Posted on 10/15/2004 7:15:36 AM PDT by flutters
Terrorism task force, FBI called in over weapon that is integral to faith
His first name means "God’s prayer."
And prayers were what Gursimran Singh, 18, was counting with a mechanical clicker as he rode an Ohio State University bus this week — and what he’s done on the bus every day since school started a few weeks ago.
Singh, a devout Sikh and OSU freshman, also was wearing a turban on his head and a kirpaan, a ceremonial knife, in a sling within his clothing. The knife had a 6-inch blade.
Wearing a kirpaan, he said, is crucial to the Sikh religion.
But fellow riders and the bus driver didn’t understand.
Singh, a Cincinnati native, was arrested Wednesday morning after OSU police officers stopped him as he got off the bus.
The joint terrorism task force was called in, an OSU police report shows, and the FBI interrogated Singh.
No charges were filed against Singh, said OSU Assistant Police Chief Rick Amweg, and within about 2½ hours, he was back in class.
"I was just shocked," said Singh, who said he doesn’t harbor anger toward the officers and that he was treated with respect.
He did question, though, why it took several officers to arrest him and two to handcuff him.
"I thought it only took one person," he said yesterday afternoon.
Though Singh didn’t know it at the time, the arrest was the culmination of an incident when he rode the bus about a week ago, when some other OSU students became suspicious and took pictures of him with cameras on their cell phones, Amweg said.
At the time, Singh was using his prayer clicker, which he said counts his prayers not unlike a Catholic’s rosary beads.
The students turned his picture over to OSU police, who then began a watch for Singh, Amweg said.
"Our concerns were that we needed to identify who he was, and what he was doing," he said, adding that he thought the students did the right thing.
In the course of trying to find Singh, police on Saturday stopped another Sikh student on the street, Amweg said.
That man was a second-year OSU medical student. He was questioned for about a half-hour and not charged.
But on Wednesday, a bus driver recognized Singh from a picture police had circulated to OSU drivers and radioed for police.
At least one member of the Sikh community said it’s a shame that those of his faith are lumped together with terrorists.
"After 9/11, people have become hypersensitive, or actually hyperdefensive," said Tarunjit Singh Butalia, a research scientist at OSU and faculty adviser to the OSU Sikh Student Association. "I think what happened here is an example."
Butalia, who is a member of the World Sikh Council, American region, urged people of different faiths to get to know one another.
As many as 36 students are Sikhs at OSU, and there are 100 Sikh families in Columbus, Butalia said.
"I would encourage people who see someone different to go up and to ask questions."
Sikhs, with 20 million followers worldwide and their largest populations in India and Pakistan, have never been tied to the Sept. 11 attack.
Prosecutors had considered charging Singh with carrying a concealed weapon, which Ohio code says is any "instrument, device or thing capable of inflicting death," but case law exempts the kirpaan.
"We stand by the right to wear a kirpaan," Butalia said.
The knife’s name means "bringer of mercy" and represents the Sikh pledge to be ready to oppose oppression — but to never start a confrontation.
OSU police have agreed to be at the next meeting of the Sikh Student Association, and Sikh students will attend a police training seminar next quarter to foster communication, Butalia said.
Singh said he would like to see everyone become more knowledgeable about differences.
"It would probably have been better if they (the students) had approached me, and asked me questions," he said.
He remembers pre-9/11 days, when "you didn’t stand out."
And then there is now: "I mean, Osama bin Laden wears a turban."
Amweg said he doesn’t criticize the students for contacting police.
"I think we had good citizen involvement. They did what they should have and reported it, and it all worked out for the best."
"case law exempts the kirpaan."
I hereby state that my religion requires me to openly carry my .45 ACP!
One of the more tragic consequences of 9/11 was some igorant yokels killing a Sikh because they associated the turban with muslims. These are a proud people, peaceful but a warrior culture. As far removed from Muslims as you'd want.
"concealed weapon, which Ohio code says is any "instrument, device or thing capable of inflicting death,"
Like a knitting needle?
If they saw me carrying a 6 inch bucknife they'd pull me aside too.
Poor Sikhs, they're such a good people, and on the surface so easily confused with moo slimes.
If you kept one under the seat of your car as protection and the cops found it and you admitted what it was there for they would charge you with carrying a concealed weapon.
This is my single gripe with police-- everything has to be handled like a SWAT situation.
One can never be too sure. The AQ operative attending school in NJ plotting to blow up the Prudential Building is a Hindu from India who converted to Islam.
Not anymore.....He's wearing faceloads of dirt.
Sikh bodyguards betrayed and killed Indira Ghandi, it is very probable that Sikh terrorists blew up a jetliner on an India-Canada flight ten or more years back.
but if all the muslims here became sikhs I would feel a lot better.
Heaven forbid, not more racial profiling! Next thing you know they'll be interrogating innocent towel-heads whose religion requires them to pray with bombs strapped to their torsos inside local elementary schools. The nerve of these policemen!
He did question, though, why it took several officers to arrest him and two to handcuff him.
Police don't respect anyone. They have absolutely no reason to believe that someone will act harshly often yet they treat average citizens like criminal trash. It gets back to them. There are certain counties where I won't give them the time of day.
Agreed they killed Gandhi and I don't condone that, but they were being seriously persecuted by the government. I wasn't aware it was Sikhs who were involved in the airliner crash, I thought it was related to the Kashmir problem.
"As far removed from Muslims as you'd want"
Actually, not true. Sikhism is a blend of Hinduism and Islam.
from a website........
Philosophy and Beliefs
There is only One God. He is the same God for all people of all religions.
The soul goes through cycles of births and deaths before it reaches the human form. The goal of our life is to lead an exemplary existence so that one may merge with God. Sikhs should remember God at all times and practice living a virtuous and truthful life while maintaining a balance between their spiritual obligations and temporal obligations.
The true path to achieving salvation and merging with God does not require renunciation of the world or celibacy, but living the life of a householder, earning a honest living and avoiding worldly temptations and sins.
Sikhism condemns blind rituals such as fasting, visiting places of pilgrimage, superstitions, worship of the dead, idol worship etc.
Sikhism preaches that people of different races, religions, or sex are all equal in the eyes of God. It teaches the full equality of men and women. Women can participate in any religious function or perform any Sikh ceremony or lead the congregation in prayer.
History and Practices
The founder of the Sikh religion was Guru Nanak who was born in 1469. He preached a message of love and understanding and criticized the blind rituals of the Hindus and Muslims. Guru Nanak passed on his enlightened leadership of this new religion to nine successive Gurus. The final living Guru, Guru Gobind Singh died in 1708.
During his lifetime Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa order (meaning 'The Pure'), soldier-saints. The Khalsa uphold the highest Sikh virtues of commitment, dedication and a social conscious. The Khalsa are men and women who have undergone the Sikh baptism ceremony and who strictly follow the Sikh Code of Conduct and Conventions and wear the prescribed physical articles of the faith. One of the more noticeable being the uncut hair (required to be covered with a turban for men) and the Kirpan (ceremonial sword).
Before his death in 1708 Guru Gobind Singh declared that the Sikhs no longer needed a living and appointed his spiritual successor as Sri Guru Granth Sahib, his physical successor as the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh felt that all the wisdom needed by Sikhs for spiritual guidance in their daily lives could be found in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Eternal Guru of the Sikhs. Sri Guru Granth Sahib is unique in the world of religious scriptures because not only is it accorded the status of being the spiritual head of the Sikh religion, but besides the poetry of the Gurus, it also contains the writings of saints of other faiths whose thoughts were consistent with those of the Sikh Gurus.
Sikhism does not have priests, which were abolished by Guru Gobind Singh. The Guru felt that they had become corrupt and full of ego. Sikhs only have custodians of the Guru Granth Sahib (granthi), and any Sikh is free to read the Guru Granth Sahib in the Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) or in their home. All people of all religions are welcome to the Gurdwara. A free community kitchen can be found at every Gurdwara which serves meals to all people of all faiths. Guru Nanak first started this institution which outline the basic Sikh principles of service, humility and equality.
The most significant historical religious center for the Sikhs is Harmiandir Sahib (The Golden Temple) at Amritsar in the state of Punjab in northern India. It is the inspirational and historical center of Sikhism but is not a mandatory place of pilgrimage or worship. All places where Sri Guru Granth Sahib are installed are considered equally holy for Sikhs.
Hey BM, Your inferior verse is annoying and nauseating. I'm sure you're a coward and would love to talk to you face to face about your fantasies of hurting innocents in the greatest nation on earth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.