Sikh Gurdwara in California Vandalized

Sheila Musaji

Posted Aug 1, 2013      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Sikh Gurdwara in California Vandalized

by Sheila Musaji


This week, a Sikh Gurdwara in Riverside County, California was]http://www.saldef.org/news/california-gurdwara-vandalized/#more-8674]was vandalized[/url] with graffiti.  Someone spray painted “terrorist” on the walls just a few days ahead of the first anniversary of the deadly shooting at a Sikh Gurdwara in Wisconsin. 

CAIR-LA issued this press release: “We stand in solidarity with the Sikh community and against the actions of a tiny minority of bigots who violate our nation’s longstanding principles of religious tolerance and inclusion.  As we have stated many times, an attack on any house of worship is an attack on all houses of worship.”

According to a Press Enterprise:  The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)  said it had been in contact with the Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department, the FBI and the Department of Justice,  urging them to investigate the vandalism in Jurupa Valley as a hate crime.
“It is horrible to see an attack of hate on a place of worship as we reflect on the lives lost one year ago during the attack on the Oak Creek Gurdwara (six people in Wisconsin were slain), the statement said.

“Attacks and vandalism against any of the nation’s houses of worship must be condemned by all Americans. These acts strike the very foundation of religious tolerance, a fundamental freedom this country was built upon,” Executive Director Jasjit Singh said. “We call upon local and federal law enforcement agencies to rightfully classify this incident as a hate crime and bring the perpetrators to justice to show that hate and violence are not tolerated in our society.

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