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World News

Christian-Sikh wedding interrupted by Sikh protestors

by Hannah Tooley

A British Sikh woman and Polish Christian man were mid-way through their wedding ceremony when 20 men stormed in and tried to stop the wedding.

According to The I newspaper, the men demanded the priest end the ceremony and they shouted insults at those who objected to the intrusion.

It is thought that this is becoming an increasingly common problem at interfaith Sikh weddings in Britain.

Sim Kuar, a bride who had her wedding disrupted to her non-Sikh partner, said that: "Our gudwaras [temples] are run by men and the protesters are all men."

Her wedding party was interrupted earlier in the year despite the fact her partner, Sam, had learnt about the religion and adopted a Sikh name.

She added: "All the cancellations I've heard about have been of Sikh women marrying non-Sikh men or men not born into the Sikh religion and I doubt that's a coincidence.

"I do believe it's a faith issue, but it's also about gender and race."

She asked: "Isn't it better that we teach our partners and their friends and family about this ceremony and invite them in, rather than building a wall and creating a divide?"

There are thought to be around 400,000 Sikhs in the UK.

It is not thought this problem is as common in other parts of the world, for example India is frequently home to Hindu-Sikh weddings.

Speaking in The I, Shamsher Singh says religion is his main identity, saying that: "We're dealing with complex issues of identity.

"The intersection of our sense of self with coloniality has created this hybrid, stateless individual that struggles at every juncture with validation and having to constantly justify their beliefs and the practice of their religion to a Westernised audience."

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