Sikhism

Los Angeles Police Department Cautions Against Racial Profiling

February 9, 2003

Source: NBC 4 News

[nbc4.tv/news/1966329/detail.html]

On February 9, 2003 NBC 4 News reported that "the Los Angeles Police Department's terrorism hotline is up, running and busy, a police sergeant said Sunday... In addition, the center received several hundred calls during its first day of operation Saturday, and all the calls were 'positive,' meaning there were no prank phone calls... John Miller, who is head of the LAPD's Homeland Security Bureau... cautioned against jumping to any conclusions because of someone's...

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Sikh Community in Spokane, WA Welcomes Visitors

February 8, 2003

Source: The Spokesman-Review

On February 8, 2003 The Spokesman-Review reported that "last summer, the Sikhs purchased a former Baptist church... They spruced it up and now on Sundays,  beginning at about 10 a.m., the Sikh community gathers for food and prayer and  socializing... The Sikhs would like to share their culture with the larger Inland Northwest community, and what a gift this is, because when you walk through  the temple doors you encounter sights, sounds, aromas and language not heard  regularly in the Spokane [WA] area... The Gurdhwara is...

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North Carolina Congress Members' Statements Draw Criticism

February 6, 2003

Source: Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force

http://www.sikhmediawatch.org/press/pressdetail.asp?pressid=31

On February 6, 2003 Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force issued a press release stating that "Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), the nation’s oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy group, demanded Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) explain his view that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was justified... In...

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Bentley Elementary School's Festival of Cultures

February 3, 2003

Source: The Detroit News

[detnews.com/2003/schools/0302/03/c03-75565.htm]

On February 3, 2003 The Detroit News reported that "Bentley Elementary School's second annual Festival of Cultures Feb. 7 promotes respect for world cultures that comprise a rising percentage of Canton's [MI] growing population... 'This all started because of the changing faces of our children,' said Principal Jerry Meier. Recent census figures show Canton has grown from a rural population of 5,313 in 1960 to 76,366 in 2002 -- which includes 9.2...

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Sikh Advocacy Group Settles with Fleet Bank

February 1, 2003

Source: The Star-Ledger

[nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/104408343938]

On February 1, 2003 The Star-Ledger reported that "in a decision hailed by the nation's Sikh community, Fleet Bank yesterday settled a discrimination suit filed by a New Jersey businessman, at the same time agreeing to explicitly recognize the religious group's rights... Sikh leaders, who previously had threatened a boycott of the bank over the New Jersey case, called Fleet's written pledge on the Sikh community the first of its kind in...

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Sikh Advocacy Group Settles with Fleet Bank

January 30, 2003

Source: SMART

[sikhmediawatch.org/press/pressdetail.asp?pressid=30]

On January 30, 2003 SMART reported that "a leading national Sikh advocacy group and the nation’s seventh largest retail financial institution, reached a broad-reaching agreement to ensure nondiscrimination against Sikh American customers and employees and calls for the institution to closely monitor discriminatory practices and improve services to the Sikh community. Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force and FleetBoston Financial Corp. signed the joint...

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Boston Interfaith Service for Peace Concurrent with State of Union Address

January 28, 2003

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 28, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "at the Capitol in Washington, amid all the pomp and circumstance that Congress can muster, President Bush is expected to lay out his case tonight for a possible war... At the same time, at Boston's storied Trinity Church, leaders of many of the state's religious traditions will be gathering in their full liturgical finery to make their own case, for peace... Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, [organized] tonight's religious event, at which...

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Young Sikh Girl's Experience in Oregon

January 26, 2003

Source: The Oregonian

[abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030131_438.html]

On January 26, 2003 The Oregonian reported that "when classmates figure out that [15 years-old Vinni Oberoi's] family came to Oregon from India, but she isn't Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist, they want to know more about what she believes. She does her best to answer their questions, talking about her belief in communion with God, her commitment to equality, selfless service and dedication to justice. She is, she tells them, a Sikh... The challenge before [her...

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Celebrations in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 2003

January 20, 2003

Source: San Mateo County Times

[sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~1123243,00.html]

On January 20, 2003 the San Mateo County Times reported that "Doug Biggs, who teaches high school students about the civil rights movement, cautions that even in usually tolerant San Mateo County [CA], bigotry still strikes like it did in the South in the 1960s... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream has not yet been realized, Biggs said to a room full of teens and adults at the King Freedom Festival in Redwood City on Saturday....

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INS Detains Hundreds of Muslim and Middle Eastern Immigrants in California

January 15, 2003

Source: SMART

http://www.sikhmediawatch.org/press/pressdetail.asp?pressid=28

On January 15, 2003 SMART reported that "last week SMART joined several civil and immigrant rights' groups in asking President Bush to address INS's "Special Call-in Registration" procedures targeted at Middle Eastern and Muslim men from 20 countries. The letter was endorsed by over 50 national and local...

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New President of Richmond Hill's Sikh Community

January 15, 2003

Source: New York Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/51483p-48269c.html

On January 15, 2003 the New York Daily News reported that "though the East Coast's largest Sikh congregation has been without a temple since a devastating fire last year, its cultural society just installed a new president dedicated to expanding outreach to its Richmond Hill [NY] community... In December, Harpreet Singh Toor was elected by the Sikh Cultural Society's board...

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Man Threatens Hate Crime after Road-Rage Incident

January 14, 2003

Source: The Argus

http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83%257E1971%257E1109079,00.html

On January 14, 2003 The Argus reported that "[Fremont, CA] police arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of making violent threats and committing a hate crime after he threatened to burn down the Sikh temple... David Criswell of Hayward was arrested about 6:15 p.m. Sunday after a weeklong investigation into the case that began during a road-rage...

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Celebration Services for Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, 2003

January 13, 2003

Source: Fresno Bee

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/5877223p-6841362c.html

On January 13, 2003 the Fresno Bee reported that "Sikhs in Fresno [CA] ended 48 hours of continuous reading of their Holy Book on Sunday, bringing to a close the annual celebration of the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh... About 1,200 participated, gathering for the reading and prayers at the Sikh temple on Dakota Avenue, near First Street... The event culminated Sunday afternoon with...

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Celebration Services for Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, 2003

January 13, 2003

Source: Tri-Valley Herald

http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86%257E10669%257E1107754,00.html

On January 13, 2003 the Tri-Valley Herald reported that "during 17th-Century battles in which Sikhs fought against the ruling Moguls of India, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib sent his own sons to the front line, Sikhs believe... At least four of them died, along with dozens of his other family members during the many battles he led as the last of...

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Update: Hindus, Muslims, and Vegetarians Sue McDonald's over Use of Beef Flavoring in Fries

January 13, 2003

Source: The Chicago Sun-Times

[suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-mac14.html]

On January 13, 2003 The Chicago Sun-Times reported that "a scientist.. urged a Cook County [IL] judge Monday to reject McDonald's Corp.'s proposed list of 26 groups scheduled to share in a $10 million settlement by the fast-food chain... 'It will set back vegetarianism as a class for 10 to 20 years' because the groups McDonald's favors are hostile to the values the settlement was intended to honor, said T. Colin Campbell, a Cornell University...

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