Powered by
UI
Techs
Home
>
Forums
>
>
Interfaith Dialogue
>
coming together
Post Reply
Username
Invalid Username or Password
Password
Format
Andale Mono
Arial
Arial Black
Book Antiqua
Century Gothic
Comic Sans MS
Courier New
Georgia
Impact
Tahoma
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
Script MT Bold
Stencil
Verdana
Lucida Console
1
2
3
4
5
6
Message Icon
Message
- Forum Code is ON
- HTML is OFF
Smilies
[quote][red]SYMBOLS OF JEWELLERY[/red] [blue]My understanding is that the wearing of the Kara is not an optional extra for an amritdhari ("baptized" Sikh), but an essential. I have referred to a chapter by Eleanor Nesbitt in "Meeting Sikhs", which details some of the practical issues this has raised in contemporary British society. Generally speaking the official line has been to accommodate the wearing of the 5 Ks by Sikhs. There is now a long tradition of this going back to the issue of Bus Conductors wearing turbans in the 1960s. One would have hoped that we had got beyond this kind of controversy. Basically, it should be clear that the Kara is not a piece of jewelry, as a cross or crucifix would be. Christians are not bound to wear a cross, but Sikhs are bound to wear a Kara (and the other Ks). One wonders how a school can teach the agreed syllabus without being aware of this! John Newton, Christian Representative[/blue] [purple]It is widely accepted that a Cross, Star of David, Sikh bangles and Turban may be worn except to PE and games. During PE and games, if they can be removed then the student must do so. In the case of the bangles sticking plaster should be put over it to prevent it getting caught on equipment. The cross and star must be worn under the uniform when student is not doing PE or games. Small pupils under 12 should also adhere to this and girls wearing head coverings of hajji must be safe in all lessons. Jo Osborne, Jewish Representative[/purple] [green]Thank you for your email. It is a good step forward to support various communities living together in Slough. I think unless the ornament/dress is a threat to the child's/person's security, which could be best decided by the child's parents/guardian; he/she should not be required to remove it. Britain is proud of its generous approach and reception of various cultures and religions and it should uphold this virtue. Dr.Henna Khan, Muslim Representative, Vice Chair Faith Partnership Slough[/green] [orange]Glad to know your efforts in this direction. Kara as far as I know is a religious sacred symbol for the Sikhs and should not be treated at par with other jewellery items. Comparison of Kara with cross is not justified for Kara is one of the five elements which distinguish a person to be Sikh. However some one from Sikh community can give more info on the subject. Naresh Saraswat, Hindu Representative [/orange] [red]Quite clearly another can of worms has been opened. It seems to me that we should press this school to take a more tolerant view. As a Faith Partnership we should press for religious symbols (such as a cross and the like) as not being items of jewellery, but 'symbols of faith' and therefore part of who we are as 'people of faith' - the trouble is where do you draw the line - I leave that for others to decide. Rev Allen Walker, Christian Representative[/red] [brown]Many thanks for your communication about the wearing of Sikh Kara. I am fully in agreement with Mrs Bilkhu that Kara is not jewellery but a part and parcel of Sikh’s religious symbol. Kara is worn by every Sikh and has been the case ever since the Sikh religion came into being more than 300 years ago. To consider it as part of jewellery is just ignorance or taking the matter to the extreme. Most of jewellery items are made of gold or silver but Kara is made of steel and cannot be considered as jewellery. I think schools should concentrate their energy and time dealing with more important and serious issues like drugs and other disciplinary matters than wasting their time on issues like this. K.S.Parhar, Sikh Representative [/brown] [blue]I agree with those who expressed their opinions on that Kara are not a piece of jewellery but it is a more a symbol of culture and tradition of the Sikhs everywhere in the world, not only in India as Sikhs migrated to Canada, USA and UK and several other countries. Therefore thinking it as a piece of jewellery would be hurting the sentiments of the followers of the Sikh religion, not only in UK but also in all other countries. I would therefore regret that this matter should be viewed in the context of interest of inter-cultural and racial harmony rather than only as a metaphor of rules and regulations. Vijay Gupta, Hindu representative John’s understanding is spot on. The Kara is an article of faith, not jewellery. Also I do want to clarify that a Kara is steel which denotes all rich or poor can afford to have one. Gold denotes prestige and wealth which means then a gold Kara is regarded as jewellery. If anyone asks to remove a gold so called Kara they are within in their rights to do so. This is 2007 and we are still talking about issues such as these. Please note that the school repeatedly kept referring to 'uniform policy' they have already lost one Muslim girl who was ridiculed for wearing a long skirt and then trousers to Slough and Eton School. The mother had explained before the beginning of the new term that they were Muslim and an agreement was made that a long skirt is ok. My question to the school was that if a Sikh boy who wears a patka/turban came to the school what would they do? He replied quite proudly I must say that there is one in 6th form. Well my reply was is that school uniform policy? A Sikh teacher had advised the head teacher that a Kara is worn by wear one practicing Sikhs as my daughter is not practicing its ok. Also I do want to make clear my daughter had a gold one on now she has the steel one. The Kara is worn by a majority of non practicing Sikhs as a sign of their faith each individual has a spiritual journey in their lifetime therefore wearing the Kara or keeping your hair long is apart of the spiritual well being. My daughter’s friend was asked to remove her Kara which was steel she did so as she was frightened that she might get into trouble as she is only 11.Since then I she has put the Kara back on. What I would like Slough Faith Partnership to do is perhaps liaise with all schools about the relevance of faith and culture in schools as there seem to be an inconsistency as to matters of this nature. I have also attached details of the first of four exhibitions at Slough museum Sikh exhibition 11th April - 28th April 2007. Please call me regarding any of the above issues. Ranjit Bilkhu, Sikh Representative [/blue][/quote]
Mode
Prompt
Help
Basic
Check here to be notified by email whenever someone replies to your topic
Show Preview
Share
|
Copyright
Studying-Islam
© 2003-7 |
Privacy Policy
|
Code of Conduct
|
An Affiliate of
Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences ®
Top