Sikh stabbed in an apparent hate crime in California

Washington, Aug 2: A 40-year-old Sikh, was hospitalised after he suffered stab wounds, in an apparent hate crime, in Santa Clara, California.

Police said Iqbal Singh was standing in front of his home on Sunday morning when his neighbour, walked up to him and stabbed him in the neck with a steak knife, apparently believing that the Sikh, who wears a turban and a beard, belonged to the Taliban.

The victim was waiting in the car-parking lot with his two-year-old granddaughter for other family members to come downstairs at the time, so they could attend worship services in the nearby San Jose Gurdwara when the suspect approached him and stabbed him, Santa Clara police Sgt Kurt Clarke said. Mr Singh was still in the hospital yesterday with serious injuries. The girl was unhurt.

The neighbour, twenty-year-old Everett Thompson was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and a hate crime. It is unclear what exactly led police to believe the attack was racially or religiously motivated.

He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and a hate crime, Clarke said.

Investigators are trying to determine why Thompson allegedly attacked Mr Singh.

There are indications that Thompson, who may suffer from mental illness, believed Mr Singh was a member of the Taliban, officials said yesterday.

But the victim's brother-in-law, Mr Gurmeet Singh, said it wouldn't be surprising if it was religiously or racially motivated.

''We Sikhs are the most targeted for hate crimes,'' he said.

''People see us and they don't understand who we are. They associate us with terrorists.'' In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, a crazy mix of terrorists, turbans and images of Osama bin Laden caused widespread confusion in the United States, which resulted in physical and verbal hate attacks on Sikhs.

The first to fall victim to this hate crime was a Sikh from mesa Arizona, who was killed at a gas station.

Since then Sikhs have been victims of hate crimes, mistaken for being followers of the Taliban or Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader who is recognizsd by his beard and turban.

''We send our prayers not just to Mr Singh and his family, but to the entire Sikh community,'' said Mr Jay Boyarsky, the supervising Deputy District Attorney who oversees hate-crime prosecutions in Santa Clara County, according to Mercury News.

Mr Boyarsky, who praised the Santa Clara Police Department for its ongoing investigation, added: ''Sadly, this is not the first time that a person has wrongfully targeted a Sikh person on the basis of physical appearance.'' The prosecutor cited a case shortly after September 11, 2001, in which two men assaulted a Sikh and set his ice cream truck on fire.

The stabbing sent shock waves throughout the Sikh community in California.

There are at least 500,000 Sikhs throughout the United States.

The beard and turban are two symbols of Sikh culture that many don't understand, said Mr Gursharan Singh, a Milpitas-based reporter for the magazine Punjab Today. For Sikhs, Mr Gursharan Singh said the turban is not as much religious as it is cultural.

Mr Gurmeet Singh said ''Our religion, like others, promotes peace and understanding.

We are simply trying to peacefully live, earn a living and practice our religion. This hate is driven by ignorance.''

UNI