VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

This email has been widely circulated today by Leicestershire Sikh Alliance after the public vigil organised by Leicester Council of Faiths for victims of the shootings in the Oak Creek Gurdwara, Wisconsin.

Members of Leicester Council of Faiths who attended the vigil appear to agree that the Council of Faiths did itself more good in the eyes of those present - City Councillors, local media - and especially the Sikh community of Leicester and Leicestershire - in 25 minutes last Sunday evening than it had in the whole of the last 25 years. This spilled over into social media, with a lot of traffic on Twitter and coverage on Facebook in particular.

Since this was an event illumined by open demonstrations of friendship, support and sympathy across the boundaries of culture, language, nationality and race, it's appropriate to see it (and its ramifications for our city's communities) in the light of this quotation from Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden Words that came to my mind while I was there: "words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones". Actions speak louder than words.

And that links so aptly with the invocation that opens the message below. This may be translated into English as, "The Khalsa belongs to God, all victory is the victory of God."

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh

With hundreds of people in attendance, including all faith leaders, the vigil for the victims of the Wisconsin Gurdwara massacre was a resounding success.  In these dark hours, it was amazing for all communities to come together and start the healing process as one universal Leicester community. 

A big thank you to Cllr Manjula Sood and Leicester Council of Faiths for arranging this event.  And an even bigger thank you to Cllr Inderjeet Gugnani who was the unsung hero and hidden architect for the whole event.

Also it was great to hear Jon Ashworth MP's speech. "Tonight we are all Sikhs", was very touching.  Nice one Jon!  This massacre was the largest attack on the Sikh community within the western hemisphere for over half a century.  Is it therefore right that only one MP from the City and County bothered to show?  In one word, "diabolical!".

Pictures attached courtesy of Punjab2000

PukaarNews UK, online news channel

JonAshworth MP's speech, Leicester South

A few words from Surinderpal Rai, General Secretary GTBG

A few words from Amandeep Rai, Public Relations Officer LSA

A few words from George M Ballentyne, Equality & Diversity Officer LCOF

A few words from Sharnjeet Kaur

Thanks

Amandeep Rai (Public Relations Officer for LSA)

DOZENS OF PEOPLE IN VIGIL FOR US TEMPLE SHOOTING VICTIMS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury (with a decent photo, which hasn't been posted on the website):

Dozens of people in vigil for US temple shooting victims

Dozens of people from various faiths gathered for a prayer vigil in memory of six people killed at a Sikh Gurdwara in the USA a week ago.

The service in Town Hall Square, Leicester, on Sunday night, was organised by Leicester Council of Faiths chairman Councillor Manjula Sood and secretary Councillor Inderjit Gugnani.

They organised the vigil as a way to commemorate the victims of the attack, as well as a way for Sikhs and non-Sikhs to stand together to bring about healing.

Coun Gugnani said: "We pray it doesn't happen again. But it happened. All we can do is turn it into a positive message for our friends in the community."

A 40-year-old Army veteran with links to the white-supremacist movement entered the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and opened fire. Six people ranging in age from 39 to 84 lay dead. The suspect, Wade Michael Page, reportedly killed himself.

I posted a comment on the Mercury's website, under my own name, as follows:

Glad to see the Mercury cover this, but, as a strong, positive story expressing good relations between the diverse communities of our city, I'd have hoped that it would have attracted more attention. I was there, among a considerable number of people who were not Sikhs, but wanting to show solidarity and sympathy. The Mercury report doesn't mention that Jon Ashworth MP was in attendance and gave a short speech. There were more like 250 attendees at the height of the event. There's more detailed coverage of the vigil on various social media outlets, e.g. the Facebook page of Leicesterhire Sikh Alliance (www.facebook.com/LeicestershireSikhAlliance), the YouTube channel of Civic Leicester (http://www.youtube.com/user/CivicLeicester?feature=watch), the video report posted by Pukaar News (http://www.pukaarnews.com/vigil-held-after-us-shooting/2806/) and my blog post (http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/vigil-for-victims-of-wisconsin-gurdwara.html?spref=fb). 

VIGIL FOR VICTIMS OF WISCONSIN GURDWARA SHOOTINGS

This evening, in Town Hall Square, Leicester Council of Faiths hosts a vigil for the victims and survivors of the shooting at the Gurdwara in Oak Creek Wisconsin, which took place a week ago today. This has been arranged at short notice, without a lot of publicity, but a speedy response seems to have been the most important consideration.

Certainly, word of mouth attracts a decent turnout. At the height of the meeting, which lasts for just over an hour, there are at least 250 people gathered here. The majority are Sikhs, of course, drawn from the seven gurdwaras in Leicester. But there are also many friends, supporters and well-wishers from other faith communities in Leicester as well as observers and sympathisers from no particular belief or tradition. As well as Cllr Manjula Sood, Assistant Mayor and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths, two other Assistant Mayors are here (Cllr Vi Dempster and Cllr Sarah Russell) and at least two other city councillors.

Representatives of Leicester's Bahá'í, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim communities spoke at the front of the gathering on the Town Hall steps, where a table was set up with commemorative candles. Jon Ashworth MP (Leicester South) spoke there too. There's no amplification so whatever they say is inaudible from even a few rows back. It's remarkable how loud the fountain in Town Hall Square can be, especially if you're trying to be quiet. But the fact that the speeches and prayers go largely unheard doesn't seem to matter to the crowd. There's a strong atmosphere of mutuality and solidarity, no posturing or rabble rousing. It's all very dignified, friendly and reflective.

I stay at the back, occasionally tweeting and being retweeted by others (e.g. @KaursCorner, @Masjidumar_Leic, @navrupkaur). I take the opportunity at the end to record a quick interview with a young Sikh chap for inclusion in my inter-faith programme on FMO Radio tomorrow morning, which is about how faith communities in Leicester, apart from Muslims, fast. Sikhs don't fast for spiritual purposes, like virtually all other faiths do in some way. Rather than just leave them out of the programme for that reason, I want to include a Sikh talking about why they don't fast. I strike gold with this fellow, who states clearly the reasons why fasting is not part of Sikh belief and practice, but why he himself fasts for reasons of health and fitness. That will make a good end to the programme tomorrow.

Pukaar News has turned out to cover the event: a three-minute video report is on their website. Ambrose Musiyiwa records a number of video interviews and posts these on Civic Leicester's YouTube channel, including interviews with Jon Ashworth MP, Cllr Manjula Sood, Surinderpal Singh Rai (Chair of Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara) and me.