Racism Charged at Bay Street Mall

From the New York based on-line Sikh oriented website Sikh 24:

Breaking: Sacramento Sikh Family Harassed by Security at AMC Emeryville

SACRAMENTO, California (June 23, 2013)–A Sacramento based Sikh and his wife were harassed by the AMC Emeryville security and management earlier today.  Manjot Singh had gone to the theater with his wife to watch a movie when he was pulled aside by the manager for his appearance.

Manjot Singh told Sikh24 that he was pulled out because of his Sikh appearance and when the security guards asked about his kirpan, hidden under his t-shirt, they gave him a hard time and harassed him in public.

The kirpan is a Sikh article of faith accepted in public places worldwide, including England and Canada.  Sikhs also keep unshorn hair and wear turbans as a requirement of their faith.

Singh alleged that such an incident shocked him as it happened in front of the public where he was made to look like a terrorist.  Sikhs have been victims of hate crimes in America since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.  Sikhs are members of a peace loving religion founded 500 years ago in Punjab, now located in Northern India.

“To me, the kirpan represents my duty to protect others–at any cost. It is a physical representation of my moral duty to uphold the honor of others. To be singled out and reminded that I am a second class citizen and not really American, even though I was born and raised here…is painful,” said Singh.

A petition has been started on Change.org demanding AMC CEO Gerardo Lopez stop banning Sikhs.  A campaign has already spurred on various social media websites demanding an apology from AMC.