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The Sikh Temple Massacre And Gun Control
August 7, 2012
Stu Tarlowe
While the shootings at the Sikh temple will no doubt inspire more calls for “gun control,” I very much doubt that the Sikhs themselves will be among those calling for the citizenry to be disarmed.
I’m hardly an expert on Sikhism, but I am a dilettante; I know at least a little bit about a great many things, and some of the few things I know about Sikhs are relevant to a discussion of the shootings at the Sikh Gurdwara (temple) in Wisconsin and the renewed calls for “gun control” that are sure to follow.
I believe the Sikhs to be among the world’s most noble and spiritual people. They are tolerant and peaceful, but they are not pacifists nor are they necessarily “non-violent”. They understand that violence can be a necessity, and they have distinguished themselves as warriors, particularly on the side of their British colonial rulers during WW I and WW II.
Sikhism originated as a protest against many of the negative aspects of Hindu theology and culture, in particular polytheism and the caste system. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, categorically rejected the caste system as being contrary to the humanitarian and egalitarian elements of the Sikh creed.
It is part of the Sikh creed to stand against injustice, and to defend the weak and the downtrodden, regardless of religious or ethnic persuasion.
