Washington, Apr 21: Nearly 100 US lawmakers have asked the FBI to collect data on hate crimes against Sikhs in America to find out better ways to prevent racially motivated attacks against the community.
 Led by New York Congressman, Joseph Crowley, the Congressmen wrote a letter to Department of Justice urging FBI to begin collecting data on hate crimes committed against Sikh-Americans, noting that
 this is a community, which is acutely susceptible to violence because of their appearance.
 "The more information our law enforcement agencies have on violence against Sikh-Americans, the more they can do to help prevent these crimes and bring those who commit them to justice," said Crowley said in a statement.
 "The Department of Justice and FBI have carried out important outreach efforts in coalition with the Sikh community, but these efforts must also be paired with data collection to ensure we are doing everything possible to crack down on hate crimes against the Sikh community," he said.
 Sikh-Americans are often targeted for hate crimes because of their distinct identity and common misperceptions with respect to their attire and appearance, said the statement issued by Crowley's office.
 Attackers often appear to erroneously believe that Sikh-Americans are affiliated with extremists and were somehow responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, it said.
 Over the past year, Sikh-Americans and their religious institutions have been threatened or attacked in highly-publicised incidents in New York, Michigan, Virginia and California, where two men were murdered.
 Advocacy groups believe it is likely that many other incidents have occurred but went unreported, it added.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
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