Timeline: A Record of Assault against Sikhs in the Awaken of 9/11

USA: Sunday’s capturing occurrence at a Sikh gurdwara in a The usa suburban area is only the newest example of a reputation of violence against enthusiasts of the centuries-old Southern Oriental belief since the strikes of Sept. 11, 2001. In a lot of these situations, Sikhs say, they were wrong for Muslims, because of their spiritual outfit, such as turbans, beards and lengthy gowns. The Sikh group, which somme around 314,000 in the U.S., is entirely individual from the Islamic trust. But in the wake of 9/11, violence against Sikhs rised.
Prabhjot Singh, co-founder and trustee of the New York-based Sikh Coalition, began the team on the night of 9/11 “to reply to the terrible activities of that day,” he informs TIME. Sikh-Americans were assaulted twice that day, he says: once by the terrorists, and once by “fellow Americans” who mistook Sikhs for Muslims. His company, which areas reviews of elegance against Sikhs across the country, provides as an recommend for all enthusiasts of the belief and efforts to nurture a good reputation between Sikhs and other Individuals. “We’re expecting this terrible occurrence can be used as an probability to practice maybe a wider conversation of xenophobia in The united states,” he says. The Sikh Coalition has obtained more than 1,000 problems of violence or elegance against Sikhs since Sept 11, 2001. Here are some of the toughest attacks:
Sept. 15, 2001: The Sikh proprietor of a Chevron gas place in a Arizona suburban area was killed by a gunman just times after 9/11, in one of the first significant situations of violence against a Sikh-American in the wake of the strikes. Balbir Singh Sodhi, 49, was fatally taken by 42-year-old Honest Roque, a Mesa, Arizona. citizen, who said he was lashing out at “Arabs” after viewing recurring video of the Globe Business Middle strikes on tv. He also attempt to capture a Lebanese-American worker at a close by Mobil place and shot at a house possessed by Afghan-Americans. As he was being caught on expenses of first-degree killing, Roque supposedly yelled, “I take a position for The united states all the way.” He was discovered guilty of Sodhi’s killing and was sentenced to loss of lifestyle, which was later decreased to lifestyle in prison. Sodhi’s name was included to Arizona’s 9/11 funeral service in the wake of the disaster.
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Nov 18, 2001: A Sikh house of praise, the Gobind Sadan, was seriously damaged in an arson assault just several weeks after 9/11. Situated in Palermo, N.Y., 30 kilometers northern of Syracuse, the forehead was set on flame by three regional youngsters who supposedly mistook the name as “Go bin Packed.” Situated in an old farm house, most of the framework was damaged after the teenagers placed alcohol wines at the windows and then set it on fire; the only remaining areas were the ones containing the Sikhs’ sacred scriptures. The forehead was later destroyed to create way for a new one, which reopened in 2008. The three youngsters were billed with arson in the flame, which triggered $120,000 value of harm.
Dec 10, 2001: Surinder Singh Sidhu had been dressed in a star-spangled turban in the wake of the enemy strikes to demonstrate his patriotism, but it can't quit the Los Angeles alcoholic beverages shop proprietor from being the sufferer of a terrible anti-religious assault. As the 47-year-old shut his shop, two men joined with 4-foot steel northern and southern region poles and defeat him more than 20 periods, supposedly saying “We’ll destroy bin Packed nowadays.” Sidhu was handled for go accidents but live through.
March 14, 2004: Vandals spray-painted anti-Sikh graffiti on a Fresno, Calif. forehead just before worshippers collected for Weekend solutions. The improper words ‘Rags Go Home’ and ‘It’s Not Your Country’ were scrawled on the outside surfaces of the Gurdwara Sahib in the northern Calif. town. No one was ever caught in relationship with the graffiti.
July 11, 2004: Two Sikh relatives were assaulted by a list of six people as they stepped into an Native indian eating place in the New You are able to City borough of A queen. Rajinder Singh Khalsa and his relative Gurcharan Singh, the restaurant’s proprietor, were ceased by the list of supposedly intoxicated men outside the eating place. “Give me returning my layer,” one supposedly said to Singh before defeating them. The 54-year-old Khalsa lay subconscious after the assault, taken to the hospital with a damaged nasal area and hurt eye plug.
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July 30, 2006: A Sikh grandpa was stabbed in the throat with a meat blade by a man who desired “to destroy a Taliban.” Iqbal Singh was status in his generate way in Santa Clara, Calif., planning to leave for spiritual solutions, when Everett wa Thompson, 20, ran up to him and stabbed him with the blade. Thompson was caught and billed with tried killing and a dislike criminal activity.
November 28, 2010: A Sacramento, Calif. cab car owner was defeated by two Hispanic men after losing off them and their spouses. Harbhajan Singh, 56, was remaining blood loss in his cab after the assault, during which one of the men requested if he was Osama bin Packed. Singh, a Sikh, was defeated more than 10 periods and experienced face cracks. He came to a close by real estate complicated to ask for help. After a five-day manhunt, the two men converted themselves in to cops. One obtained 13 decades in prison for the assault.
March 4, 2011: Two seniors Sikhs were taken as they took an mid-day trip in Elk Grove, Calif., a suburban area of Sacramento. Surinder Singh, 65, was noticeable deceased at the landscape, while his buddy Gurmej Atwal, 78, was hurried to the hospital in crucial situation and passed away six several weeks later. Both men were gunned down as they ambled gradually through a basic community, seeming affected individuals of a drive-by capturing. The gunmen were never discovered.