Religion Mixed with Challenges of Living in a New Country

This paper examines the faith of Sikhism in the context of the United States. In addition, the report aims to identify the immigration problems that the Sikh community, whose origins are mostly in India, faces while in the United States. The report specifically discusses the Wisconsin Sikh Temple in Oak Creek (WI). Their place of worship is the Gurdwara. Following the vicious assault on the site by a random American White citizen on August 5, 2012, I have always tried to understand what motivated the gunman to attack innocent Sikh devotees. The shooting, which took place at around 10:20 in the morning, left six people dead and another group of three individuals including one police officer were injured. After making four recent visits to the site and participating in their undertakings, I came to learn a lot regarding the Sikh cultural behavior, artifacts, as well as their broad knowledge. The Sikhs lead an extremely peaceful life that is characterized by privacy, loyalty, and commitment to the cultural and religious beliefs. Therefore, it was quite unfortunate that a crazy domestic terrorist could attempt to threaten their amenable coexistence with the United States citizens. The criminal, Michael Wade Page, was perhaps a representation of an even broader picture that the Sikhs continue to suffer quietly. My thesis, therefore, probes into the irony behind the cruel treatment of the accommodative and loyal Sikhism religion.

Methodology

The methodological approaches employed in the research are ethnographic methods of data collection and analysis. Such techniques include interviewing respondents, participant observation, and data recording. These tools are geared towards providing qualitative data for this research which I analyzed in order to draw various conclusions. As an observer, I first informed the chief Sikh of my intended study while making an introduction of myself. As a result, I got an opportunity to interview him directly. Secondly, established a close relationship with one of the youth leaders in the Gurdwara. I immediately created a rapport and let him understand my course. We would even “hang out” at a coffee shop after the worship. From then on, he proved to be a useful informant and friend. As well he accorded me the necessary support whenever I required an interpreter to overcome language barrier or to understand the meaning of some rituals. However, I tried to maintain a low profile and, these were the only two individuals who knew about my motives.

I also approached a few other youthful respondents whose response was quite positive and engaged them in one-on-one conversations. Such dialogues were kept completely informal to ensure that I realized the most out of the respondents. This eliminates their chances of withholding vital information. I would as well record direct quotes from the interviewees to enhance the quality of my records and enhance memory of the rest of the chat. In documenting the routine events, objects, actors, and my general feelings and opinions, I would take field notes. However, I relied on my memory to a great extent, in order to recall the events chronologically as they unfolded. Further, during the proceedings, I would carefully turn on my voice recorder and put it back in my porch to avoid drawing any attention from the curious onlookers. Also, I rarely took any photos to avoid attracting any suspicions.

On the other hand, I engaged in passive participation when it came to performing the ritual activities and events in the temple. This helps minimize the Sikhs’ behavior or attitude change in the presence of an intruder or observer which would result in erroneous observations. Moreover, I would make sure that I would sit towards the front of the temple to catch a clear glimpse of the worship proceedings but, exercise caution to avoid exposing myself fully to the audience. After participating in a typical day’s activities, I would go back to my place of residence where I would take the account of all the happenings. First, I would gather all the written notes, and recorded audios and try to review them and make some visual representations such as sketches of what I had observed. After that, I would take a one-day break to internalize on all the previous events to further understand them. In the process of reviewing the information, I would identify the areas where important data was missing and those that needed additional clarification. I would then seek to clear up these shortcomings before proceeding to the next item. The fieldwork thus entailed four days of the site visit and a similar number for carrying out reflections and recording the data collected.

Research setting

The Oak Creek Gurdwara presents a rich social, physical and cultural site for studying the Sikh religion. First, they have numerous social activities conducted during all the Gurdwaras which are open to the public. For instance, the Langar ensures that all visitors, including the non-Sikh, are provided with free drinks and food. This demonstrates their accommodative, caring, and loving nature of the Hindu religion and culture. The Kirtan is yet another lively activity that involves the reciting of hymns from the current Sikh guru. Thirdly, the worshippers participate in readings and explanation of the holy book of Sikhs. I was also lucky to attend one of the most colorful events of my life which is the Sikh wedding ceremony. Marriage is an important social function in their culture and also represents a significant stage in life. What struck me is that it is the woman who marries the man. Further, the temple is physically aesthetically appealing and is made up of beautiful brick.

The Sikhs are known to be an aggressively enterprising group and have over the years increased in numbers through immigration to the United States. As well, they are famous for their honorable service as martials in the Indian army. In Punjabi, their native language, the term Sikhs refers to as a disciple. In general, the Sikhs are a peaceable community leading a rather private life as they go about their business. Importantly, they are accommodative to everyone regardless of the race and are guided by strong religious and cultural beliefs.

Ethnographic data

From the chief Sikh’s interview, I managed to gather some vital historical and demographic information that greatly informs my research. Concerning the Sikhs population, the Oak Creek temple unites a strong community of about 400 Sikhs currently living in the neighborhood. He also told me that internationally, the total number of Sikhs comes to about 30 million with the highest population situated in Punjab, North India. Further, he confirmed to me that the highest number of Sikhs arrived in the United States in the early 20th century. Upon their arrival, they mostly settled in the California central valley where they practiced farming. When I asked him why he thought that the temple was attacked he went back to trace the historical Sikh Bhagat Singh who was a radical freedom fighter. Bhagat ended up fighting the British in India and this might have angered the whites’ sympathizers in the larger Europe. Also, with the current political immigration uncertainties in the country, the gunman could possibly have been signaling the Sikhs that they are “illegal immigrants” in the U.S. When asked whether his community feels safe in the American soil, he said that they do. He added that the FBI and the state had promised them enhanced security and that since they are a peaceful group, they would not expect to be repaid with violence.

My participatory observations are that the Sikhs are a united community. The Gurdwara is their major uniting factor socially, physically, and spiritually. This is because the temple is their anchor and they meet and interact there often to also strengthen their cultural ties though such events as marriages. Secondly, they are accommodative as seen in their Langar event conducted at the end of every worship. The ceremony is open to all people including the non-Sikhs thus creating a sense of peace and tolerating other races, religions, cultures, and different political ideologies. Thirdly, the Sikhs live a rather secretive live and seem to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. They mostly keep their fellow Sikhs as friends and rarely participate in the public domain in matters regarding politics for instance. This private-life aspect also makes the study quite difficult since very few individuals are willing to disclose confidential information about their religion or personal life. Fourthly, they have a strong cultural sense of artefacts. Their dressing is guided by certain traditional values. They also engage in body decorations for bit male and females and these decorations hold certain meanings especially concerning the marriage status. Their religion is as well dominated by objects and numerous artwork in the form of carvings which are regarded as their gods. The significance of this is that they feel closer to their gods as they can interact physically with them.

Data analysis/ Interpretation

The data analysis technique used are influenced by some factors which include the fact that I am non-Punjab speaking presents a language barrier in discerning recorded audios and performances. I therefore primarily used the field notes, responses from interviews, and field notes to establish relevant themes. Secondly, I depended on the line-by-line, in-depth scrutiny approach to analyze the data since most of the questions asked were open-ended. The processes thus involved laborious word count since the qualitative data was more of a narrative in nature. From the interviews with the chief Sikh and other youthful respondents, it is clear that their community is suffering quietly from the current political uncertainty in the country regarding illegal immigration and is living in fear. Some Americans seem to advocate for “a return to India policy” while others such as the gunman at the Oak Creek Temple take the law upon themselves to threaten and kill the Sikhs.

On the other hand, from an observation point of view, the Sikhs are a peaceful community who are going about their normal business. They are committed to accommodate and integrate anyone into their culture and religion as demonstrated in their welcoming nature to the Langar feast. It, however, seems to the public that due to their privately-led life and being detached from the rest of the Americans, people think that they could have ill motives in the US such as to propagate terrorism. This is not the case according to my observations. The Sikh culture and religion is strong and advocates for peace, unity, integration, and moral values.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is ironical how Americans would attack the Sikhism religion which is essentially peace-loving, humble, and accommodative. This study has changed my earlier perception that the Sikhs are intolerant to other religions and cultures. Instead, they are a typicall example of how a united society should live. Moreover, the 5th August 2012 attack on the Oak Creek temple by an American citizen was indeed a miss-informed domestic terror attempt. The community has a significantly small population of about 400 Sikhs living in the U.S. Following their warm and caring nature to other citizens of any race, the Americans have no option but to repay them with hospitality and respect. Further, they should allow them to continue conducting their businesses freely and live their private and serene live.

























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