From the rubble of a firebombed mosque, relationships have emerged.

After local men burned the Islamic Center of Columbia, Tenn., to the ground in February, Muslim families had no place to worship. Donations came in to help establish a new center, and the First Presbyterian Church in town allowed them to worship at its church.

"It's just a great example of how we can believe different things and respect, celebrate each other," said Daoud Abudiab, president of the Islamic Center of Columbia. "And that's regardless of those who carry out acts of hate toward other groups."

Two of the three men charged with destroying and vandalizing the mosque pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court in Nashville, as the Islamic Center works to open its doors at 500 Carter St. in Columbia. [Link]

Mohsin Naqvi joined the Army to help bridge the divide between America and the Muslim world, and he died for that cause, family and friends said Friday.

Naqvi, a Pakistan native who was married in Albany's al-Fatima Islamic Center three months ago, was among four U.S. Army soldiers killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in eastern Afghanistan, according to family and friends.

He is survived by his 20-year-old wife, Raazia, and his sister, Tasneem Ali, both of Mechanicville; his brother, Hassan Naqvi, a University at Albany student; and his parents, who live in Newburgh.

"He was like an American ambassador, a bridge, a link," said Aziz Ahsan, a close family friend and attorney in Fishkill.

A service is expected to be held for Naqvi early next week at the al-Fatima mosque, with burial to follow in the center's cemetery. Specifics for the funeral could not be obtained late Friday afternoon, as Naqvi's body had not yet returned to the United States.

The second lieutenant had joined the Army Reserve near Newburgh days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because he felt his background made him uniquely qualified to try and reconcile differences between America and the Muslim world, family and friends said.

Naqvi fought discrimination from military leaders while participating in basic training and during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. One time, officers asked him the origin of his last name and if he was fighting on the right side, his brother recalled Friday. [Link]

The entrance sign to the Sikh temple in Fairfield was damaged by bullets so often, members finally decided to let it be.

"We used to change the sign, but haven't done it for more than a year," said Gurpreet Dhugga. "Our mission isn't accomplished yet."

That "mission" is to educate a public that - ever since 9/11 - sees a turban and thinks terrorist.

"We need to educate people about the Punjabi culture," Dhugga said. "There's a lot of ignorance about this."

The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent bigotry led Dhugga and a few others to start the Punjabi Heritage Festival. More than 2,000 visitors attended last year's program and Dhugga expects at least that many Saturday for the encore presentation of entertainment, education and enlightening activities at the fairgrounds.

Representatives of Arab-American groups attending a public meeting with U.S. officials today remained skeptical about assertions that Treasury Department and FBI efforts to shut down charities suspected of funneling money to terrorist organizations are not based on religion or race.

During a roundtable discussion with Arab-American charity and community leaders at the Treasury Department headquarters, Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Patrick O'Brien said the government was "committed to strengthening our relationship with Arab and Muslim-American communities." [Link]

The idea of an annual Sunday get-together at a North Seattle mosque stemmed from an incident two days after the Sept. 11 attacks.

A man splashed gasoline on cars in the Idriss Mosque parking lot and started to flee. When congregants followed him, he turned and fired shots into the ground. It was the first local hate crime after the attacks.

Neighbors stood watch at the mosque 24 hours a day. Thousands of people came by, flooding the congregation with flowers and cards to show them not everyone was filled with hate.

As part of an ongoing "thank you," mosque director Hisham Farajallah and others organized a neighborhood barbecue, inviting everyone with hopes they'd break down stereotypes. The first year, about 100 people showed.

On Sunday, the Muslim community welcomed more than 800 throughout the afternoon, including hundreds from outside their congregation.

"This is our goal," said Farajallah, a Boeing engineer by day. "To get people to know and understand each other." [Link]

Muslims in South Florida plan large event to promote understanding through involvement in communities

South Florida's Muslims have decided it's time to raise their profile.

For the first time, Muslim leaders from Broward, Palm Beach and other southern Florida counties will gather for a summit that will allow them to socialize, share safety concerns and find ways to make their voices heard in local civic life. Muslims from Miami, Homestead, Key West, Fort Myers and Naples are expected to be among those who attend.

Twenty-eight Muslim leaders are expected for the brunch meeting today at Pembroke Lakes Country Club in Pembroke Pines. The leaders will fill out a survey that will answer questions about their mosques, their schools, their interfaith activities and voter registration drives. The meeting . . . is intended to motivate Muslims to increase their participation in public life. [Link]

N.B. resident donates books and DVDs about Sikh religion

To dispel any misunderstandings about the Sikh religion and to try to prevent further harassment of the religious followers, township resident Rajinder Singh Gadhok has donated a collection of educational materials to the North Brunswick Public Library.

The 10 books and two DVDs, from the Sikh Coalition in New York, will teach about the history, culture, beliefs, human rights and the Diaspora of the Sikh people.

"The object of donating the books and tapes is to acquaint local people about my religion," Gadhok said.

Gadhok was born in Pakistan, raised in India and studied in England. He came to the United States in 1969, living in New York and Missouri until 1973, when he moved to New Jersey.

In North Brunswick since 2002, he said he has seen the effects a post-Sept. 11 world has had on members of his religion. He said the basis of the misunderstanding is that Muslim men grow beards and wear turbans, as do Sikhs, so the general population believes many members of Sikhs and Muslims are terrorists.

"Because of Sept. 11, a lot of our people were misidentified as Muslims and went through hatred by non-Sikhs in this country, so it became very important to educate the local community so they can acquaint themselves with Sikhs and non-Islam," he said. He noted recent instances were a man's turban was burned and a young woman's hair was cut in New York, which are two symbols of the Middle Eastern religions. [Link]

Seven years ago; sporting a Sikh turban could get you killed, as was Balbir Singh Sodhi, a gas station owner who was shot Sept. 15, 2001 in Mesa, Ariz., after his murderer mistook him for a Muslim.

Today, the trademark black head covering sported by male members of the Sikh religion can get you into the heights of mens' fashion. Such is what happened to Sandeep Singh "Sonny" Caberwal, 29, a graduate of Duke University and Georgetown Law School who on a whim, it seems, decided to take on a most unusual assignment: Modeling mens clothing to make a point about diversity.

Mr. Caberwal . . . grew up in rural Ashboro, N.C. as the son of a doctor and the wearer of a turban ever since he was a small child. His family is from Punjab, India. He has never cut his hair, as all Sikh men have been required to have long hair since 1699. It is always covered by a skull cap and turban. Some time ago - he does not know when - Kenneth Cole, founder of a clothing line by the same name - got an idea for an advertising campaign on breaking stereotypes - and plugging clothing. Mr. Cole hired a casting agency to find a male Sikh willing to be a model. The man had to be American-born, highly educated and articulate. There being no candidates on the usual lists, the agency began calling up national Sikh-rights organizations and Mr. Caberwal heard Cole was looking.

One thing led to another and last October, he found himself in New York posing in some pretty spiffy clothes along with that turban.

"People think Sikhs are fundamentalist, outside the mainstream of society, or immigrants or something is wrong with them," Mr. Caberwal said in a visit to my office yesterday. "Kenneth Cole wanted to represent the fabric of American culture. There's a lot of struggle in the United States as to how we perceive people post 9-11. I as much American as anyone else." [Link]

The U.S. is its own worst enemy when it comes to the desperately important task of recruiting immigrants as spies, analysts and translators in the war on terror, new Americans are telling intelligence officials....

The government's policies raise suspicions and fear in the immigrants' home countries and disturb potential recruits here who might otherwise want to help. Some U.S. policies after the 9/11 terrorist attacks made things worse, said Kareem Shora, of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

"The policy missteps and mistakes tended to alienate the very community they are now trying to approach and work with," Shora said. "The NSA wiretapping, rendition, waterboarding, linking the war in Iraq with the issue of radicalization and the terrorism threat. ... What I ask is that at some point that these conversations address these hard issues."

Even the Japanese-American experience of World War II haunts this conference. Larry Shinagawa, of the University of Maryland's Asian American studies program, said immigrant groups have reason to be suspicious of the government's sudden interest. The government admitted in 2000 after years of denials that census records were used to track down Japanese-Americans by name and address for imprisonment in internment camps during the war.

One major need now is for people who can speak the languages most needed in the anti-terror fight. The children of immigrants, even if they don't grow up speaking their parents' language, can learn it to the required level of proficiency in 16 weeks. It takes people without that cultural heritage about 63 weeks, according to Jean AbiNader, a government cultural trainer with IdeaCom. Inc.

And then there are cultural matters as well. Immigrants and their children don't need to learn these things; they can teach them.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are collaborating on a summer internship program to begin to tap that expertise. Twenty college students are coming to Washington, D.C. for 10 weeks. They will get free Arabic classes in the morning at George Washington University and spend the afternoons working in the agencies' intelligence offices.

"We need these people, their expertise, their understanding of culture, of language. We don't have it today and it is a great deficiency," said Charles Allen, a long time CIA officer who is now the Homeland Security Department's intelligence chief. "This will be an enormous augmentation."

U.S. policies have until recently forbidden recruitment of first-generation Americans who have direct family ties abroad, a practice that began after World War II, despite the fact that many code breakers in that conflict were not born in America, said National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell.

New rules drop that obstacle, he said. Still, the security clearance process can take 12 to 18 months for a citizen without close ties abroad. It can go on for years for children of recent immigrants. McConnell wants to shorten that to 60 days. [Link]

Local FBI officials met with the Rio Grande Valley's Islamic community Saturday night to assuage their fears about the agency's investigations into the community and to discuss how the two groups can better work together.

While an FBI official explained the agency's work and how it changed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, local Muslims asked questions about its investigation of Muslims' donations to charities, wiretapping and agents' treatment of Muslim women.

John Johnson, the FBI special agent in charge of the Valley, addressed the crowd of more than 100 at al-Ridwan mosque, 910 Elsham Ave. The meeting followed other informal talks with members of the mosque starting last fall during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"After 9/11, things changed in the U.S., especially for Muslims," said Amin Ibrahim, a member of the mosque's board. "Everybody here in the Valley, we reaffirm our condemnation of such an attack."

During Johnson's nearly 20-minute speech, the FBI agent urged the Islamic community to have better communication with his agency and said the FBI is committed to protecting all Americans from threats to life and civil liberties.

"We are coming to talk to you because we need to find out what the community is about," Johnson said as he discussed the depart-ment's investigations. "This is the first step. ...

"Combating criminals is still the heart and soul of what we do," he said. "But the definition of criminals has broadened (since 9/11). ... The FBI's primary mission became preventing another attack on American soil."

His speech was followed by sunset prayers. Afterward, worshipers submitted anonymous questions on index cards, which a modera-tor then read aloud.

"What does the FBI expect from us?" one card read.

Johnson responded by repeating his call for good communication. He said the agency has to investigate all potential terrorist leads, even those that turn out to be unfounded. Recalling an actual situation, he said the FBI must even follow up on "ridiculous" charges lobbed by someone with a petty grudge against a Muslim man.

"The vast majority don't really have any basis," he said. "All we want is some kind of dialogue." [Link]

Attorney General Michael Mukasey met with religious community representatives two weeks ago to discuss issues facing their respective communities in the United States. The Sikh American community was represented by the Sikh Coalition at this historic meeting with the nation's chief law enforcement officer.

Amandeep Singh (Sidhu), the Sikh Coalition's pro bono counsel from the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP, highlighted continued hate crimes and employment discrimination against Sikhs Americans, discussed the Sikh Coalition's recent engagement with the Transportation Security Administration, and expressed the community's heightened concerns about increased bullying of Sikh schoolchildren. Attorney General Mukasey was receptive to the Sikh American community's concerns and reiterated the commitment of the Department of Justice - as well as his personal commitment - to continue regular engagement with religious communities in the United States. The Sikh Coalition commends Attorney General Mukasey for his support and willingness to reach out to the Sikh American community.

Since September 11, 2001, the Sikh Coalition has developed a strong regular working relationship with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies. The Sikh community has benefited tremendously from these relationships, and federal assistance has furthered the Sikh Coalition's efforts in multiple legal cases. Also in attendance at this meeting was Grace Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division and Eric Treene, Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination. The Sikh Coalition would like to thank Mr. Treene for his commitment to legal issues facing religious communities in the United States. [Sikh Coalition email]

This Wednesday, March 13th, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) . . . will conclude a highly successful year-long campaign to train all 3,800 Washington DC Metro Police Department officers on Sikh cultural practices and customs. This is the third such campaign SALDEF has completed with a major law enforcement agency to train their entire uniformed staff. [SALDEF Press Release]

Over 400 officials receive SALDEF's Sikh cultural competency training

In late September, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights organization, trained over 150 law enforcement officers in Pittsburgh and West Virginia on Sikh religious and cultural practices.

“Until today, I was completely ignorant of Sikhism,” said Pittsburgh Police Detective Julia Stoops. “I learned a lot. This was great, one of the best training sessions I've taken in a long time.”

Representatives from the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, West Virginia State Police, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), City of Pittsburgh Police Department, and many others learned about the significance of the turban, the five articles of faith, and recommendations on how to properly interact with the Sikh American community.

“The training was a great tool to sustain and develop relationships before an incident occurs,” said SALDEF National Director Rajbir Singh Datta. “I was very pleased to see members of the local Sikh American community attend to cultivate those friendships.”

Additionally, all 250 agents of the FBI – Washington Field Office underwent Sikh American cultural awareness training and viewed On Common Ground, the first and only Sikh American cultural training film for law enforcement.

The training is part of SALDEF’s Law Enforcement Partnership Program (LEPP). SALDEF’s LEPP has trained over 36,000 law enforcement officials on Sikh religious practices; 12,000 of which have occurred in 2007 alone. [SALDEF Press Release]

After months of hostile letters to the newspaper - and a growing number of letters defending the group - roughly 150 visitors from as far as Hollister and Santa Clara gathered at the San Martin Lions Club Saturday to learn about Islamic culture and the challenges faced by American Muslims in a post 9-11 world.

"Americans are not discriminating against us because of what they know about us, but because of ignorance," the crowd was told by Maha Elgenaidy, a speaker from the Islamic Networks Group, a nonprofit formed after 9-11 to spread knowledge about Islam to government officials, law enforcement personnel, schoolchildren and other groups.

Elgenaidy explained that Muslims, like their Christian and Jewish peers, greet each other with expressions of peace. Similar to the Judeo-Christian religions, Muslims believe in a single God and high moral character -- essentially the Golde Rule of "do unto others," Elgenaidy said. The perceived differences in Islamic culture are often distortions or outright fabrications, Elgenaidy said.

The pink, flowered scarf covering her head, for instance, is not an emblem of female oppression but one of liberation, Elgenaidy said, explaining that Muslim women cover their hair and bodies so that they are judged by their intellect and character rather than their sexuality. The word "jihad," meanwhile, is another staple of Islamic culture that has been distorted by media in both the East and West, she said. Violent Islamic fanatics have "hijacked" the word, which in its truest form represents the internal struggle of every Muslim to live a life of purity and high moral character. In mainstream Islam, she said, the word also describes selfless actions such as charity or the prevention of abuse or violence.

"Osama Bin Laden to me is like David Koresh or the Davidians," she said, referring to the cult leader and his followers who died in an FBI raid in 1993. "He has nothing to do with my religion."....

The list [of a list of recent hate crimes directed against Bay Area Muslims] includes arson at an Antioch mosque and a Sikh man in Santa Clara who was stabbed in the neck because of his Middle Eastern garb (the perpetrator was a neighbor who said he feared the man was a terrorist). [Link]

Removing a Sikh's turban in public is the same as a strip search. Not all Arabs are Muslim. A kirpan is not a concealed weapon.

Those lessons and others were delivered Wednesday to about 75 Pennsylvania law enforcement officers during a four-hour seminar at the Allegheny County Police Academy.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Service, the seminar was designed to teach local agencies about Arab, Muslim and Sikh cultures, officials said.

"What do you think of when you hear the term 'Arab'?" Nawar Shora, director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's Law Enforcement Outreach Program, asked attendees.

Initial answers were neutral: "Omar Sharif," "nomads," "camels." Only after Shora urged people to include stereotypes did one man respond with "terrorists."

"These are all common answers," Shora said.

Most Americans have negative images of Arabs and Muslims because our schools, pop culture and media promote such stereotypes, he said.

But, Shora said, not all Arabs are Muslim; 42 percent of Arab Americans are Catholic. Many famous Americans are of Arab descent, he said, including Ralph Nader, actress Shannon Elizabeth and pop mogul Paula Abdul.

"The odds are, you've reacted with Arabs. You just haven't realized it," he said.

But subtle cultural differences exist, Shora said, offering tips for police who might deal with Arabs in non-emergencies. For example, in the Arab world it's acceptable to stand closer to another person than in the United States. An Arab who gets too close to an officer might not realize it, Shora said. "They're not getting up in your face, they're not going for your gun."

Rajbir Datta, a Pittsburgh native and associate director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said that although Sikhs speak a different language (Punjabi), practice a different religion (Sikhism) and generally come from a different continent (India), they often are mistaken in America for Arab Muslims.

Most men wearing turbans in the United States are Sikh, Datta said. If a police officer must search a turban, Datta urged them to explain why, to do so in a private setting, and to offer the Sikh something to cover his hair during the search.

"Turbans are very religious, very personal," he said. "Many men never reveal their hair in public, so making them remove it would be like a public strip search."

Datta said many Sikhs carry a kirpan, a 3- to 6-inch sheathed knife that symbolizes a Sikh's commitment to protect the weak and promote justice. An officer who has to confiscate a kirpan should explain why and handle the knife with respect, Datta said.

Pittsburgh police Detective Julie Stoops said the seminar was educational.

Stoops is one of three police liaisons who works with Hispanics. She said she hopes to expand the program to include Muslims, Arabs and Sikhs.

"Until today, I was completely ignorant of Sikhism," Stoops said. "I learned a lot. This was great, one of the best training sessions I've taken in a long time."

www.usdoj.gov/crs [Link]

TSA Commits to First Steps; Erroneous New Policy Remains in Effect

On Monday, representatives from the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the Sikh Coalition, and UNITED SIKHS, met with officials from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the Sikh American community’s concerns about the TSA’s recently revised headwear screening procedure. While our organizations are encouraged by remedial steps proposed by the TSA, we remain concerned that the new policy that singles out head-coverings, specifically the turban and equates it to other forms of non-religious head-coverings, remains in effect.

SALDEF, the Sikh Coalition, and UNITED SIKHS appreciate the steps that the TSA is taking to remedy the situation. Our organizations are committed to working with the TSA to find a solution to the Sikh American community’s concerns, while keeping all Americans safe. However, we remain concerned that:

* The new TSA-issued screener guidance specifically cites the turban as an item that should be subject to secondary screening;
* The new procedures grant screeners too much latitude to subject a Sikh to additional screening, a turban pat-down, or to remove the turban; and
* The new policy endangers all Americans by focusing critical security resources on headwear when threat items that can be found anywhere on the body.

In preparation for the meeting, the three Sikh American organizations submitted a joint memorandum to the TSA late last week. The memorandum discussed the impact of the new screening procedure, introduced on August 4, 2007, on the Sikh turban. The memorandum proposed measures to revise the procedures with the objective of eliminating its disproportionate impact on the Sikh turban. At the meeting, a high level TSA official stated: “I want to apologize for not getting information out about the [policy] change on head coverings specifically out to [the Sikh American] community before the roll out. We will get better, I promise you.”

During the meeting, the TSA promised to take the following steps, in response to our concerns:

* The TSA will require all officers to offer private screening to anyone undergoing secondary screening of a head covering.
* The TSA will distribute a fact sheet for airline travelers to explain the new airport head-covering screening procedure.
* The TSA will conduct cultural sensitivity training for all airport screeners, including in person and online training about Sikh Americans featuring the On Common Ground training video. The TSA will also redistribute the “Common Sikh American Head Coverings” posters to all airports.
* The TSA will revise its public-facing website to make it easier for air travelers to file discrimination claims.
* The TSA will continue to review the guidance to the Standard Operating Procedure to determine whether its current procedures are necessary to ensure the public’s safety.

TSA also explained that persons who clear the “puffer machine” are not ordinarily subjected to secondary screening. Unfortunately, this technology is currently only available at select terminals at one-tenth of the nation’s airports.

SALDEF, the Sikh Coalition, and UNITED SIKHS recommend that the Sikh American community take the following steps when traveling:

* If requested to undergo a pat down, accept the TSA officer’s offer of a private screening area.
* If available, request to go through a “puffer machine” rather than a pat down.

Also in attendance at the meeting were representatives of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, Sikh Dharma, and the World Sikh Council. [SALDEF Press Release]

TSA and SALDEF to discuss TSA Turban Screening Policy

As a result of direct conversations last week, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, will be meeting with TSA Administrator Kip Hawley and other Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials Friday morning to find a solution to the controversial and discriminatory TSA turban screening policy. [SALDEF Media Advisory]

Transportation Security Administration head Kip Hawley wants to make things right with members of the Sikh community who are angry about being asked to unwrap their turbans or undergo "patdowns" before being allowed to board airplanes.

Hawley contacted the New York-based Sikh Coalition on Thursday night to say he wants to find a "workable solution" to the community's concern that it is being unfairly targeted as a result of an Aug. 4 directive calling for scrutiny of head coverings that might hide explosives, from turbans to bowlers to baseball caps. The TSA has also called Muslim groups who fear the policy may single out Muslim women who wear hijab.

The TSA denies that turban pat-downs or removals are mandatory, or that the agency is engaging in religious or ethnic profiling. But members of the Sikh community say that since the policy went into effect, they are being stopped every time they go through an airport. As part of their religious practice, Sikhs are required to wear turbans.

"Administrator Hawley sent us an e-mail yesterday indicating his desire to work with us to find a resolution and explicitly leaving open the possibility of changing the policy," Neha Singh of the Sikh civil rights organization said Friday.

TSA spokeswoman Amy Kudwa confirmed the conversation, and said the agency is planning additional cultural awareness training for its 43,000 officers and, also, continued "dialogue" with the Sikh community.

A conference call between TSA officials and Sikh representatives is slated for next Thursday to discuss the new policy. Singh said that Hawley indicated TSA is open to suggestions on how to meet security needs in a "respectful, non-intrusive fashion." She said the coalition welcomed his approach as "a positive step forward." [Link]

SALDEF meets with TSA to address community concerns and complaints

On Wednesday the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights organization, met with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to discuss the impact on Sikh Americans of the recently implemented changes to security screening procedures at the Nation’s airports.

The new airport security screening procedures implemented on August 4, 2007, allow the Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) greater “discretion” regarding passenger screening and to enforce additional screening for individuals who wear head coverings. As per the TSA, the new procedure is aimed at head coverings that can possibly hide a threatening non-metallic object. The guidance regarding the new screening procedure, provided to the 43,000 TSOs, lists the Sikh turban among others (cowboy hats, straw hats, etc.), as an example of head coverings that may potentially hide a threatening non-metallic object.

The Sikh turban is the only religious head covering cited in the list of example head coverings provided to the TSA airport security screeners. The new procedures explicitly exempts skull caps (religious or not) from the new screening process. Under the old procedure, travelers would only be required to undergo additional security screening if they were unable to successfully clear the metal detector or if they wore loose fitting clothing.

SALDEF expressed the Sikh American community’s outrage regarding the discriminatory nature of the new procedure. SALDEF further expressed its disappointment in the lack of any consultation with the Sikh American community prior to finalizing and rolling out the new screening procedures. [SALDEF Press Release]

The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) recently formed a partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, DC, to train all 3,000 officers of their force about the Sikh American community and their religious practices.

The program, which has been ongoing since March 2007, has trained over 1,000 MPD officers to date. They join the roughly 5,000 local, state, and federal officers trained this year as part of SALDEF’s Law Enforcement Partnership Program (LEPP).

“It is of paramount importance that we reach out to and create strong bonds with law enforcement,” said SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. “Law enforcement agencies understand the importance of actively engaging with the communities they protect and together through programs like our LEPP, we can create a stronger and safer community.”

Despite being part of the American landscape for about one hundred years, misconceptions still exist about the Sikh American community. Nine out of ten LEPP graduates have reported that what they learned will immediately help them better serve and protect their communities.

The training program is designed to provide law enforcement with an understanding of the Sikh religion and provide recommendations on how to appropriately interact with the community in non-emergency, non-crisis situations. The program utilizes a professionally designed interactive presentation, SALDEF’s Training DVD On Common Ground, and other educational publications including our Who are the Sikhs brochure and SALDEF’s pioneering Law Enforcement Reference Card.

One MPD officer said, “[The SALDEF Program is] the best hour of training I’ve had in twenty years on the force.” Community leaders have also noted stronger and friendlier relationships between law enforcement and the Sikh American community. Since its inception, the heads of the over 150 agencies and 30,000 law enforcement and security officers who have gone through LEPP. [SALDEF Press Release]