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."
> You quoted scripture to say the opposite of what Christ intended
I quoted Scripture. It says what it says. I have no use for things that are written to mean other than what they say. Thus, when Christ said to buy a sword, that's what he meant. You don't *actually* think he was referring to using *money* to buy "spiritual armor"... do you???
> the devil can quote scripture
Yes, indeed, Pellegrino... or should I say, *Mephistopheles*???
> life of your soul, which goes on forever
Uck. How boring would THAT be? Bleah.
I would not wish to take away your sword, though I would prefer you carry a gun. The point is that the more Christ-like you become, the less you will feel the need to carry weapons for protection. Christ carried none and chastised his disciples for thinking that their physical weapons were capable of defeating the enemy. The enemy, after all, is not flesh and blood; the enemy is a spirit being who seeks the destruction of your soul. Signing off
I agree.
The Sikhs too, have long beeen victims of Islamic terror.
Personally, I think EVERYBODY whould be able to carry a knife, and a sword and a rifle and a pistol if they want to.
All Sikh men have the same last name: Singh, which means "Lion".
I'd trade ten American Muslims for one Sikh any day of the week.
You are a fool. Still there is hope.
Signing off.
So you think the disciples really pulled out two Bibles? And did they use a Bible to cut the Roman dude's ear off?
What was true in 900 A.D. is just as true today.
The carrying of a weapon is both wise and the symbol of a free man - something liberals have always opposed - freedoma and wisdom.
Do you know what their beliefs are? I'm curious, and ignorant about them as well. Are they part of the Hindu or Moslem population, or neither?
Jesus told them to carry a sword for protection.
I can hardly imagine you'd say the disciples didn't need the Word of God when they had no money. But the sword discussed was unnecessary for those without money.
Continue to read the thread. I also supplemented the conversation here with a google search. Very interesting.
A 2nd-Amendment device.
Sorry, you are mistaken. He was telling his disciples that physical danger abounded and we need to take responsibility for our own physical safety. He did not condemn Peter for owning a sword in the garden, he just admonished him for using a physical weapon in a spiritual battle.
And in quoting scipture, let me remind you of another statement of our Lord Jesus the Christ:
Matthew 5:22
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
You specifically said to orionblamblam:
You are a fool. Still there is hope.
Maybe you could explain why you put yourself in danger of the fire of hell.
> You are a fool.
Wow. You've convinced me. The staggering weight of your rhetorical genius is unassailable.
> Still there is hope.
Indeed so. It's called "reason." Reason says that since there are unreasonable people in the world, prepare for them. And since the evidence shows that the Word Of God doesn't stop a bullet, and a Bible will probably only stop a small one, you find something that does. And while a kevlar vest might stop a bullet, a gun in the right hands can stop that bullet from being fired int he first place.
> What was true in 900 A.D. is just as true today.
Indeed so. While the sword may have been replaced with the firearm, the principle remains unchanged.
> The carrying of a weapon is both wise and the symbol of a free man
The armed man is a citizen. The unarmed man is a subject.
Don't bother. I've been through this before with orionblamblam.
He WILL NOT listen to you.
Oh, I'll listen. I'll be listening for signs of rationality and consistency.
The quote says what it says. It says to buy a sword. Deal with it.
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