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Good morning. Religious places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of prayer, and places where worshippers can go to connect with their creator and community. Yet recently, once again, we’ve been reminded they can be something else – a lightning rod for hatred and violence. A synagogue in Rouen, northern France is one of the latest to be attacked. A petrol bomb was thrown through a window.

This month, Sikhs commemorate the 40th anniversary of the military attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, codenamed Operation Bluestar. The Golden Temple, also known as Sri Harmandir Sahib, is the most revered and sacred site for Sikhs around the world. It stands as a symbol of equality, service, and the oneness of humanity. In June 1984, as Sikh pilgrims gathered, the Indian army launched an assault to flush out Sikh militants who had fortified themselves inside the Temple complex.

The operation resulted in the loss of countless lives and casualties on both sides, and significant damage to the complex. Hundreds of irreplaceable books and documents in the Sikh Reference Library went missing and the library itself was burnt down. Even the sacred scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, was damaged by a bullet. To mark the anniversary it has been put on display so that people, especially the younger generation can know what happened. Operation Bluestar remains one of the darkest events in recent Sikh history. It shocked and traumatized the Sikh community sparking widespread outrage, which is still felt today. For many Sikhs it was seen as a direct attack on their religion itself.

In so many places around the world attacks on religious communities and their places of worship are becoming all too common. Today I’ll be thinking about the anniversary and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru who emphasized that despite our different practices and beliefs, we are all united by our common humanity and our connection to the one God. He wrote:

"The temple and the mosque are the same, there is no difference between a Hindu's worship and a Muslim's prayer. All human beings are the same, but the illusion is of various types."

It’s the symbolic power of sacred places that so often make them a tempting target for those who would seek to sow hatred and division. But whether it’s a church, mosque, gurdwara, or synagogue that is attacked, it’s crucial that, despite our differences, we come together and commit to protecting the sanctity of places of worship. In doing so, we honour our shared humanity and reaffirm the values that bind us together. If we don’t, we’re jeopardising the fundamental human right of ALL individuals to practise their faith in peace and without fear.

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