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October 20th, 2010
07:08 PM ET
Report: Obama to skip Sikh Temple in India partly out of head covering concernPresident Barack Obama will not be visiting the Golden Temple - the architectural pride of the Sikh faith - during his trip to India next month, according to the New York Times:
Here's what a senior White House official tells CNN about the situation:
More as we get it. Full Times report here.
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I am very disappointed in the decision that the government has made. He should visit the Golden Temple because he will see the wonders of the place and how people give up their time to come and do seva (volunteer) to help cook, clean, etc... or they come to get blessings. Everytime I go I am always amazed by how many people are there and I feel proud to be one of those people to come and receive my blessings. I feel disappointed in myself for voting someone like him as the President.
I am very disappointed with Mr. Obama. I feel like I wasted my tears when he became a president. I thought that I was living on history but now I feel like a MISTAKE has been made in the history. If Mr. obama does not go to Golden Temple when he visits India then indirectly he is saying that sikhs are muslims which is very disappointing and insulting to me as a member of sikh religion. If the prime minister of Canada and Queen of england can wear it why not him. He wore yamulke when he went to Jerusalem. yamulke looks more like what most of muslims wear not the kerchief.
Why would he look like a Muslim with bandana on his head ? I think Barack will look like a rock star or why not just wear baseball cap ? Chicago Bears hat will be cool. My 2-cents.
Wearing a cap to any Sikh Temple is disrespectful. . .but yeah, there is nothing wrong with wearing a bandana. If our leaders remain ignorant, then hence the general population will remain ignorant as well. . . .
This is ridiculous. All he needs to wear is a bandanna, which is not a religious symbol in any sense but what is worn by all who enter the temple – Christians, world leaders, Americans included – that don't wear a turban or woman's long scarf. So fearing the wrath of the fear mongers of certain right-wing factions, he has conceded to them and avoided one of the world's foremost monuments, a symbol of religious pluralism central to India – over politics. I honestly thought he was better than this.
If someone on his staff is reading, please reconsider. This sends a worse signal, one relating to a more important principle, than the reaction of the people who call you a Muslim.
How nice that Obama and Michelle are going on another vacation...er, state visit.
I am sikh and when I go to the Gurdwara (temple) I wear a bandana. Don't know what the big deal is. This is basically Obama and his admin. admitting they thinkg that Americans are idiots and because of there intense, unfounded fears will jump to conclusions that are untrue. If I were an American citizen I would feel pretty angry that my gov't perceives me as that narrow-minded and ignorant since the majority of US citizens are quite level-headed.
@Reality – this may be a "house of worthless worship" to you but not to many and it also has a long cultural and political history so it is not only a place of worship but also very relevant to anyone wanting to see the historical spots in India. I've been there twice and it's beautiful.
@GSA: I'd like to agree with you about Americans being level-headed. Unfortunately, it is the minority loud mouths who turn this into an issue and use people's fears to prevent enlightenment. It's sad but true. I'm disappointed he might not go too. I hope the White House recognises that sometimes the more difficult choice is still the right one. But in an election cycle, they might just opt for playing it safe.
As an American citizen, I perceive most other Americans as narrow-minded and ignorant. In a perfect world, most Americans would know how to use their brains, but the fact of the matter is that they don't, and if one uses his brain he is perceived as an elitist and therefore no longer credible.
GSA:
Obama is and always will be an academic, one of the "clever sillies". He is a prime example of the inverse relationship between common sense and intelligence in academics. Keep in mind "educated doesn't always mean smart". The man is out of his element in the White House and in way over his head. He is not representative of any American I'm aquainted with and is completely disconnected from average Americans who, as you stated, are level-headed...contrary to the offensive remarks of Frogist and Disa. Perhaps what Obama really fears if he went to the Sikh temple is the wrath of his Muslim cohorts.
The fact of the matter is, however, that it would undermine his credibility with the idiot masses of the country if he were to do it. If he did you know that the Republicans, and the Tea Party especially, would be all over his case, using it as an excuse to refer to him as a Muslim, as if for some reason it actually mattered whether he was or not.
Honestly, it'd be better if he went through with it for dignity's sake, but, given the country's political climate, I would totally understand if he decided to skip it.
Didn't George W. Bush wear a Mickey Mouse hat once? Oh no wait...my mistake...it was a propeller hat
@Ed: Sorry, you're wrong. It was a dunce cap.
I bet Obama would go if he had a spiffy hat like the Pope gave his new cardinals!
I don't know which is more absurd –
that the President would pass up this opportunity to make a positive statement about religious pluralism – the cornerstone of the Sikh tradition – over putting a kerchief on his head as Queen Elizabeth and Canadian Prime Minister Harper did happily or
that embassy personnel would leak such an irresponsible statement to the press before it is totally confirmed
Either way, one wonders where is the wisdom of our decision makers
Most indians think US is a country of advanced people with modern thinking and advanced life style. I think such incidences will help them to clear their misunderstanding and will tell them the truth that US is just like another country ruled by mediocre minds. It is not democracy but mobocracy.
Kang:
If the US was a "mobocracy", we would have run Obama out of the White House long before this. Because we are "a country of advanced people with modern thinking and advanced life style", we are patiently waiting to oust him lawfully in the election of 2012. No referendum has been put to the American people asking if we think he should visit the Sikh temple. The decision NOT to visit the temple is Obama's and his sycophants, not the people's decision. I, as an American, think it would be gracious if Obama and his handlers had the courage to reconsider.
Frank, as far as I can tell, Christians are Jews, Jesus was a Jew, all early followers of Jesus were Jews, Jesus nor any of his followers denounced Judaism. If it smells like a duck.....
I think we're far past the point of trying to claim that Christianity is Judaism. We worship the same God, yes. Yes, Christ was born of the Jewish woman and the early followers are Jewish but we have 2,000 years of differences between us. Jewish non-belief in the Trinity and their not accepting Christ as Messiah.
Next you'll say that Muslims are Christians and that Buddhists are Hindus.
If Christians were Jews, they would call themselves Jews.
I am disappointed that the President would not visit due to concerns of something as superficial as how he would look in a headdress. Especially since sikhs are not muslim even though ignorant americans think they are. I hope he will change his mind in view of creating greater understanding of different cultures. If the queen of England and the Canadian PM can do it, he shouldn't let something as petty as how he would look deter him from visiting.
Actually, no one should go into a "house of worthless worship" so covering one's head in said structure is not relevant.
Added comments for those new members out there:
Recognizing the flaws, follies and frauds in the foundations of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Paganism,
and Christianity by the "hatters", "bowers", kneelers" and "pew peasants" will quickly converge these religions into some simple rules of life. No koran, bible, clerics, nuns, monks, imams, evangelicals, ayatollahs, rabbis, professors of religion or priests needed or desired. Ditto for houses and classes of "worthless worship" aka mosques, churches, basilicas, cathedrals, temples or synagogues.
How stupid. He'll cover his head when taking part in a Jewish event but not for this? It's kinda insulting.
I most definitely agree