
There are more than 500,000 Sikhs in the United States [File: George Widman/AP]
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On Friday, as Deep Rai worked on his car in his driveway in the Seattle suburb of Kent, a man approached him and told him to "go back to your own country", according to witnesses.
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Described as six feet tall, of stocky build, and wearing a mask over his face, the man then shot at Rai and fled the scene. The attacker is still at large, and local police have contacted the FBI for support.
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Rai is recovering in hospital.
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The apparent hate crime comes two weeks after Adam Purinton, a white US navy veteran, killed 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas.
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Purinton reportedly mistook Kuchibhotla for a man of Middle Eastern origin and shouted "get out of my country" before opening fire in a crowded bar, according to witnesses.
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Reports of violence against minorities in the US have increased since the election of President Donald Trump, whose campaign emboldened the anti-immigrant far right.
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In his bid to become president, Trump promised to ban Muslims from entering the US and derided refugees and immigrants, particularly those coming from Mexico.
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Amid growing Islamophobia, other communities have also come under attack.
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 Rana Singh Sodhi holds a photograph of his murdered brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi [File: Ross D. Franklin/AP]
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Friday's shooting has reminded many of the post 9/11 era, when Sikhs were frequently mistaken for Muslims, and attacked.
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On September 15, 2001, Frank Silva Roque murdered Sikh American petrol station owner Balbir Singh Sodhi in a hate crime. Roque mistook Sodhi for an Arab Muslim; 20 minutes later he shot at a Lebanese American, but missed.
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Al Jazeera asked Rajdeep Singh Jolly, interim director of programmes at the New York-based The Sikh Coalition civil rights group, about rising xenophobia and its effect on minorities.
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Al Jazeera: The dangerous attack on Rai in Seattle followed the killing of an Indian man in Kansas, and dozens of other reports of violence against minorities. What do these attacks characterise?
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Jolly: These attacks are part of a broader pattern of hate and violence against immigrants and religious minorities. What's particularly chilling is that in both cases - the anti-Sikh attack near Seattle and the murder of Srinivas Kuchibhotla - both men were told to "go back to their country".
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Xenophobic political rhetoric is literally putting lives in danger.
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 Srinivas Kuchibhotla, right, poses for photo with his wife Sunayana Dumala in Cedar Rapids, Iowa [File: Kranti Shalia/AP]
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Al Jazeera: The Sikh community in the US often comes under attack at the same time as rising Islamophobia. Why is this, and how can it be prevented?
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Jolly: Sikhs are not targeted exclusively because of Islamophobia. For example in 1907, Sikh immigrants were assaulted in Bellingham, Washington, during an organised riot fuelled by xenophobia.
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There is no doubt that anti-Sikh hate crimes and Islamophobia have accelerated in the post-9/11 environment, but it makes no difference to a bigot whether his victim is Muslim, Sikh or Jewish.
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That is why communities targeted by hate need to stand together.
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Al Jazeera: Do you think the Trump administration is addressing rising xenophobia as best it can?
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Jolly: The Trump administration needs to make hate crime prevention a top priority. So far, the administration has done nothing in this regard.
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For example, it can create a federal task force to prevent hate violence, address the threats posed by white supremacists, work with faith communities to promote interfaith solidarity, and work with schools to create a culture of respect and appreciation for diversity.
Al Jazeera: How is the Sikh community responding to Friday's attack? How are people feeling?
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Jolly: The Sikh community is vigilant, but we are also resilient. We refuse to live in fear.
Al Jazeera: Do you think events such as these create a divide between minorities, or bring them together?
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Jolly: Hate incidents bring communities together.
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For example, after the 2012 attack on a gurdwara [Sikh house of worship] in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, there was an outpouring of compassion from our fellow Americans.
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 Jolly wants Trump administration to prioritise hate-crime prevention [Karaminder Singh Ghuman/The Sikh Coalition]
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However, we should not wait for tragedies like this to express love and solidarity.
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In the Sikh religion, we believe all human beings are part of the same family, and all of us need to put this principle into practice.
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Al Jazeera: After 9/11, Sikhs were targeted because some attackers believed them to be Muslims. What role does education play here, and are you concerned about similar violence emerging?
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Jolly: We need to teach our children to respect all people. Racial and religious distinctions are irrelevant.
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Over the years, we have consistently encouraged school officials to incorporate bias-prevention education into their curricula.
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Al Jazeera: Do you think hate crimes have risen following the election of Donald Trump, or are more simply being reported?
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Jolly: Our friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have documented an increase in the number of hate groups.
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Hate crime statistics are unreliable because the reporting system is voluntary, and many large cities fail to report hate crimes to the FBI.
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For us, even one hate crime is too much, and all of us - including the Trump administration - should do everything in our power to prevent hate from taking another life or loved one.
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(c) 2017 Al Jazeera Media Network
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