Sikhs join with Muslims |
Pardeep Kaleka, an Indian American teacher, spent several days after 9/11 at his father`s South Milwaukee gas station, fearing that his Sikh family would be targeted by people who assumed they were Muslim. But amid a new wave of anti-Islamic sentiment since the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Kaleka is vowing to take an entirely different approach. Across the U.S., Sikhs and Muslims are banding together to defend their respective religions. Someone bent on harming Muslims wouldn`t understand, or care, about the distinction between the two faiths. So they plan educational sessions and rallies. They successfully pushed the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs. They speak to lawmakers and support each other`s legal action, including a lawsuit filed over a New York City police surveillance program targeting New Jersey Muslims. Reports of bullying, harassment and vandalism against Sikhs have risen in recent weeks.Earlier this month, a Sikh temple in Orange County, Calif., was vandalized, as was a truck in the parking lot by someone who misspelled the word “Islam`` and made an obscene reference to ISIS.
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