A vandal spray-painted “terrorist” twice on the wall that surrounds a Sikh house of worship in Jurupa Valley, prompting its leaders to report a hate crime to authorities.
Graffiti has been written on the walls outside the Sikh Gurdwara of Riverside “many, many times” since it opened in 1989, high priest Anantvirr Singh said Tuesday, July 30.
But Monday night was the first time anyone had written what Singh called hate speech.
Sikh leaders in Jurupa Valley said they were eager to use the incident as an opportunity to educate the public about their religion.
“Since 9/11, everyone thinks we’re terrorists. I’d invite those people to the temple and see what we’re about. I think they would learn what a loving religion we are,” said Singh’s wife, Bhupinder Kaur.
She said people see Sikhs wearing their traditional turbans and long beards and incorrectly assume they are members of an extremist faith.
CRIME BLOTTER VIDEO: ‘Terrorist’ spray-painted on Sikh temple wall
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies took a report Tuesday afternoon from the gurdwara — the name for a Sikh place of worship — in the 7900 block of Mission Boulevard. If a suspect is caught, it will be up to the district attorney’s office whether to prosecute the graffiti as a hate crime.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies took a report Tuesday afternoon from the gurdwara — the name for a Sikh place of worship — in the 7900 block of Mission Boulevard. If a suspect is caught, it will be up to the district attorney’s office whether to prosecute the graffiti as a hate crime.
Birpal Kaur, community relations manager of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Los Angeles and not related to Bhupinder Kaur, said these incidents happen several times each year nationwide.
“This is definitely a hate crime,” Birpal Kaur said. “It was very purposely targeted toward a minority community.”
Hate crimes are criminal acts against an individual of group because of their actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability, according to the state Penal Code.
Hate crimes can be charged as misdemeanors or felonies. Felony convictions with the hate crime enhancement can result in an additional one to four years in prison.
Monday’s vandalism took place less than a week before the one-year anniversary of a shooting that killed six people at a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin. Gunman Wade Michael Page killed himself after being shot by a police officer after the Aug. 5, 2012, rampage.
“Our community is absolutely on watch,” Birpal Kaur said. “We have asked people to be aware and vigilant.”
She added: “We don’t believe in living in fear, so there are proactive measures that we are taking.”
Those include providing gurdwaras with information to present at open houses and community meetings that describes the Sikh religion and its followers.
Birpal Kaur said there are 100,000 people of the Sikh faith in California and 700,000 nationwide. Those who were not born in the United States mostly come from the northern India state of Punjab, she said.
EDUCATING THE PUBLIC
The leaders and congregants at the Jurupa Valley gurdwara — the largest in the Inland area — expressed more disappointment than anger Tuesday about the person who sprayed “terrorist” on the wall.
But there was some resentment.
Bhupinder Kaur, the wife of the high priest, noted that the vandal misspelled the word once as “terrist.”
“The stupidity … it proves their ignorance,” she said.
People look at Sikhs and make erroneous assumptions, she said.
Sikhs wear turbans to cover their heads as a sign of respect to God, and men grow long beards because hair is considered a gift from God and shouldn’t be cut, Bhupinder Kaur said.
The faith is based on three principles, she said: making an honest living, meditating upon God’s name and sharing earnings and food with others — even those who aren’t Sikh.
People of all faiths are welcome to pray at the gurdwara and share a meal. Hindus come to worship and UC Riverside students visit to learn, Singh said.
Sikhism is a 500-year-old religion unto itself, not a branch of a different faith.
Sikhs weren’t the only ones upset.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, said in a statement that he is appalled by the act of “unthinkable intolerance.”
“These types of actions have no place in Riverside County and I have grave concerns about such unfounded, ignorant statements being levied against peaceful members of our community,” Takano said.
Birpal Kaur, the community relations manager, said she doesn’t believe this incident reflects on the Jurupa Valley community as a whole.
But she added: “There should be zero tolerance for any activity that advocates such hate. For all I know, this could be the beginning.”
