CALL FOR VIGIL AFTER US SHOOTINGS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Call for vigil after US shootings

Former High Sheriff of Leicestershire Resham Singh Sandhu has called for multi-faith vigils to be held on Sunday in memory of the six people killed at a Sikh temple in the USA.

They were shot by former US soldier Wade Michael Page, 40, in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek last Sunday.

Page is understood to have killed himself.

Mr Sandhu, chairman of the British Sikh Association and The Sikh Welfare and Cultural society, said: "The entire Sikh community has been affected by the senseless shooting of innocent devotees at a gurdwara.

"We stand in solidarity and admire the strength shown by the victims, survivors and Sikh Americans nationwide.

"We want to make sure authorities in America and other parts of the world ensure Sikhs are safe and free to live their day-to-day lives and continue their worship peacefully.

"We request all Sikhs and other religious leaders to continue remembering those affected by the Oak Creek attack in their daily prayers.

"It would be a fitting tribute if Sikhs across the globe could organise inter-faith vigils this coming Sunday."

He thanked Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian groups, plus President Barak Obama and the prime minister of India for sending their condolences and condemning the attack.

The article doesn't mention that Resham Singh Sandhu is a former Chair and current Director of Leicester Council of Faiths. Nor is it stated that Leicester Council of Faiths is holding an open-air public prayer vigil (along with Leicester Sikh Alliance) for the victims and survivors of the Oak Creek Gurdwara shootings in Town Hall Square, Sunday 12 August at 1900.  This is a public event, to which all well-wishers are welcome.

CITY'S SIKHS PRAY FOR VICTIMS OF US SHOOTING

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

City's Sikhs pray for victims of US shooting

Sikhs in Leicester have said prayers for the six victims of Sunday's fatal shootings at a temple in America.

Gurjit Singh Walia, spokesman for the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, in Holy Bones, in the city, said: "We are all shocked by the senseless killings.

"We just wanted to gather to say prayers for those who lost their lives and the others affected."

Leicester[shire] Sikh Alliance (LSA) has also offered its condolences to those affected by the shootings, which took place at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Spokesman Amandeep Rai said the alliance's thoughts and prayers were with "the victims of the shooting, the Sikh community of Milwaukee and the larger community of Wisconsin, which we know will stand with their Sikh neighbours with their support and prayers during this very trying time".

It was announced yesterday that the gunman who opened fire as several dozen people prepared for Sunday morning services was former soldier Wade Page, 40, a neo-Nazi white supremacist.

As well as the six people who were killed, three people were critically injured.

Page was later killed outside the temple in a shoot-out with police.

Suleman Nagdi, public relations officer for the Leicester-based Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "This cowardly shooting of innocent people symbolises all that is wrong with some parts of society, especially as it took place so soon after the horrific cinema killings in Denver.

"Early reports from the USA have suggested a racial motivation for this crime which is fuelled by hate.

"I find this very upsetting, since the Sikh community is well known for its hospitality and generosity to all of humanity."