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Summary of Question:	Sikh Girl Be Friends W/The Muslim Guy-Response
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 10/02/2001 2:20 PM MDT

In response to " can a sikh girl br friends with a muslim guy" (9/25/200)

you state that we should not hold any grudges against todays muslims for the crimes of there ancestors.

true perhaps we shouldnt...but does our history not teach us our future...should we forget the countless tortured who gave up there lives for sikhi...taking this attitude of not remebering our past does this not open the gateway to more muslim marrying sikhs and converting them to islam. true there is one god just diffenrt paths...so why did the muslims not accept us when we formed as a religion? why are they so reluctant to let there girls marry sikh men but feel it is ok for there men to marry sikh women?

You said this attitude of considering muslims to be enemies of sikhs is outdated what about the sikhs still being killed in kashmir.

maybe we should not forget the ancestors who tortured our ancestors..and remember who we are and who persecuted us for who we are.

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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal.

The choice is yours: live in the past or live in the present. Taking a history-specific view of Sikhi puts us in the past and causes us to relive the past in our everyday lives. For a Sikh to live in the present, s/he has to live the spirit of Khalsa, not the history of Khalsa. The spirit of Khalsa is one that honors the God in all, that respects other peoples faith and culture, but that stands up for Truth against oppression of ANY kind.

It is very very important for all Sikhs to remember that the battles we fought with Muslim rulers could have been battles fought against Christian rulers, for example. What Guru Gobind Singh did was fight for freedom of choice in religion. He did not fight ONLY for Sikhs' choice in religion; remember that he was carrying on in the spirit of his father, 9th Guru Teg Bahadur, who died for a Hindu, because he believed that ALL should worship as they choose. In 10th Master's time, the oppressors were Muslim. In later years, Sikh oppressors have been Hindu, but oppressors at one time of ALL Indians were British Christians. Do you see? Guru Gobind Singh was fighting against ANY oppression that prevents development of Spirit in people. He did not fight for land, power, money, or riches. Your argument means that all Sikhs should also despise and avoid Hindus, British, and Christians as well. This is hardly the Khalsa spirit.

We are not history-worshippers, we are followers of Shabd Guru. Siri Guru Granth Sahib is very clear that God is in ALL. Our Gurbani tells us that when we criticize another, we criticize the Creator directly. As I said, the choice is yours: live the spirit of Khalsa, or live in the past.

Guru ang sang,
-DKK