Virginia |

Sikh wedding ceremony. (source: Canadian Bride Magazine)

Judge declares that VA wedding law discriminatory against Sikhs

April 2, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Late last year, four Sikhs from Virginia challenged a state law (Virginia Code 20-23) that would have required them each to pay a $500 bond to be authorized by the state to perform the Sikh wedding ceremony because they were not ordained ministers. The issue, of course, is that the Sikh faith (like several others) does not have formal clergy or ordained ministers, and thus the law was discriminating against members of the Sikh faith. The Virginia chapter of the […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, Anand Karaj, Sikh wedding, Virginia

A boy in a turban during the Sikh Turban Showdown at the Sikh Foundation of Virginia in January. (source: PBS)

Sikh Foundation of Virginia holds “Turban Showdown”

March 13, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent piece by PBS’ Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly featured an event at a Gurdwara in northern Virginia in January called the “turban showdown”: In January, the Sikh Foundation of Virginia held a “Turban Showdown” for the pre-school children and older youth of its gurdwara in Northern Virginia. Parents helped the children wrap their turban or keski and then watched them walk down a runway. Youth and education coordinator Surinder Singh explained the meaning of the turban and why it […]

Categories: Sikhism, TV/Movies • Tags: Fairfax Station, PBS, Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly, Sikh Foundation of Virginia, Turban, Virginia

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Sikh wedding ceremony (source: MrSikhNet)

VA Sikhs challenge marriage discrimination

December 21, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a unique case of discrimination, Sikhs in Virginia are challenging a state law that fines non-clergy who perform wedding ceremonies: Four Sikh men are suing the state after they were charged $500 each to preside over weddings because the law only recognizes ordained ministers, like priests and rabbis, as having the power to wed people. However, Sikhs don’t have a clergy. Instead, anyone who can read and comprehend Sikh scriptures is qualified to perform marriages. That means a hefty […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: American Civil Liberties Union, Anand Karaj, Duncan Getchell, Fairfax County, Ken Cuccinelli, Sikh wedding, Virginia

Satyendra Singh Huja (source: City of Charlottesville)

Sikh mayor of Charlottesville, VA, calls for prayers to celebrate religious freedom

November 9, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, Satyendra Singh Huja — a Sikh American — has called for prayers to commemorate the city’s legacy as the origin of the concept of religious freedom in America: In a surprise letter sent to all churches, temples and centers of faith in the greater Charlottesville area, Mayor Satyendra Singh Huja has called for prayers of thanksgiving to mark the 250th Anniversary of Charlottesville Virginia this weekend. Charlottesville is considered by many to be the birthplace […]

Categories: Interfaith, News Bits • Tags: Charlottesville, Satyendra Singh Huja, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia

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

Member of Sterling, VA Sikh family, victims of death threat, describes history of harassment

March 7, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“‘We will kill you, we will sell your children in Cuba, and tie up your women with your turbans,’” he says. “It was hard on us.” — a member of the Sikh family in Sterling, Virginia, who recently received a death threat accusing them of being a member of the Taliban, recounts the previous threats made against them in the past which also included spraying graffiti on their home.

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: hate crime, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sterling, Virginia

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Picture of the Day: Sikh family in VA receives death threat letter in apparent hate crime

March 2, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

According to SALDEF (the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund), a Sikh family in Sterling, Virginia received a death threat in the mail this week. The anonymous letter accuses this family as being members of the Taliban: “Our People in the neighborhood have been closely watching your activities and figured out you are a close associate of a secret Taliban movement on the US Soil. We ask you to leave the country as soon as possible otherwise one of […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: hate crime, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sterling, Virginia

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Satyendra Singh Huja, Mayor of Charlottesville, VA, in his own words

January 10, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After his election to the position of Mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia by his fellow city councilors, Satyendra Singh Huja reflects: “I can’t think of a Sikh guy getting elected in many other communities,” Huja said. “There aren’t many Sikhs in Charlottesville… So I obviously didn’t get elected because of my religion. I got elected because I could be of service.” This is an important learning. There is an authenticity in this Sikh man who performed his job for decades in […]

Categories: News Bits, Politics • Tags: Charlottesville, Satyendra Singh Huja, Virginia

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Second turbaned Sikh becomes head of US city council

January 9, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After a turbaned Sikh became the president of Hoboken, New Jersey’s city council, the City Council in Charlottesville, Virginia has voted in longtime resident and city planner Satyendra Singh Huja as their mayor for the next two years. This is another ground-breaking accomplishment for Sikh Americans, whose acceptance in this country has often been challenged by those ignorant of our physical appearance and articles of faith. When he retired from his position in City Hall in 2004, Satyendra Singh described […]

Categories: News Bits, Politics • Tags: Charlottesville, James Madison, Satyendra Singh Huja, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Virginia

Judge declares that VA wedding law discriminatory against Sikhs

Sikh Foundation of Virginia holds “Turban Showdown”

VA Sikhs challenge marriage discrimination

Sikh mayor of Charlottesville, VA, calls for prayers to celebrate religious freedom

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

Member of Sterling, VA Sikh family, victims of death threat, describes history of harassment

Picture of the Day: Sikh family in VA receives death threat letter in apparent hate crime

Satyendra Singh Huja, Mayor of Charlottesville, VA, in his own words

Second turbaned Sikh becomes head of US city council