Sikhs fear stabbing could set off hate-crime trend

[oberliner]

Sikhs fear stabbing could set off hate-crime trend
By Tom Lochner
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

The weekend stabbing of a Sikh man in Santa Clara whose assailant allegedly thought he was a member of the Taliban raises fears that turmoil in the Middle East could fuel similar hate-based crimes, a Contra Costa Sikh leader said Wednesday.

"I think the more flare-ups you get there, the more incidents you're going to have in this country," said J.P. Singh, president of Gurdwara Sahib, the Sikh Center of the San Francisco Bay Area in El Sobrante. "And some of them will result from mistaken identity because there's not enough education about who the people next door are."

Everett Thompson, 25, is charged with attempted murder with a hate-crime enhancement in connection with the stabbing of his Sikh neighbor, Iqbal Singh 66, on Sunday. Singh, who is not related to J.P. Singh, is expected to survive.

"There are indications that he (Thompson) was seeking to avenge 9/11 and to kill a member of the Taliban," said Jay Boyarsky, supervising deputy district attorney in charge of the hate crimes unit in Santa Clara County.

Thompson appeared Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court for arraignment, which was continued to Aug. 10.

"Members of the Sikh community are unfortunately targeted a lot because they are mistaken for Muslim terrorists or because of the way they dress," Boyarsky said.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/crime_courts/15187472.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_crime_courts

[BayCityProgressive]

1. it is sad that this

is going on. It reminds me of the recent attacks on Jews. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, Hindu and other leaders should all be creating a united front to show their disgust with these actions. unfortunately, there are too many in all of these groups that benefit when people are divided.