A Year Later, Sikhs Keep Up Fight against Gun Violence
Published on CNN. The other night was one of the most sacred and extraordinary events of my life as an advocate. A gathering of people from all around our country with one thing in common: a desire to stop the gun violence that plagues their lives and continues to plague our nation. Marking the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, young Sikhs of Oak Creek organized a candlelight vigil against gun violence at the same gurdwara where six people were murdered. One would anticipate the one-year
Odyssey Networks 2013 Town Hall: Guns and Violence
Earlier this month, I was proud to take part in Odyssey Networks Town Hall Meeting: Guns and Violence, an interfaith panel of community leaders seeking to keep the debate going on how to fight violence and prevent further tragedy in our country. 2013 Odyssey Networks Town Hall Meeting from Auburn Seminary on Vimeo. As people of faith, we find ourselves now in a unique position to introduce moral persuasion into this debate and transcend partisan politics. TTo learn more on the role of faith and moral consciousness in the
Remembering the Oak Creek Tragedy in Film
By Valarie Kaur and Sharat Raju Published on Huffington Post. Six months ago today, a small Midwestern town was rocked by a mass shooting at a house of worship. The massacre in Oak Creek, Wisconsin that claimed the lives of six people on August 5, 2012 is only one in a tragically long list of recent mass shootings. Yet in this political moment - when sustained public pressure could lead to real gun control reform - the Oak Creek tragedy and response offers a vital lesson: the efficacy of resilience. We
Journey from Oak Creek to Newtown
Published on Washington Post. When my plane landed in Connecticut early Friday afternoon, I was glad to be home. I had just spent the week in Oak Creek, Wis., with families of victims murdered in the mass shooting on Aug. 5, 2012 at a Sikh temple. Their grief is still fresh, and it was both heart-breaking and cathartic to facilitate discussion and healing. I could never have imagined that I would be traveling from the site of one mass shooting to another, this time in my own backyard. The
The Sunday Before the Election
Published on Religion and Politics. Nestled in the suburbs of Hamden, Connecticut, a little brick building has been transformed into a gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship. Inside Gurdwara Sachkhand Darbar, dozens of families from the greater New Haven area gather for Sunday service. Most of those who attend services have lived in New England for more than twenty years; only a handful of them are recent immigrants. All listen intently to the kirtan, lips moving softly to the words of a prayer: “Tu Thakar Tum Pe Ardas Jiyo