The Sikh Coalition Newsletter

Justice for All - The Weekly Newsletter
Sawan 14, 534 NanakShahi
July 29, 2002
Volume 12

CALL FOR COMMUNITY ACTION
On a July 11, 2002 airing of CNN’s television program Crossfire, Crossfire Republican analyst Bob Novak made a derogatory remark regarding religious headwear. When expressing support for allowing pilots to have guns in the cockpit, Novak stated, “If they [the pilots on the 9/11 flights] had those guns, those handkerchief heads with box cutters wouldn't have killed 3,000 Americans.” The exact transcript from the show can be found here.

Such an irresponsible remark is unacceptable and disrespects the religious beliefs of Sikhs, Muslims, and other groups who wear religious headwear. The Sikh Coalition strongly urges the Sikh and other communities to condemn Novak’s statement by writing to Crossfire at crossfire@cnn.com or filling out Crossfire’s online feedback form, which can be accessed from here. You are welcome to use the following sample letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

As a member of the Sikh American community, I am writing to express my outrage over a derogatory remark regarding religious headwear made by CNN Crossfire Republican analyst Bob Novak. On the July 11, 2002 airing of the show, Novak referred to the terrorists of the 9/11 catastrophe as “handkerchief heads.”

The 26 million Sikh men and women in the world, 500,000 of which reside in the U.S., are required by religious tenet to cover their heads. Novak’s irresponsible remarks are unacceptable and disrespect the religious beliefs of Sikhs, as well as other groups such as Muslims who wear religious headwear. Furthermore, CNN’s allowing such commentary amounts to permitting racial or ethnic slurs to cross the airwaves while disguised as a legitimate, political viewpoint.

I, along with the entire Sikh community, hope that CNN will take corrective action in order to ensure that such bias is not given a platform on Crossfire in the future.

Sincerely,

<your name here>

COALITION SPONSORS SAALT's HATE CRIME DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS
The Sikh Coalition continues to sponsor film screenings of "Raising Our Voices: South Asian Americans Address Hate" across the United States. The documentary, produced by the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), addresses hate crimes against South Asians in the U.S. both before and after September 11th. The screenings, a part of SAALT's national campaign to raise awareness about the problem of hate crimes in the South Asian American community, are accompanied by panel discussions with leaders from minority communities and civil rights organizations. For more information on how you can arrange "Raising Our Voices" screening workshops in your area, please contact us at info@sikhcoalition.org.

Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
On Tuesday, July 23, The Sikh Coalition participated in a screening of "Raising Our Voices" on Capitol Hill. The event was sponsored by Congressmen Honda (D-CA) and Woolsley (D-CA). The screening was followed by a panel discussion on hate crimes and profiling for the audience of Congressional staffers and interns. The panelists included: Amandeep Singh (Sidhu), Regional Director for The Sikh Coalition; Deepa Iyer and Nicholas Rathod, SAALT Board Members; and Muneer Ahmad, Professor at American University's Washigton College of Law. The event was organized by Neheet Trivedi, a Yale undergraduate student interning on the Hill.

Pennsylvania
The Sikh Coalition, together with members of SAALT, presented "Raising Our Voices" in central Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 21. The screenings took place at Bethel Township (Blue Mountain) Gurdwara and at the Islamic Society of Schuykill County, and were followed by panel discussions in which the Sikh and Muslim communities were enthusiastic participants. The panelists included representatives from the following organizations: Coalition for Immigrants Rights at the Community Level (CIRCLE); Sikh American Association (SAA); The Sikh Coalition; Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Taskforce (SMART); and SAALT. The Coalition would like to commend the efforts of Nina Kaur, a recent high school graduate and intern with CIRCLE, who was instrumental in arranging the screenings.

California
The Sikh Coalition and SAALT participated in three consecutive days of “Raising Our Voices” screenings in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area Sikhs, a constituent member of The Coalition, and the Sikh Students Association of San Jose State University, were central in planning the events, which were held on:

July 26 at San Jose State University,
July 27 at the University of California Berkeley,
July 28 at the Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco
Numerous South Asian and civil rights groups co-sponsored the functions.

COALITION COMBATS KIRPAN BAN WITH IBM
The Sikh Coalition is continuing to help a Sikh employee at IBM challenge the company’s discriminatory position on the kirpan. IBM bars the kirpan under its “no weapons” policy. There are approximately 25 kirpan-bearing Sikhs working in one manufacturing facility at IBM, where they must pass through metal detectors. The employee seeking to make the change in IBM’s corporate policy was threatened with termination if she continues to wear the kirpan in her workplace. The Sikh Coalition is working with Sikh executives across the country in an effort to change IBM’s discriminatory policy. The Coalition urges Sikhs who work or know any Sikhs who work for IBM, whether they do or do not wear the kirpan, to notify The Coalition by emailing info@sikhcoalition.org. The identity of those wearing the kirpan will be shielded from IBM by The Coalition. The Sikh Coalition is confident that with the efforts of the collective Sikh community, IBM will agree to recognize the kirpan.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED
Kirpan bans, in which employers are prohibiting their Sikh employees from wearing the kirpan, are occurring at an increasing rate throughout the country. In order to effectively combat these and future cases, The Sikh Coalition urgently needs your help. If you wear the kirpan and your employer is aware of it, please contact us immediately by e-mailing info@sikhcoalition.org or writing to the address below. The Coalition would like to thank those who have responded to the urgent action request and have been added to The Coalition’s list of supporting references. The Coalition is working so that ultimately, the kirpan and the other Sikh articles of faith will be recognized in the U.S. through official legislation.


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