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Wednesday, September 19, 2001
By Anita Srikameswaran, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
When Americans envision the person suspected of masterminding the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, they see a dark-eyed, bearded man with a turban.
But some Americans have not directed their fear and anger solely at Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian Muslim fundamentalist, or his supporters.
Instead, would-be vigilantes in some parts of the United States have taken to insulting or assaulting Sikhs, whose men somewhat resemble bin Laden, but don't share his religion, politics or ethnicity.
"We want people to understand that we have no relation with the terrorists," said Satpal Singh Kang, secretary of the Monroeville-based Tri-State Sikh Cultural Society, in a letter to news organizations.
Kang, like most Sikh men, has dark eyes, dark skin and a beard. He wears a turban.
Unfortunately, in some places that would be enough to make him a target.
Although Kang said there have been no reports of serious incidents here, a Sikh Web site has collected about 200 reports of everything from name-calling to murder around the nation in the days since the plane crashes.
On Saturday, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh service station owner in Mesa, Ariz., was shot and killed by a man who later fired at a Lebanese man and at the home of an Afghani family. No one else was injured.
Frank Silva Roque, 42, was charged with first-degree murder in that shooting, according to police in Mesa.
President Bush and other government officials have condemned such attacks, imploring Americans not to lash out against each other, and not to use physical appearance or religion as a basis for judging a person's connection to terrorism.
Still, when a murder is committed, "that makes people a little bit worried," Kang said during an interview. "I got a few phone calls from India [Monday] night to check that everything is OK. They see the news."
About 400,000 Sikhs live in the United States. There are about 100 families in the Tri-State area who worship at a Sikh temple in Monroeville.
The religion began more than 500 years ago in India. Sikhs follow the teachings of 10 gurus, the last of whom died in 1708. Since then, practitioners have learned and prayed from the Sikh holy book, called the Guru Granth Sahib, said Sucha Singh, the religious leader at the Sikh temple, or gurdwara, in Monroeville.
Sikhs believe that there is only one God. The path to salvation lies in living an honest life and avoiding sin and temptation. Fasting, superstitions, idol worship and pilgrimages are frowned upon.
The turban, which can be of any color, keeps a Sikh man's long hair bundled up and covered. Cutting hair or shaving beards is taboo in the religion. Women also let their hair grow, and they dress modestly, but unlike some Muslim women, they do not veil themselves.
"It's against Sikh religion to cover your face," Kang explained.
In addition to the customs of turban and beard, some Sikhs wear a kirpan, or a ceremonial sword, that can be 3 to 6 inches long. Now a symbol, it was carried historically as protection when Muslims and Sikhs were in conflict in northern India.
Kirpans are worn by Sikhs who have undergone a kind of baptism that expresses their dedication to the faith. The ceremony takes place during the teen years.
A wooden comb, boxer-like undergarments and a thin steel wrist bangle are also part of traditional Sikh garb.
But despite the safety concerns, Sikhs won't temporarily abandon the turban and cut their hair to draw less attention to themselves.
Removing his turban or cutting his hair, Kang said, would be as stressful as amputating a body part.
Inconvenience is understandable after the events of Sept. 11, Kang said. Safety is and should be the paramount concern.
"They can ask me a hundred questions," he said. "But if somebody is asking me because I am a Sikh, then you have a problem."
Kang emphasized that he doesn't want to teach people about Sikhs so that they may better focus attacks on Muslims and Arabs.
The odd thing is, he said, many of the alleged hijackers have been described as clean-shaven and did not wear turbans.
Sucha Singh, religious leader of the Tri-State Sikh Cultural Society in Monroeville, with the Sikh holy book called Guru Granth Sahib. (Bill Wade/Post-Gazette)