(Image source from: Scroll.in)

An Indian American teenager suffering from severe brain juries after a hate crime that took place last month has brought Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs in the heart of Silicon Valley together as part of a rainbow coalition of ethnic, religious and immigrant networks, on May 29.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF), the Islamic Networks Group and the Sikh Coalition shared the stage with a Zen Buddhist leader, a Rabbi, a reverend from the Episcopal Church and immigrant rights organizations.

The Unity Gathering, organized by the city of Sunnyvale and the Islamic Networks Group, took place at a community center in Sunnyvale.

The interfaith meet was a show of solidarity against hate crime, in which an Iraq war veteran called Isaiah Peoples drove his car into pedestrians at a crosswalk because he thought they were Muslim. Eight people were injured.

Worst affected was 13-year-old Dhriti Narayan, who went into a coma after her brain was left swollen and bleeding. Her father Rajesh and younger brother Prakhar were also injured.

                      (Image source from: Daily Mail)

Make Diversity a Strength

On April 23, when Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein first heard news of the car crash that took place a block away from his home, he first attributed it to an accident caused by a drunk driver. He says he never thought that it could be an act of hate or extremism. He spoke passionately about how Sunnyvale would not tolerate racial violence and extremism.

Klein and other members of the local government were quick to point to the region’s diversity. They spoke of how Santa Clara County, to which Sunnyvale belongs, is a majority-minority county, one where no one community is a majority, over 40 percent residents are foreign-born, and a half speak a language other than English at home.

Officials spoke of the need to make diversity a strength and not a source of division.

Nirvair Singh of the Sikh Coalition talked of the spate of attacks on Sikhs in America, often targeted for their turbans and facial hair. He, too, believed in the growing need to stand up against hate crimes and Islamophobia.

While “Never Again” is a phrase long-used by the Jews to remind them of the Holocaust, Rabbi Amy Eilberg said that, for many Jews, the phrase meant that no genocide should occur again.

At the Unity Gathering, an Indian in the audience spoke of the need for everyone to speak out against all hate crimes, irrespective of the community to which the victims belong. “While there are people who feel the need to speak out against hate towards all communities, the time to do so is not just when your own community is attacked,” said an Indian woman who has lived in Sunnyvale for the last 15 years.

Samir Kalra, managing director of HAF, talked of a spike in hate crimes against Hindus, including hate speech and the desecration of temples. He spoke of the community having witnessed both anti-Indian and anti-Muslim bias.

When asked whether Indians in America need to be more vocal when it came to condemning Islamophobia, he said, “We have been focused on speaking out against crimes against anyone.” He added that Hindus were speaking out against attacks on synagogues and mosques. “Violence against any group or faith affects us all,” he added.

In the wake of growing hate crimes in America, Maha Elgenaidi, CEO of the Islamic Networks Group, referred to studies showing the incredibly negative stereotypes that many Americans had about Islam.

She felt the need to address the source of bigotry and revisit false narratives about various communities that were constructed during European colonization. She pointed to the manner in which Islam was misrepresented in public schools.

By Sowmya Sangam