’s Top 10 Religion Stories of 2010

December 25, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As we near the end of 2010, Time Magazine published their “Top 10 Everything of 2010“. Among the topics was the Top 10 Religion Stories of 2010, which predominantly featured stories related to Christianity or Islam (or sometimes Christianity vs. Islam). The one exception came in at number nine on the list: Obama’s skipping Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in Amritsar: The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the center of the Sikh religion and, at one point in the […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Amritsar, Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Islamophobia, Time Magazine

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Islamophobia

Obama addresses cultural attitudes around Muslims

The case for “mistaken identity”

“Since 9/11”

Hate speech versus hate crimes

Let’s call it what it is: “Sikhophobia”

Religion and US Politics: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

No. 9 on Time Magazine’s Top 10 Religion Stories of 2010