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."
Already got one, but thanks for the thought.
Well, then it sounds like you read the quote and agreed with it. A sign of consistency.
So, as I said early on... the Sikhs are hardly the only religion to call for armaments.
The young man is a Sikh. Not a Muslim. Bit of a difference there.
Sikhism is an Indian religion, founded in the Punjab (Pañjab) in the late 15th century AD by Nanak.
And of course, no Muslim would every buy a Sikh outfit so he could keep a nice sharp weapon handy. Imagine a group of "Sikhs" on a bus, all armed with these daggers.
Sikhs are cool, no question. That's not the issue at hand. The issue is whether we have to give in to PC every time it comes up.
If we keep doing it, they will use our PC against us (they are already doing so).
> Imagine a group of "Sikhs" on a bus, all armed with these daggers.
BOOOOOORRRRRING. If you want to worry, it's the terrorists who *aren't* obviously armed who are the threat. If you saw a bunch of people packing knives, you'd be more alert.
> The issue is whether we have to give in to PC every time it comes up.
What "PC" is being given in to here? The right to keep and bear arms? Freedom of religion? So long as this man is not harming you, what concern is it of yours if he has a knife?
Ah, yes! I have one too - its mystical name is "Thumper".
As long as I am allowed a knife of equal size -- no problem.
Well, to me the 2nd Amendment assures that. If it takes an excercise of the 1st to guarantee the 2nd... well, that's a bite in the butt, but it's a valid way to get the job done.
That's just silly. A muslim terrorist is going to go out of his way to look inconspicous, if he's smart. Wearing a Sikh turban is generally not the best way to melt into a crowd.
The issue is whether we have to give in to PC every time it comes up.
What type of PC are you talking about? The right to bear arms, or the right to peacefully practice one's religion?
The only issue I was addressing was a correction to a statement made by 'not2worry'.
To anyone who wishes to carry a blade like that on a bus I have no problem telling them....tough luck. Lose the blade.
Not anymore. Join the 21st Century, schmuck.
WHAT THE HELL IS THIS??? So this moron wears a knife to school and WE have to become more sensitive to THEIR "culture". No f**king way...lose the knife or lose your right to attend OSU.
Sikhs get a bad rap because they are easily confused with Muslims. The Sikh religion very honorable. I hope this issue is resolved for the young man in a good way.
So, you're opposed to peaceful religious expression, then?
This guy is peacefully practicing his religion, as well as practicing his 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Other than asking that he be left alone, he is not asking for anything. What if OSU required Christians to not wear a crucifix, or Jews to not wear a yarmulke. You'd be okay with that too, I suppose?
So, which rights do you want to take away from him- his 1st or 2nd Amendment rights?
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