Editor’s note: This letter is being reprinted in its entirety because of an unfortunate error which appeared in it in last week’s Independent. Our sincere apologies to the writer for that mistake, which misconstrued the writer’s intent.
We are Sikhs and are from India. We are not associated with Osama bin Laden, the Middle East, Arabs or Muslims. We’d like to extend our most heartfelt prayers and deepest sympathies to everyone around the world affected by these tragedies. We pray for the victims and the family and friends of the victims. We pray for the courageous emergency medical teams, for the police officers and the firefighters. And we pray they’ll continue to find survivors.
We are around 500,000 in number in North America. We are the only group in the United States and Canada who wear turbans and have an uncut beard. Therefore we might resemble bin Laden or Ayatollah, but have nothing to do with them. Moreover, the followers of these individuals in North America do not wear turbans and they shave their beards. We are being targeted due to our resemblance to some of the terrorist groups. Please recognize and support us.
Here are few of the Web sites for more information about Sikhs:
• <http://sikhs.org/
• <http://www.sikhnet.com/
•<http://proudtobesikh.com/
• <http://www.sikhitothemax.com/
Ichpal Raince
Aberdeen