Anant Singh feels the cold stares while shopping at the mall.

        He says he hears whispers behind his back at the grocery and sees vulgar gestures and finger-pointing when he is in unfamiliar surroundings.

At an informal meeting of local Sikhs, Lakhwinder Singh (left) and Anant P. Singh express their concerns of becoming victims of a backlash against terrorists. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Singh, a design engineer with General Electric, is a Sikh. A U.S. citizen who was born in India, he wears a black turban and a long black beard.

        “People are looking at my turban and thinking that I am an Arab or Muslim,” he said. “They think that I am connected with (Osama) bin Laden.”

        They are mistaken. Sikhs are not Muslim; most are not Arab, and their philosophies differ starkly from Islamic radicals like the Taliban or Mr. bin Laden.

        But Americans' confusion and suspicion have caused many Sikhs in the Tristate and nationwide to keep a low profile. In the days following the terrorist attacks, some Sikhs have been threatened, beaten and, in at least one case, killed because of their appearance.

        A New York group, the United Sikhs in Service of America, lists 207 incidents of hate crimes against Sikhs on its Web site as of Tuesday. No violence has been reported against Sikhs in Greater Cincinnati.

        Members of six Tristate Sikh families gathered Tuesday in a Symmes Township home to discuss concerns about the potential for backlash here and to explain how Sikhism is different from Islam.

        “Americans see pictures of bin Laden on TV with a turban on and they automatically think everybody with a turban is an Arab,” said Mr. Singh.

        “It's a tough time, and people's emotions are high, so I can kind of see the other side,” he said. “Some Americans just don't know or understand who we are.”

        In Mesa, Ariz., Frank Silva Roque, 42, was charged with first-degree murder for shooting to death Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh, outside a gas station Saturday.

        Mr. Roque told police: “I'm an American. Arrest me. Let those terrorists run wild.”

        The killing hits close to home for Sukhmeet Bedi.

        The 17-year-old, West Chester student is a second cousin of Mr. Sodhi. Her family will attend his funeral Thursday .

        Now, she has second thoughts about leaving her house.

        “We thought we were safe here,” she said, “but this just made us realize that something like that could happen to any one of us. It's scary.

        “I didn't think people would generalize that much, but it just goes to show how uneducated people are about the different religions.”

        There are about 600 Sikhs living in Greater Cincinnati, according to the Guru Nanak Society of Cincinnati. Most are in families that immigrated here about 25 years ago from Punjab, India. Many are professionals and business owners who live in Symmes Township, West Chester, Mason and Dayton, Ohio.

        Male Sikhs wear untrimmed beards and turbans, which cover their uncut hair, for religious reasons. Their religion was founded in the 15th century by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who preached tolerance, the worship of one God, equality for all humans, and living lives of "simple truth.”

        “We are a very pacifistic people, very positive and very peaceful,” said Kawaljit Singh Sethi of Symmes Township. ""We really sympathize with the victims of this tragedy, and we want to do what we can to help as Americans.”

        On Sept. 27, the Anand India Restaurant in Evendale will hold a prayer service at 11:30 a.m. and then offer free food and collect donations for victims of last week's attacks, said Lakhwinder Singh, manager.

        “We are all proud to be Americans and we are all hurt by this,” Mr. Singh said.

       The Associated Press contributed to this report
       

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