Posted on 04/26/2011 4:50:56 AM PDT by Libloather
Prayers at Sikh Temple in New York erupt in sword fight
By Jonathan Allen
Mon Apr 25, 6:51 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A leadership dispute that turned violent at a Sikh temple in New York, interrupting prayers with swinging swords and cricket bats, landed congregants in court on Monday on criminal charges, a prosecutor said.
Amid screaming, yelling, punching and the swinging of weapons, followers of the two men who each claim to be the rightful president of the Baba Makhan Shah Lobana Sikh Center in Richmond Hill set upon each other on Sunday morning, according to court documents filed by the Queens District Attorney's office.
Eight men were arrested on various charges of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and disruption of a religious service, police said. A police officer suffered minor injuries during the brawl.
"It's shameful for everybody," said Gurmej Singh, who said he was elected as president effective at the beginning of the year. "This is a religious place where we go for peace and people are ready to be killing each other. I feel bad."
He said that his rival for the presidency, Jarnail Singh, arrived with a gang of followers carrying weapons early on Sunday morning and waited inside the temple and started shouting at and attacking worshipers as they arrived, threatening to kill them.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Most Sikhs I’ve met have been very decent people. I am sorry to see something like this happen.
LOL!
“Welcome to tonight’s prayer group. In case of a swordfight, please exit through the tan doori.”
I thought Sikhs fulfill the sword requirement by wearing a miniature symbolic sword the size of a letter opener.
Anyway, the game of cricket is huge in the lands of the former British Raj. IMO a baseball bat is a far more effective blunt weapon than a cricket bat.
Lots of swordplay but no reports of stab wounds?
I dunno, I think society would be much more civil if we all could carry swords (and knew how to use them)
would like to see a bunch of people fighting each other with cricket bats and swordsIt's an intriguing concept. I've never hefted a cricket bat by I imagine that in the right hands it might be a fair-to-middling weapon against a sword. I would definitely watch (but not wager).
Seems to me it was a Culturally adjudicated difference of opinion and they should have been left to a final disposition.LOL!
That's one of the best dry-wit posts I've read in FR in a long time. Thanks for making me laugh!
Forgive my incorrect assumption, as ‘religion of pieces’ is often code for Muslim around here.
Talk about being in a “sticky wicket.”
This thread so wrong on some many levels SO UN PC
That what I love about FR LOL!
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