Dear Friends,

Slowly but surely Sikhs are clawing our way into the News. But it isn't easy even with the reported incidents of violence against USA Sikhs alone is over 300 since Sept. 11. According to Alice Woldt of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, thousands of folks were out marching for solidarity with Sikhs and Muslims against Hate Crimes last Wednesday, but the papers reported it as hundreds.

Love and Light - Kamalla Rose Kaur

They're not Muslim, but so what if they were?

By Rob Golub, Sept. 23, 2001

RACINE COUNTY -- Newsflash, America: These people are not terrorists.

....Ironically, Sikhs are a religious minority everywhere, even in their homeland -- India. Followers of the faith believe in one God and they reject India's ancient caste system. They are focused on equality, including equality for women.

Sikh men wear turbans to stand out in a crowd -- don't be afraid to be a Sikh, let the world see who you are as you live a good life. They grow a long beard in deference to God. The thinking is that if God created man in his own image, man should not be going around changing it. So the beard stays.

The Sikh faith actually teaches respect for other religions. It puts the Singhs and Dhaliwals in an awkward position. They'd like to let Racine County know they're not Muslims, but they don't want to deride Muslims.

"Men, women, and children are all equal under God's eyes," Kanwar Singh says. "By saying we are not Muslim I do not want to say that Muslims are not good."

President Bush agreed in his speech to Congress Thursday: "The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam .... the enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends."

The Singhs and the Dhaliwals are doctors and they have been Racine-area friends since the early '70s. The Dhaliwals are allergists, with practices in Kenosha and Racine. Kanwar A. Singh is an ophthalmologist and his wife, Satnam, is a family practitioner. They also have practices in Racine and Kenosha.

Kanwar A. Singh has spent decades in Racine County treating local eyes, reading his holy book, staying active in Rotary, and golfing.

He's also a well-known Elvis Presley impersonator. That's right, he's Elvis.

At St. Mary's Medical Center, Kanwar A. Singh has dressed up like Elvis to sing for charity, using his own voice. He loves to sing; he wrote to President-elect Reagan to ask if he could sing the national anthem at his first inauguration. Kanwar Singh dreamed of wearing his turban on TV, becoming the first Sikh to so publicly sing the "Star-Spangled Banner."

"He really wanted to do it. He thought it would be a very cool idea for him to sing the national anthem to the whole nation," Satnam says.

"He is really a good singer. He does Elvis pretty well. Some people who saw him thought there was a tape playing, that it was not him singing."

His favorite Elvis song? "Teddy Bear."

Looking for terrorists, America?

Please, leave our Teddy Bear alone. Try Afghanistan.

Rob Golub is a reporter for The Journal Times. He can be reached by phone at 631-1718 or via e-mail at:

rgolub@journaltimes.com

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