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"We are all Sikhs" t-shirt. (Source: Rootsgear Clothing)

Sikhs, through Jewish eyes

August 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On The Jewish Journal, Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin considers his Sikh American neighbors a year after the Oak Creek, Wisconsin mass shooting: Maybe they should consider modifying the turban requirement, and just make it optional? How American of me to think that. Sikh men simply know that they have to be at the airport that much earlier. That’s the price they choose to pay for walking a religious road with one foot, and keeping the other foot grounded in Western […]

Categories: Interfaith, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Jewish faith, Jewish Journal, Oak Creek, Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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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"A scene of the procession of the parade held in downtown Phoenix on April 21st." (Source: Valley India Times)

A country of many colors

July 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A man was giving small handbills to passersby. We saw a drawing of an American flag, and read this introduction:”We are loyal Americans. We join all Americans in condemning the violence in Boston.” I remembered the shootings at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., in August 2012. I finished the letter, and realized it was a plea not to blame the Sikhs of Phoenix for the bombs in Boston. — Melissa Musick Nussbaum writes in the National Catholic Reporter […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Arizona, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Boston, Boston Marathon, Melissa Musick Nussbaum, Mesa, Oak Creek, Phoenix

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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

Punjab Singh was severely wounded during the mass shooting at a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, last August. He has been in a long-term care facility ever since. Six other Sikhs were killed and one police officer was also severely wounded. (Photo source: Sikh Coalition)

“I have never been in the presence of someone so holy in all of my life.”

May 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Holly Sennett, a speech-language pathologist, writes about her patient Punjab Singh, who was severely wounded during the mass shooting at a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, last August. He has been in a long-term care facility ever since: Punjab Singh traveled all over the world to share spiritual truths. He has taught about the oneness of all of life and the need to love and forgive. He was a visiting congregational leader on this August 5th day at the Oak […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Profiles, Reflections • Tags: Holly Sennett, Oak Creek, Punjab Singh, Sikh Coalition, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, 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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Lieutenant Brian Murphy (source: WISN12)

Oak Creek hero to retire from police department

May 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Oak Creek Police Department’s Lieutenant Brian Murphy, who was the first police officer to engage the attacker during the mass shooting last August at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, has announced his retirement next month in a letter to Police Chief John Edwards: “It took him a while to write it. And he just said it was a tough letter to write,” said Chief Edwards. Lieutenant Murphy sustained severe injuries after being shot more than a dozen […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: hate crimes, Lt. Brian Murphy, Oak Creek, retirement, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, 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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"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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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Oak Creek

Sikhs, through Jewish eyes

US House Representatives call for religious diversity summit

A country of many colors

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

“I have never been in the presence of someone so holy in all of my life.”

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

Oak Creek hero to retire from police department

Oak Creek, WI, police officers honored by President Obama

Quote of the Day