SGGS Conference 2017

1. I N T E R C O N N E C T E D E T H I C S
F O R T H E F R E E D O M A N D E Q U A L I T Y O F A L L
L I V I N G A S WA R R I O R S A I N T S

2. S I K H I S M : WA R R I O R S A I N T S
N I R I N J A N K A U R K H A L S A -
L O Y O L A M A RY M O U N T U N I V E R S I T Y
C L I N I C A L P R O F E S S O R S I K H & J A I N S T U D I E S
L O S A N G E L E S , C A

7. Hate Crimes Against Sikhs Post 9/11
March 14, 2004: Vandals spray-painted anti-
Sikh graffiti on a Fresno, Calif. temple just before
worshippers gathered for Sunday services. The
racist phrases ‘Rags Go Home’ and ‘It’s Not
Your Country’ were scrawled on the outside
walls of the Gurdwara Sahib in the
northern Calif. city. No one was ever arrested in
connection with the graffiti.
Sept. 15, 2001: The Sikh owner of a Chevron gas station in a Phoenix suburb was murdered by a gunman just days after 9/11, in one of the first
major cases of violence against a Sikh-American in the wake of the attacks. Balbir Singh Sodhi, 49, was fatally shot by 42-year-old Frank Roque, a Mesa, Ariz.
resident, who said he was lashing out at “Arabs” after watching repeated footage of the World Trade Center attacks on television. He also
attempted to shoot a Lebanese-American clerk at a nearby Mobil station and fired at a home owned by Afghan-Americans. As he was being arrested on charges of
first-degree murder, Roque reportedly shouted, “I stand for America all the way.” He was convicted of Sodhi’s murder and was sentenced to death, which
was later reduced to life in prison. Sodhi’s name was added to Arizona’s 9/11 memorial in the wake of the tragedy.
Nov 18, 2001: A Sikh house of worship, the Gobind
Sadan, was severely damaged in an arson attack just months
after 9/11. Located in Palermo, N.Y., 30 miles north of Syracuse,
the temple was set ablaze by three local teenagers who
reportedly mistook the name as “Go bin Laden.”
Dec 10, 2001: Surinder Singh Sidhu had been wearing a star-spangled turban in the wake of the
terrorist attacks to show his patriotism, but it couldn’t stop the Los Angeles liquor store owner from
being the victim of a vicious anti-religious attack. As the 47-year-old closed his shop, two men
entered with 4-foot metal poles and beat him more than 20 times, reportedly saying
“We’ll kill bin Laden today.” Sidhu was treated for head injuries but survived.

8. O A K C R E E K
A U G 5 , 2 0 1 2

10. Sukhmani Sahib: Peaceful Mind
1. Trade in Ego
2. Meditate on Unity
3. Nam in Heart
Then:
1.Pain and Sorrow depart
2.Peace dwells in heart
3.Perform Good Deeds for Others
4. See the same Light in every heart
5. Treat enemies and friends alike
6. Peacefully Accepts whatever happens