September 26, 2012

More than 100 people gathered at the America’s Islamic Heritage Museum in Washington, DC, on Sept. 22, for the Muslims & Sikhs in Solidarity event, an event to highlight the partnership and mutual solidarity between the two communities.

The inspirational evening brought together individuals from differing faiths and ethnicities to join in prayer and reflection on the struggles and challenges faced by the Muslim and Sikh communities in wake of the recent hate crimes targeting both communities. 

SEE: Photo Album of Muslim-Sikh Solidarity Event (Facebook.com)

Haris Tarin, the Director of MPAC’s Washington, DC, office, was one of the evening’s speakers, as well as Aisha Rahman of Karamah, Dr. Amarjit Singh of the Khalistan Affairs Center and Ameer Muhammad of the America’s Islamic Heritage Museum.

"Sikh and Muslims must work together to awaken the conscience of America when it comes to dealing with its religious and ethnic minorities," Haris said. "The intolerance our communities have faced in that past few months will not set asunder our relationship. The evening was spiritually moving and motivationally uplifting for the work we have ahead of us."

ALSO SEE: Dr. Amarjit Singh on Muslim & Sikh in Solidarity (YouTube) 

Tarin read the “We Are All Sikhs Solidarity” statement, which was endorsed by 179 civic, faith-based, immigrant rights and civil rights organizations. It read in part:

“While our organizations represent a wide swath of individuals from different nationalities, backgrounds, faith traditions, and belief systems, we are bound together by a common purpose: we believe in the core American values of religious pluralism, equality, and inclusion. Our collective voices send out the message that as a nation, we must denounce the hate-fueled sentiment and bigoted rhetoric that has become much too frequent in our public and political discourse. We call upon Americans to respond to this tragedy by supporting the families of the victims and Sikh community members.”

A traditional Sikh langar-style meal was served, and guests were asked to share stories with others in effort to create bonds.