Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area

The Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area (also known as Gurdwara Sahib of El Sobrante) is a Sikh gurdwara in the hills of unincorporated El Sobrante, California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.[1]

View of the Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area
Sikh Festival and Parade, San Francisco Civic Center June 10, 2018

Overview

The Center was established in May 1979.[1]

The Center features large golden domes atop a pink-cream-beige tiled box arched structure. Regular services are held every Wednesday evening and Sunday morning.[1] The site is open to drop-in visitors from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.[2] Langar, which is a Punjabi term that means collective eating while sitting on the floor, is given daily, free of cost, to all visitors, Sikh or non-Sikh.[2] Visitors must cover their hair, be sober, have no drugs, alcohol, or tobacco products in their possession, and must enter barefoot after washing their feet.[2]

Shooting incident

On January 23, 2000, a gunman, Joga Singh Sandher,[3] opened fire with an assault weapon on temple leader, local teacher, and human rights activist Ajmer Singh Malhi, killing him and seriously injuring another worshipper before being subdued by bystanders.[4][5][6]

Summer camps

The Center offers summer camps for K–12 students to teach them more about Sikhism and its history and to create a community. The summer camps typically follow the structure of a conventional primary school day, with different subjects (such as history and music), time to eat, and time to play and have fun.

See also
  • Gurdwaras in the United States

References
  1. My Gurdwara, Gurdwara Sahib website, access date 20-02-2009
  2. Visiting Sikh Temple, Gurdwara Sahib website, access date 20-02-2009
  3. San Lorenzo man given 50-to-life sentence in Sikh leader's killing / Limo driver shot math teacher in temple by Henry Lee San Francisco Chronicle, 11-09-2001, access date 8-05-2012
  4. Temple shooting at odds with Sikh beliefs, by John Boudreau, Contra Costa Times, 30-01-2000, access date 20-02-2009
  5. Farewell to slain teacher and Sikh leader, by Shawn Masten, Contra Costa Times, 29-01-2000, access date 20-02-2009
  6. Fatal Shooting at Sikh Temple by Henry Lee San Francisco Chronicle, 24-01-2000, access date 31-08-2011

37.9597°N 122.3168°W / 37.9597; -122.3168

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