Following Sikh Temple Tragedy, FPL Joins Groups in Statement of Tolerance and Peace
This week Faith and Public Life joined 177 other organizations, including faith groups, in releasing a statement that calls upon leaders and everyday Americans to “address xenophobia, racism, and anti-religious hate” in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Milwaukee-area Sikh temple. Though the shooter’s motives still aren’t entirely clear, authorities have identified the man as a member of a white-power hate group.
The statement recounts the history of “bias and violence” that Sikh communities have been subjected to since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. It points out that Sikhs are not the only ones targeted for their appearance or faith—Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities also suffer from a culture of bigotry.
If our core values of pluralism, equality, and inclusion are to be preserved, tragedies like the one in Wisconsin must be denounced at every turn. But we must also condemn those smaller, everyday tragedies that haunt the lives of religious minorities. “The essence of our country,” the statement concludes, “…is E Pluribus unum: out of many comes a strong, unified one.”