The Seattle Sikh community is organizing a Candlelight Vigil for 6pm Wednesday at Renton Gurdwara. Sukhvir Singh was brutally attacked on Saturday and is in the hospital. Please try to attend and show your support for Sukhvir Singh and all other victims of hate crimes. See the official flyer below.

News Articles:
KOMO4 Video Report
King 5 Report and Video Interview
Seattle PI: Intoxicated fan accused of beating Sikh cab driver
Seattle Times: Sikh cab driver injured in assault, Kent man arrested
Seattle Times: Hate-crime charge filed in attack on Sikh cab driver

Sikh Coalition Press Releases (with photographs):
Sikh Suffers Brutal Hate Attack in Seattle
Sikh Hate Crime Victim Back in Hospital

The Sikh Coalition reports that a cab driver has been brutally attacked in Seattle. It happened this past Saturday. As a Seattle Sikh myself, I’m confident the Seattle Sikh Community and the King County Police will pursue the details of this case until justice is served.

(Seattle, WA) November 26, 2007 - A Sikh cab driver was brutally assaulted by a passenger on Saturday, the night of Gurpurab. Sukhvir Singh’s attacker threatened to kill him, calling him a “terrorist” as he punched and bit him, pulling locks of hair from his head. The Sikh Coalition calls on the King’s County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to prosecute the incident as a hate crime.

The full PR after the jump.
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The Sikh Coalition chalks up another success with its response to this incident, reported in its press release, included after the jump. (more…)

Radio Salaam Namaste aired a program where two DJ’s made derogatory remarks about Sikhs and encouraged listeners to call in and do the same. SALDEF was alerted, and has secured an apology from the radio program that airs every hour. Like everything, this is a net positive for the Sikh community, and we should applaud SALDEF’s hard work. But in this particular case, it seems like an apology doesn’t really cut it.

As pointed out by several posts on the Sikhnet Discussion forums (see posts by Jennifer Reed and Sutinder Singh), Don Imus referred to women on the Rutgers basketball team as “nappy headed ho’s” earlier this year. CBS fired Imus for this remark. So how did this happen? The African American community, civil rights groups, and womens groups got together, voiced their opinion and Imus lost his job. Or, from a simpler angle, we can say the power of, and the respect given to, the African American community meant that Don had to lose his job.

The case of the two DJ’s is no different. The DJ’s got on air, made disparaging remarks about Sikhs, and even encouraged listeners to call in and do the same — much more egregious behavior than Don Imus’s remark in passing.

Yet the outcomes are different. Don lost his job, while the radio DJ’s can hide behind an “I’m sorry, we promise we won’t do it again.” Again, SALDEF and other Sikh orgs should be applauded for their hard work, but in this case, we appear too soft. If we’re too nice to call for the dismissal of the DJ’s (which we deserve), how about a two-week suspension of the DJ’s? What’s your opinion?

There’s a bit more to the story: the FCC has strict rules about on air behavior, and even has a formal complaint filing process. SALDEF release after the jump.

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It’s a shame when people think they can denigrate the sacred religious articles of others and get away with it. Please sign the SALDEF sponsored petition below and get Al Rantel to apologize. The last public figure to make anti-Sikh remarks of this level was a gentleman named John Cooksey, and the Pluralism Project has a nice writeup on that.  Would Rantel make the same remarks about Nuns or about Jews?  Please sign the petition and read on.

Sign the Petition

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Here’s the SALDEF Press Release:

Maryland Teens Arrested in Burtonsville Hate Crime
SALDEF commends Montgomery County Police for efforts in apprehending alleged perpetrators

Washington, DC: October 4, 2007 – Yesteday, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nations oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, was informed that five teens have been arrested in connection with a string of attacks in Burtonsville, Maryland. SALDEF spoke directly with Chief Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department who discussed the arrests and indicated that additional arrests are expected. (more…)

Saldef writes:

Two Elderly Sikh American Men Suffer Vicious Attack in Maryland
FBI asked to probe possible hate crime; Community urged to continue reporting similar incidents

Washington D.C. – September 20, 2007: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights organization, filed a formal complaint today with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about an alleged hate crime in Burtonsville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC.

The incident occurred when two Sikh American men were walking near their home during the afternoon of Saturday, September 15, 2007. During their walk they were approached by a group of six young men.

As the group approached, one of the young men struck the first victim with a blow to the side of his face, causing him to fall to the ground and partially lose consciousness. When the other victim attempted to call the police, another young man took his cell phone and began assaulting him. The attackers continued their assault on the victims after which they fled from the scene.

As no valuables were taken from the victims, there are indications the attack could have been racially and religiously motivated.
“Such attacks create an environment of fear for not only all Maryland residents, but for all minorities across the country,” said SALDEF Associate Director Rajbir S. Datta. “Unfortunately, the incident, which took place four days after the sixth anniversary of 9/11, has become an all too common experience for Sikh Americans.”

SALDEF has filed formal complaints with the FBI and Montgomery County Police Department encouraging them to investigate the attack as a possible hate crime.

If you believe you have been the target of bias, workplace discrimination, harassment, or a hate crime please contact SALDEF immediately via email, at 877-917-4547 and also report it online.