Prabjot Singh: Attack on Sikh Professor Mistaken of Muslim

The Saturday evening attack on a Columbia professor by a mob in the street is being treated as a hate crime. Prabjot Singh, a Sikh, was mistaken for a Muslim in upper Manhattan due to his traditional turban and beard. The thirty-one year old professor of international and public affairs was taking a routine evening walk when he was attacked mere blocks away from his Harlem home by a group of more than twenty men on bikes.

The twenty-five to thirty men were shouting accusations of terrorism and phrases such as “Get Osama!” as they brutally attacked him. He lost a number of teeth and sustained a fractured jaw as well as other injuries before a passerby intervened, possibly saving his life. He underwent surgery for his jaw at Mount Sinai Hospital where he was taken following the assault. The suspects in the attack are still at large.

“I’m grateful to them,” said Singh, who is married and has a young son.

Incidentally, Singh has previously commented in the New York Times on anti-Sikh violence because their turbans and beards have previously caused them to mistaken for radical Muslims. He as also written several articles on the subject as well. Following the attack he again expressed the importance of understanding that Sikhs are peaceful people.