Search the Community

Beware the Trojan Horse ... and the Vultures Hovering Over By SANDEEP SINGH BRAR August 10, 2012 The Trojan Horse is a tale from the ancient Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. After a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war. Ever since, the "trojan horse" has been a metaphor for subterfuge. In the aftermath of the Wisconsin shooting, there has been a tremendous amount of support from the American public: from candle-light vigils to emails and a great interest in the media and general public to learn more about Sikhs and their religion. Our spokespersons have been doing yeoman service in inviting non-Sikh Americans to learn more about Sikhs in the wake of this terrible tragedy. I expect that there will be an unprecedented number of non-Sikh visitors to gurdwaras across the nation over the next few weeks. Not only will it be an opportunity to educate many Americans about their Sikh neighbours and the Sikh religion, it will also be an opportunity for all Sikhs and non-Sikhs to come together as a nation mourns and remembers the victims. While most non-Sikh visitors this weekend visiting gurdwaras will have come out of a genuine sense of curiosity to learn more about Sikhs and their religion, or to express sympathy and solidarity with Sikhs, there will ufortunately also be another type of visitor to our gurdwaras with an entirely different agenda. This particular group of visitors is not coming to our gurdwaras out of interest in learning about Sikhs or sympathy, but with their own agenda. That agenda is to use this as an opportunity to try to start the process of converting Sikhs to Christianity through a first outreach to Sikhs. A Christian website states the following: “In the wake of one of the greatest tragedies to hit the Sikh community in North America, Southern Baptists have an unprecedented opportunity to reach out to their Sikh neighbors with the Gospel of Jesus Christ … We have an opportunity now to turn this very sad situation into a life-changing encounter with the Gospel for Sikhs throughout North America.” And how do they plan on doing this? Apparently the website mentions that they have ‘church planters’ who coordinate and work with partner churches. The website gives an example of how an opportunity arose this week when their ‘planter’ worked with a local church to contact a gurdwara, first expressing sympathy and then using this as an opportunity for an entirely different purpose as a stepping stone for their real agenda. In their own words: “Masih said he has already seen ministry opportunities emerge this week. He mentioned one Sikh temple next door to an SBC church in Baltimore. On Monday, Masih talked with the pastor, who told him about his struggles to build a relationship with the neighboring temple. Masih then, with the pastor still on the phone, called the temple's priest and, in his own Punjabi language, expressed his sorrow over Sunday's tragedy. He asked for the opportunity to bring local Southern Baptists -- including members of the neighboring church -- to visit the temple and to give the Sikh community a tour of an SBC church. He said the temple leadership enthusiastically agreed -- and even volunteered to bring the food. Both sides will have an opportunity to share what they believe and Masih plans to share his own testimony. He also plans to leave them with a film on Jesus in their Punjabi language. Masih noted that believers who feel led to reach out to Sikhs in their community should start by building bridges -- much like what happened in Baltimore. “When we start with us and what we believe, they're not going to listen," Masih said. "When you talk about them, they'll listen. That's how you build a bridge. Show an interest in their lives, and you'll build a relational bridge." It’s so sad and disturbing to think that there are people and religious organizations out there that would exploit this tragedy for their own ulterior motives. To take advantage of Sikh gurdwara hospitality in the wake of the Wisconsin tragedy and betray our trust for their own arrogant agenda is truly disturbing. “Masih encourages Christians not to argue theology with Sikhs. Ask a lot of questions. Find out what they believe. Greet them with their own traditional greeting (pronounced "Sat Sri Akal"), if you'd like. If you choose to visit their temple, follow their instructions and be good guests. Instead of focusing on the differences between Christianity and Sikhism, be prepared to share your testimony and show them in your attitudes and actions how much God loves them.” In Sikhi we use the beautiful metaphor of the world being like a garden and each flower in that garden under the Divine Gardner, Waheguru’s care. We regard other religions as flowers in that garden. Our path is one of those flowers that we follow and love, but we recognize the diversity of flowers and religions in God's garden. How disappointing to see the appearance of weeds in this garden: of the arrogance of some that cannot respect other people’s beliefs or religions and would betray opportunities for genuine interfaith dialogue and trust for their own cheap agendas. In the coming weeks be hospitable and welcoming to new visitors to our Gurdwaras, but also beware of the Trojan Horse and the vultures that hover over it.. Sandeep Singh Brar is the Curator of SikhMuseum.com and the creator of the world’s first Sikh website, Sikhs.org. . .