Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "at least a dozen murders are being investigated as hate crimes by [Texas] authorities. Families of those victims say they share the grief of the families of those who perished at the World Trade Center and Pentagon and who were aboard the jetliners that crashed that day. But amid the commemorations and observances of the first anniversary of Sept. 11, they feel forgotten. Representatives of the national charities say the issue is not so simple. The September 11th Fund...

Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "Americans toward the end of the 20th century began reexamining their religious affiliations with intensity after an unprecedented growth of 'nontraditional' U.S. faiths, said Diana L. Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. No longer were Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims 'just on the other side of the world,' Eck said. Now they were 'neighbors across the street, and the encounter of people of other religions [became] more prevalent.' This trend...

Source: India-West

On September 13, 2002 India West reported that "the filmmakers of a documentary on Sikhs in America are hoping that the film will find a television audience in time for the November birthday of Guru Nanak, the religion's founder. 'Mistaken Identity: Sikhs in America,' directed by Vinanti Sarkar and hosted by journalist Amanda Gesine, tells the visual story of Sikhs in post-9/11 America. Sarkar and Gesine traveled across...

Source: Reuters

Source: USA Today

On September 12, 2002 USA Today reported that "more than 200 people gathered near a freshly planted Indian rosewood that honors Balbir Singh Sodhi, 52, an Indian immigrant and a Sikh who was shot to death outside his Chevron station in Mesa four days after the terrorist attacks. In the year since those crimes, Mesa and greater Phoenix have faced head-on the fear and distrust of Arabs and Muslims spawned by Sept. 11. Sikhs, who are neither Muslim nor Arab, have sought to educate Americans about who they are, too."

Source: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/86493_history11.shtml

On September 11, 2002 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer featured the article "In Their Words: Proud Sikhs can't forget the backlash," which highlights the experiences and opinions of a Sikh-American in Washington state. "'Jathedar' Sidhu prays at Gurudwara Singh Sabah of Washington, the Renton Sikh Temple. Sidhu is a postal worker who has cried for his love for America -...

Source: Zwire

On September 11, 2002 Zwire reported on Sher JB Singh, who "a year ago... was pulled off an Amtrak train in Providence, R.I., and arrested amid a crowd of angry people and racial slurs. He was accused of being a terrorist. His photo appeared in newspapers and on television, linked with words like 'suspicious' and 'weapon.' Now, Singh, a devout Sikh originally from Chandigarh, Punjab, in northern India, works to educate others about the meaning and importance of turbans and ceremonial knives. He is not angry at the police or government, despite...

Source: The Reporter

http://www.thereporter.com/Specials/9Eleven/pg01a.html

On September 11, 2002 The Reporter in Vacaville, California reported that "when local Sikh-Americans found their sacred temple sullied in July with black spray-painted profanity and the message, 'go back where you belong,' they simply removed it and went about the business of living their religion... Tolerance for their fellow men, including the ignorant, is part of being Sikh... said...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On September 11, 2002 The Arizona Republic printed an editorial which stated, "it is fitting and important that all Americans take time today to mourn the victims of last Sept. 11 and to give sober reflection to the challenges America will face in coming years. At the same time, it's important also for residents of the East Valley to take a little time to reflect on our area's own particular additional sadness, the senseless murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi. After Sodhi was killed, there was a strong demonstration of sympathy for...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On September 10, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "speaking at a senior citizen center Monday, [Dr. Navinderdeep Singh] Nijher... one of the first physicians to arrive at the burning remains of the twin towers... recalled the backlash of hate he and other Sikhs faced from fellow Americans in the wake of the attacks... When he walked into the drugstore to get film developed from Ground Zero, the store clerk mistook him for a Muslim. 'When I presented the pictures to the drugstore clerk, I asked him how much it would...

Source: The Satya Circle

On September 9, 2002 The Satya Circle printed an editorial which stated, "if there is to be any significant improvement in the way South Asian- or Arab-Americans are treated by other Americans, the change must take place not through a superficial adjustment on the part of the former, but through an appreciation by the latter of the fact that those of South Asian or Arab descent are Americans, and that these individuals contribute to and secure the happiness and liberty enjoyed by all. Indeed, it is only other Americans who must...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On September 8, 2002, The Arizona Republic reported that "the pain of losing a patriarch hasn't really left the Sodhi family. It's been a year since Sukhwinder Singh Sodhi's father, Balbir, was shot to death while planting flowers outside the family's convenience store near 80th Street and University Drive in Mesa. Sukhwinder, 29, wears a Diamondbacks baseball cap now instead of a turban. His dark beard is close-cropped. He says family life was starting to get better until Balbir's brother, a San Francisco cab driver, was shot...

Source: The Boston Globe

On September 8, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "for the roughly 150 Sikhs... living at or near the ashram in Millis, [Massachusetts] life has changed since Sept. 11... Never before has a long beard and turban evoked the response it now does. Still, Sikhs in Millis, the largest community of its kind in New England, say that although they remain more vigilant, they have found the vast majority of people to be caring and curious about their religious practices... The turban represents several beliefs in Sikhism, according to...

Source: The Daytona Beach News-Journal

http://www.news-journalonline.com/2002/Sep/8/AREA2D.htm

On September 8, 2002 The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that "local [FL] Muslims and Sikhs said the last 12 months have been more unifying than destructive, a learning experience for customers at their stores, church members who invite them to speak, police officers who help keep them safe."

Source: Iowa City Press-Citizen

http://www.press-citizen.com/news/090802arabs.htm

On September 8, 2002 Iowa City Press-Citizen reported that "some members of the Muslim and Arab communities in Iowa City say the local response has been overwhelmingly positive. Despite the mostly positive reaction in Iowa City, the local community was not immune from some negative backlash. A Press-Citizen survey of Big Ten schools the week after Sept. 11 found threats or incidents of...