Rajdeep Singh talks about the Disney Case on the Interfaith Alliance’s weekly program, “State of Belief.”

He touches on some of the ignorance shown among regular Americans regarding the case:

“One person said something to the effect that he’d be happy to shave off Sukhbir’s head himself, for someone to suggest [this, it's] an attack on deeply held religious beliefs.”

And he makes a great point about “the Disney look”:

When Disney tells somebody they don’t have the disney look, that’s akin to saying they don’t have the American look — and that raises a very fundamental question, which is, what an American is supposed to look like?

You can listen below — forward to 2:50 You can find the same clip on the State of Belief website. Nice work Rajdeep!

Check out the “say it now” online t-shirt shop — it sells some cool Sikh shirts. Whether you’re American, Canadian, Thai, or any of several other nationalities, the site has a Sikh shirt for you. The shirts express Sikh and national pride and include national flags. Here’s an example.

The front of the shirt highlights a quote from Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the back does something I’ve never seen before on a Sikh shirt — it clears up any confusion as to who we are.

Some may be a bit surprised by this and ask, “Why does the shirt say we are not ‘Jain’ or ‘Arab’ for example?” Well the simple truth is that we as Sikhs are not any of the terms in the list, yet we’re often confused with these other groups, so this shirt hopes to clear the ever-present fog. It’s no different than what you’d learn in a world religions class. It’s definitely a great shirt to wear in an airport security line. It’s cool, expresses your country pride, and covers the basics about who we are — I’m ordering one!

Some of my friends invited me to go swimming today — a request that is making me drop everything and head to the pool around 5pm. Fortunately the community center has open hours today for swimming:

The community center is located at 1 Nagar Kirtan Way, Lohgarh, NJ 01469-1699 and is just a few miles away from where I live.

I hope you give me some points for creativity and imagination, folks! Seriously though, wouldn’t this be cool? I remember many years ago, some Gursikhs started the Chardhi Kalaa Sikh Community Center in San Jose, CA. I’m not sure why it disappeared, but from what I remember, they had a similar vision and were on the right track to what we need in this country.

The web design on this site speaks for itself. It’s just really well done and I like it. It’s created by Gurpreet Kaur, a Sikh woman pursuing her passion for photography.

KaurWeddings.com

Don’t ask me why I’m looking at a site called “kaurweddings.com” though!

The Gurdwara langar food always tastes the best

Originally uploaded by Route79

Just a random flickr photo.

The Sikh Coalition coordinated a march for Sikh children in response to the recent wave of attacks on Sikh kids in New York area schools. Here are some photos and news reports from the event.

CBS Video: Queens Residents March Against School Bias Attacks

Fox Video: Sikhs Protest in Queens

New York Times: Queens Sikhs March Against Bias Crimes

Sikh Pulse: United Front

Full article here: Keeping the faith, respecting others

Choice Quote:

The panelists started by breaking down barriers, describing their homes and work places — most in spots such as Independence, Raytown, Lee’s Summit and Kansas City. When you recognize a man or woman as your neighbor, you’ve immediately established commonality.

And commonalities flowed through the panelists’ comments.

• Ralph Lesh (Baha’i): “In our faith, you’re always trying to be a better person.”

• Marie Svaglic (Buddhist): “I pray to remove from life all that is not good. … Our main goal is to pursue world peace.”

• Zarrieff Osman (Muslim): “We don’t have bandoliers with bullets, a machete or look like (Osama) bin Laden. Most Muslims here love America. We are here to make a contribution to America.”

• Gurdit Singh (Sikh): “We have three precepts: work, worship service… We pray for the uplifting of all humanity.”

Well said Gurdit.

Check out this amazing video clip from the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:

Here’s the full article: Teaching Not Preaching in CA Bible Belt

Now take a minute to contrast this situation with what’s going on in New York City schools. I present to you the direct quote below:

But in Modesto, the lessons aren’t about distant cultures, so much as about the student at the next desk.

“So the only religion that actually requires the wearing of the turban would be what faith?” Taylor asked her students.

“Sikhs,” students answered.

Jaskirat Brar, a devout member of Modesto’s Sikh community, may stand out at Johansen High. But thanks to the world religions course he also fits in.

“Kids get to learn what I am and clear up misconceptions they have about me,” he said.

“Because we have the world religions course, the students are aware of what’s happening in our community and that certainly is something to celebrate,” Taylor said.

“Probably the best thing that I learned [is] how to respect the cultures and the religions and what they believe,” one student said.

Great job Modesto School District! You guys are an example for the rest of the country.

The Sikh Coalition reports that Gurprit Kaur is the latest victim of school hatred — her hair was clipped by another student. The group has organized a March on June 30 to demand rights for students in New York. Unfortunately I’ll be out of town.

Excerpt from the press release:

On Monday, June 9, 2008 at approximately 11:00 am while in English class, Gurprit’s classmate told her that a portion of her braided hair had been cut off. Gurprit did not notice while her hair was being cut behind her back. Given the deep spiritual significance of her hair, Gurprit was extremely upset. She immediately conveyed her dismay to teachers.

Gurprit’s school conducted an investigation and within hours advised her that a classmate (a juvenile who shall remain nameless) had admitted to cutting her hair during a class they share together and where they sit next to each other. The school returned Gurprit’s hair to her wadded in a tissue. The perpetrator was suspended the same day.

I’ve also dropped in a JPG of the Flyer below, click to view.

Update 6/26/2008: Sign this Petition

Friend of sikhswim Inderpal Singh put in some effort and raised $10,000 from the Sikh community to create a $1,000 yearly scholarship in honor of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Excellent work Inderpal Singh!

Full Story: Surrey Leader.