October 21, 2010

A QUESTION OF APPEARANCES: OBAMA WILL BYPASS SIKH TEMPLE ON VISIT TO INDIA

Posted by The Himalayan Voice:
[Mr. Obama, a Christian, has struggled to fend off persistent rumors that he is a Muslim, and Sikhs in the United States have often been mistaken for Muslims. Sikhism, which arose in the Punjab region in the 15th century, includes elements of Hinduism and Islam but forms a wholly distinct faith. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Sikhs in the United States have been occasional targets of anti-Muslim discrimination and violence — a Sikh was killed in Arizona a few days after the attack on the World Trade Center by a man who mistook him for a Muslim.] 
By LYDIA POLGREEN
 
The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, is a popular stop for famous visitors. Sikh scriptures require that men tie a piece of cloth on their heads to enter.

NEW DELHI — The Golden Temple, a sprawling and serene complex of gleaming gold and polished marble that is the spiritual center of the Sikh religion, is one of India’s most popular tourist attractions. Revered by Indians of all faiths, it is a cherished emblem of India’s religious diversity. So it was no surprise when the gold-plated marvel was promoted as the likely third stop on President Obama’s visit to India, scheduled for early November.
But the United States has ruled out a Golden Temple visit, according to an American official involved in planning. Temple officials said that American advance teams had gone to Amritsar, the holy city that is the site of the temple, to discuss a possible visit. But the plan appears to have foundered on the thorny question of how Mr. Obama would cover his head, as Sikh tradition requires, while visiting the temple.
“To come to golden temple he needs to cover his head,” said Dalmegh Singh, secretary of the committee that runs the temple. “That is our tradition.”
Mr. Obama, a Christian, has struggled to fend off persistent rumors that he is a Muslim, and Sikhs in the United States have often been mistaken for Muslims. Sikhism, which arose in the Punjab region in the 15th century, includes elements of Hinduism and Islam but forms a wholly distinct faith. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Sikhs in the United States have been occasional targets of anti-Muslim discrimination and violence — a Sikh was killed in Arizona a few days after the attack on the World Trade Center by a man who mistook him for a Muslim.
Observant Sikhs do not cut their hair, and Sikh men wear turbans that cover their heads in public. Visitors to Sikh temples, known as gurudwaras, are required to cover their heads and remove their shoes. Baseball caps are not considered appropriate. Sikh scriptures require that men tie a piece of cloth on their heads, not simply put on a hat that can be easily taken off, because the act of tying has spiritual significance. Most non-Sikh visitors tie on kerchiefs sold by vendors outside the temple.
The Golden Temple is a popular stop for famous visitors. In 1997 the Queen of England padded around the glittering temple in her stocking feet. Another kind of royalty, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that controls India’s Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi has also been to the temple. He sipped tea from a metal bowl there, sitting on the ground like every other visitor, head draped as temple tradition demands. Last year Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, also covered his head when he visited the temple.
For Mr. Obama, who will be seeking to cement the crucial but sometimes testy relationship between two of the world’s biggest democracies, the temple was one of several possible backdrops intended to convey America’s kinship with India. Mr. Obama will visit Mumbai and New Delhi.
H. S. Phoolka, a prominent Sikh lawyer in New Delhi, said he was disappointed that Mr. Obama would not visit the temple.
“We have worked so hard to establish in America that Sikhs have a very different identity than Muslims,” Mr. Phoolka said. “It is very unfortunate that even the White House is conveying the message that there is no difference between Muslims and Sikhs.”


The New York Times Hari Kumar and Jim Yardley contributed reporting.

AS SIKHS IN US LAMENTED OBAMA MAY RECONSIDER VISITING GOLDEN TEMPLE

[“This may not be the only reason,” said Shamsher Singh, founder and director of the Sikh Cultural Society in Washington. “We don’t know. It’s like when you’re expecting a guest in your home and they don’t come. One feels as though they have been let down. But if he doesn’t go, I understand it.”] 
By KEN MAGUIRE
WASHINGTON — Sikhs in the United States expressed their frustration Thursday that President Obama would skip a tentatively planned visit to their holiest site in India, while advocacy groups called on the White House to reconsider.
Mr. Obama was expected to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, next month, but there were questions about how he would cover his head. Sikh tradition requires that men tie a piece of cloth on their heads before entering the spiritual center. The president, who is Christian, has fought the perception that he is Muslim. Sikhs are regularly mistaken for Muslims.
“There’s a xenophobic trend in this country, where some people are calling him Muslim,” said Jasjit Singh, associate director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a Washington-based civil rights group. “If he gives in to this trend then effectively he’s emboldening them.”
United Sikhs, a New York-based human rights group, also urged Mr. Obama to go ahead with the visit, which it said would “stand as the seminal educating moment for Sikhs to once and for all introduce themselves and their distinctive identity to the world.”
Still, many Sikhs, while disappointed, stopped short of calling for protests. They said there might be legitimate reasons, like security, why the president will bypass the popular tourist destination, which is near the Pakistan border.
“This may not be the only reason,” said Shamsher Singh, founder and director of the Sikh Cultural Society in Washington. “We don’t know. It’s like when you’re expecting a guest in your home and they don’t come. One feels as though they have been let down. But if he doesn’t go, I understand it.”
Sikhism arose in the Punjab region of India in the 15th century and includes elements of Hinduism and Islam.
A Pew Research center survey in August found that nearly one in five Americans say Mr. Obama is a Muslim.
“If he bended under political pressure not to go because of a head covering, then I’m really disappointed,” said Jasvir Singh, a member of the Sikh Society of Michigan.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, asked Wednesday about the headscarf issue, said the schedule had not been finalized.
“Look, it’s a big country,” Mr. Gibbs said. “We’d love to spend a lot more than the three allotted days that we have in India. But we pick where we’re going to go on trips based on what we hope to accomplish.”
At the National Gurdwara in Washington, a Sikh temple, Sampuran Singh, a musician, said Thursday he had been in the United States for only one week but had been asked several times by Americans if he is Muslim.
“Some understand, some do not understand,” he said. “It’s for us to keep telling people. Obama is welcome. He is a good man.”
If Mr. Obama or anyone else visits the brick temple , the instructions are clear. Visitors must turn off their cellphones and remove their shoes.
A box of orange bandan alike headscarves near the front door will satisfy the final instruction: “Please cover your head beyond this point.”
Rebecca Cathcart contributed reporting from Los Angeles. and Emma Graves Fitzsimmons from Chicago

Related articles