A Sikh man goes to a Christian charity in North Carolina and gets turned away because he’s wearing a turban:
ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. — A Halifax County man was turned away from a local mission when he refused to remove his turban while trying to make a donation.
When Gary Khera, went with his wife to the Union Mission on Roanoke Avenue to make a donation, a staffer asked him to remove his turban.
“She said, ‘Sir, you have to take your turban off. This is the United States,’” Khera recounted. “That made me a little upset. I am a United States citizen.”
Khera, citing his religious beliefs, declined. He is a Sikh with dual U.S. and Indian citizenship.
(…)
Florence Williams, the mission’s in-take director, countered with the facility’s policy that requires that men remove head coverings indoors. Rev. Ron Weeks, executive director of the mission, seconded her argument.
“He wanted to become argumentative, and I asked him to please leave,” Weeks said.
Offended, Khera left and took his money with him. He said that he and his wife have given to the mission in years past, always by mailing a check. This year, he wanted to see where his donation was going.
The mission building contains a chapel, and employees consider the entire building “the Lord’s house,” Weeks said. A sign in the lobby outlines the policy against hats or other headwear inside.
“We have policy, and he didn’t want to abide by it,” said Weeks. “He gave the receptionist a bad time and decided to do a vengeance thing because he didn’t get his own way. This was nothing to do with the turban, nothing to do with his faith.”
Oh really ?
Somehow, I doubt it.
This story came via Kip Esquire who asks:
A Christian charity placing mindless dogmatic formalism over its actual function, and doing so by insulting another person’s religion in the process? How much more robotically brainless can people be?
Somehow, I don’t think there’s a limit.
I’m sensing a double standard here.
If you’re going to claim religious tolerance, you have to apply it to both parties. Removing headwear is a sign of respect in a church/chapel/house of God. He was unwilling to comply and they were unwilling to bend the rules for him. It’s hard to place blame on either party here. You have no evidence to assume that they were discriminating because of the turban.
Except he wasn’t in a Church, as the article clearly explained, he was in an entirely separate building.
And, even if he was, I think the quote from Kip is the best response.
Also, in my first sentence, by religious tolerance, I meant religious intolerance.
I don’t disagree that it doesn’t really make any sense on their part. I think it’s dumb of them to turn down his money just because of a turban. I’m just not convinced that it’s a matter of religious intolerance.
And it may not be a church, “but The mission building contains a chapel, and employees consider the entire building ‘the Lord’s house.’” I’m sure many other missions buildings around the country are treated in the same manner.
The full story as reported in Roanoke Rapids where the incident happened. As for Ron Weeks, the Minister in question, he’s not exactly what I’d call the “turn the other cheek” type of person. I’ve been in their thrift store where he spends a lot of time and he has a naturally abrasive personality.
Lance Martin, Daily Herald Senior Staff Writer
ROANOKE RAPIDS — Between the he said, he said banter of who was belligerent, comes the issue of respect of religions and policy.
Gary Khera’s donation to a local non-profit group was declined because he refused to remove his turban, a symbol of the Sikh religion.
Khera, a U.S. and Indian citizen, came to the Union Mission with his wife of 23 years, Gwendolyn, this week to donate cash or food. He said he was prepared to give a cash donation to feed at least 50 people.
He usually mails his donation, but on Tuesday he decided to go in person.
While the Union Mission claims Khera, 54, was disruptive, it doesn’t deny they refused his donation.
The sign on the door leading to the lobby of the mission on Roanoke Avenue, written in 2-inch tall letters, tells visitors to turn off cell phones, forbids food or drink and requests all males remove headcovers.
The turban, however, is part of Khera’s religion and is worn all day and he said while he respects the policy, the Supreme Court has ruled religious coverings do not have to be removed.
He explained he was there to make a donation and the in-take director, Florence Williams, asked him to remove the turban. “When she said that I was really upset,” he said.
Williams then declined to talk to him and talked to his wife.
“I asked if there was anyone else I could talk to,” Khera said, and he was told the Rev. Ron Weeks, executive director of the Mission, was available.
Khera said he was escorted to the alcove between the front door and the door leading into the lobby. He said Weeks would not shake his hand.
Khera said he calmly tried to explain he was there to give a donation and that Williams wanted him to remove his turban. Weeks explained the policy and Khera was told if he didn’t follow the policy, he could take the donation elsewhere.
The only difference in the recollection of the conversation by both parties is that Weeks and Williams say Khera was belligerent. In turn, Khera describes the Union Mission officials as belligerent.
“We have policy and he didn’t want to abide by it,” Weeks said yesterday. “He gave the receptionist a bad time and decided to do a vengeance thing because he didn’t get his own way. This was nothing to do with the turban, nothing to do with his faith.”
The policy, Weeks said, “Is that’s how we honor the Lord. It was not religion with him, he tried to make it religion. It was clear he wanted to argue and fight.”
Asked if he knew Khera, a Roanoke Rapids resident and business owner, made yearly donations to the Mission by mail, Weeks said, “If he wants to continue donating it’s best he does that or stop and donate to someone else.”
Asked if the Mission’s board of directors was aware of the incident, Weeks said, “This probably happens once a month. It’s not a big deal to us.” Jeff Holm, chairman of the Mission’s board, told the Daily Herald this morning that until he had more information he would not comment on the incident.
Weeks said he didn’t believe the Union Mission was trying to deny Khera’s freedom of religion. If that is the case, Weeks said, “He’s trying to deny us ours. That’s his problem, not ours. He made the choice and didn’t like the outcome.”
Williams said she was not trying to disrespect Khera’s faith. “I’m sorry it happened,” she said. “The sign says on the door all males take off their (headcovers). This is a church.”
While Khera says it was Union Mission staff who were belligerent to him, he adds that it is not the point, it is the respect for his religion at issue.
The Sikh religion teaches peace, he said, which is one of the reasons he applied for citizenship. “I’m proud to be a U.S. citizen,” he said. “You can tell the world what actual freedom is. You can practice any religion. You can have your dreams come true and make a difference in your family and your community.”
Gwendolyn, who is dedicated to her husband’s culture and religion, said she was upset when her husband was asked to remove his turban. “The people are friendly,” she said of the temple she goes to with her husband. “They treat you as a family. The kids learn a lot. If you go to the temple you feel good, they respect you, they treat you like their own.”
Khera said he has never been targeted for his turban before except in the aftermath of 9/11. When he visited the U.S. Supreme Court no one asked him to remove the turban.
No one can question his patriotism, he said, and he speaks proudly of Sikh participation in World War I and World War II. “They are the best fighters,” he said. “In World War II and World War I, the British used them all over the world to fight.”
His son, he said, is joining the Air Force. “It’s his dream to be an Air Force pilot.”
His daughter started a newspaper at KIPP Pride High in Gaston and is raising money to keep needy students in school. “In our tradition in every temple, people of all races and religions sit on the same row and eat the same food.”
While these temples are ready to fight for Khera on a legal level, he has declined to press the matter. “I have at least 10 e-mails from the temple, from legal defense telling me what to do,” he said. “I’m not looking to fight back so we can stay here and keep peace.”
Khera will talk with the Halifax County Department of Social Services about another place to make his donation.
“I just want to be heard,” he said. “We need more education about other religions. In our temple we read everything, we don’t go by one. We do everything in praise of God.”