Given the massive level of unchecked profiling Donald Trump is encouraging his supporters to commit (and also, maybe, his amorphous Muslim ban proposal), it's hardly inconceivable that the Republican presidential nominee's campaign can't find a willing Muslim supporter to feature on its "Muslims for Trump" mailer.
Gurinder Singh Khalsa, a Sikh from Indiana who doesn't support Trump, this week found out from a friend from California over email that his unlicensed picture had been featured beneath the word "Muslim" on a pro-Trump flier.
"I'm not Muslim and I'm not supporting Trump," Singh Khalsa clarified to a local NBC affiliate. He called the revelation "shocking and disturbing."
"I am an American and I am American by choice," he added. "Faith is my personal preference and I don't want to be judged by my faith or the appearance of what I wear."
Singh Khalsa's photo is so "tightly cropped," according to the local anchor covering the story, that he can't even determine the source.
Regardless, he told Indiana public media, "Nobody asked to use my photo."
In August, Sing Khalsa founded Sikhs PAC, which aims to curb post-Sept. 11, 2001, profiling of Sikhs — who, because of their turbans and beards, are frequently mistaken for Muslims, making them the "common targets of misguided sectarian violence and persecution in the US," according to the nonprofit's mission statement.
"He even doesn't know the difference between Muslims and Sikhs," Sing Khalsa added of Trump. "And that was most disturbing."
Reached for comment, the Trump campaign in Indiana told the local NBC affiliate that "they regret any confusion and are looking into it further to see if they can rectify this problem."
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