From BBC News:
Canadian Sikhs should be allowed to wear small daggers central to their faith when they go to school, the country’s Supreme Court has ruled. |
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Don’t many Wiccans have sacred pointy things among their collection of ritual items? Surely there is a practicing Druid with a ceremonial sword that could make an appearance in little Johnny’s classroom one morning. Swords have strong connections with Buddhism and the Buddhist guardian deities, so can a Buddhist bring a sword into little Susy’s kindergarten class?
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of ten Gurus who lived in northern India during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is one of the world’s major religions with over 23 million followers. It is every Sikh’s duty to defeat these five vices: ego, anger, greed, attachment, and lust. Sikhs are encouraged to ‘attack’ these vices with contentment, charity, kindness, positive attitude, and humility. Upon baptism, Sikhs must wear the Five Ks, and recite the five prayers.
The Five Ks, or kakaars, are five items that baptised Sikhs wear at all times either out of respect for the tenth teacher, Guru Gobind Singh, or out of a sense of religious devotion. The Five Ks are not merely symbols. Guru Gobind Singh Ji ordered his followers to wear the Five Ks so that they could actively use them to make a difference to their own and to others’ spirituality.
Guru Gobind Singh made Kirpan as an integral part of the Five Ks. The kirpan was used by Guru Gobind Singh to liberate the oppressed people of his time. But didn’t Moses use a staff to liberate his people form the Pharoah? Therefore shouldn’t Jewish children be allowed to bring staffs into the classroom? Shouldn’t American children be allowed to bring muskets into the classroom?
In 1997, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Livingston Union School District in California school reached a settlement that guaranteed the right of baptized Sikh students to attend school wearing a kirpan. It came after three children missed a semester because they were not allowed to.
From what very little I know of Sikhism it is a peaceful faith. We could live another century and probably never hear of any incidence of violence regarding either a kirpan or a Sikh student. But how do you convince that to someone that only sees a dagger being worn in their child’s classroom?
Sikh, Multani, dagger, kirpan, School, religious freedom, Canada
1 response so far ↓
1 John Anderson // Mar 6, 2006 at 7:06 pm
I do not know how to go about explaining that this dagger is, to a Sikh, only to be used for immediate defense: other weapons may be used for things not necessarily immediate, like defending your country against an invader. But it is a religious requirement, much as peyote is a sacramental drug to some, and not lightly given up. And it is traditionally worn unobtrusively, on a necklace and under clothing. Nor is it exactly a Bowie knife: as you can see in the picture with your post, the blade is usually four inches or less (even weapons-paranoid Massachusetts allows anyone to carry a blade of three inches).
Nor is the position of the Sikhs entirely a surprise to those of us who are a certain age. During the violence of the Sixties, Sikhs could get a pass allowing them to carry the kirpan on airplanes and other venues.
But it is a weapon, so I can understand people wanting them banned from schools: it makes more sense than banning girls’ scarves, even if I do not agree with banning the Kirpan.