In the post-9/11 world, many people have been faced with bigotry and violence by those who cannot discern between religious people and the terrorists who attacked the world trade center. These attacks often occur unprovoked and harm innocent people. One of the largest groups which have been victims of hate crimes solely for what they wear is the Sikh people. While all bigotry is terrible, especially to innocent people, the Sikh community faces extreme hostility over the years. This discrimination occurs not just by the intolerant people on the streets but also by governmental organizations. While over the years, Sikh-Americans have been a valuable part of society and have been active in many fields. However, in the past 20 years, they have received extreme discrimination in the United States.
The dastaar, or turban, is a crucial piece of clothing for Sikh men. It is a critical component of the 5 K’s of Sikhism. To follow Kesh, Sikh men do not cut any of the hair on their body, including their head. To keep their long hair together, Sikhs use a turban to cover their head. It has been a requirement for Sikh people to wear a dastaar since the 17th century. Many people in Persia and other countries near the Punjab region wore turbans as a sign of socioeconomic status; all Sikh men adopted the turban as a part of the Sikh belief of a caste-free society. The turbans also gave Sikh men a sense of pride and worth. There is no exact ruling in Sikhism on the design of the turban. Therefore, there are many different colors, sizes, and shapes of turbans that Sikh men wear. There is also a different cloth called a Patka, which younger Sikh men commonly wear as children. Like a dastaar, it is worn over the hair but is much more straightforward to wear than turbans.
Although it is a crucial component to their faith, there is still some confusion between westerners on people of which faith wear turbans. Many Westerners connect Sikh turbans to Islam and terrorism instead of Sikh people. One of the main reasons for this is the well-known pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini and Osama Bin-Laden, who wore turbans throughout their lives. According to a study by The National Sikh Campaign, almost 50% of people stated that they associate Muslims with having beards and wearing turbans when asked by the survey. When asked to identify the ethnicity of a Sikh man in a picture, 48% of participants either said that the man was Muslim (20%) or a Middle Easterner (28%).
In the post 9/11 world, especially in the United States, Sikh people have been discriminated against and attacked due to false perceptions of who they are. The Sikh Coalition, an organization specializing in researching and preventing Sikh discrimination and hate crimes in the United States, completed a study that explains over three hundred cases of Anti-Sikh discrimination and violence only a few months after 9/11
A few days after 9/11, an Arizona man murdered Balibar Sing Sodhi outside of a mesa gas station. When asked why he killed the man, Frank Roque stated that he wanted to “kill a Muslim” because of the world trade center attacks. Roque paid no attention to the true faith of Sodhi and only decided to kill Sodhi because of what he was wearing. A Sikh group famous for advocating against violence stated that Sikh people are targeted solely for their attire and commitment to tradition. This perception is mainly due to beards and turbans that known terrorists sometimes wore.
People who misunderstand Sikh people are usually the main perpetrators of these attacks, and a lack of knowledge is the leading cause. However, sometimes these attacks can be targeted against Sikh people specifically. In 2012, a mass shooting occurred in a Milwaukee Sikh temple. He ended up killing six members, and news outlets worldwide reported the abhorrent violence faced by the members of the Sikh community in Wisconsin. The attack was considered one of the worst attacks on a place of worship since the 1963 bombings of the 16th street Baptist church, a black church, which killed four young girls.
In 2007 a Sikh child in New York City had his hair forcibly cut by his classmates. Another student forced him into the bathroom, where he threatened the Sikh student with assault if he did not remove his turban. Another student stood lookout while the classmate forced him to remove his turban. As he followed Kesh, his hair went down to his waist as his classmate cut off the hair with scissors. The student was later charged with Unlawful Imprisonment and Menacing as a Hate Crime.
The hatred causing the 2007 attack is not alone in its extreme cruelty. In 2008, a New Jersey Sikh student had his patka burned by his fellow student. During a routine fire drill, the Sikh student went out of his class and to the school playground as instructed when a fellow student used a lighter to set the Sikh student’s patka ablaze. The Sikh student did not even notice the fire, as he was speaking to his friend until he started to feel the heat on his head. He immediately patted the flame away. Although the attacker did no severe damage, the child was emotionally distraught as someone he did not even know wanted to damage him. This attack led to the student’s suspension, but events like these still happen to young Sikh children across the country.
Even in something as simple as a job, discrimination against Sikh people still occurs, although laws such as the Civil Rights Act are in place to protect people from discrimination. In New Jersey, a Sikh man was unable to get a job at a Lexus dealership as he could not shave his beard due to the rules of Kesh. The Lexus dealership recruited Mr. Kherha describing him as “well-qualified” and “well-educated.” However, they denied him the job solely due to his beard. The Sikh Coalition brought this case to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the EEOC, in response to the discrimination faced by Mr. Kherha. The verdict from the EEOC was that not hiring Mr. Kherha was a discriminatory practice and filed a lawsuit against the dealership. The case proved successful, with the dealership paying Mr. Kherha damages and changing their policies on employment, and sending staff to Anti-Discrimination training. Also, the company placed a religious exemption clause, not forcing applicants with religious exemptions to abide by specific policies against their religious beliefs.
The case of Mr. Kherha and The United States Air Force successful in the opinion of most. However, some discriminatory practices against Sikh people are still standing. The most prominent examples of employment discrimination are the policies of the United States Armed Forces. As there are many Sikh-Americans, many want to fight in the armed forces. However, the United States Military requires that recruits must attend basic training and boot camp. One of the policies for boot camp is that all recruits must have cut beards and cut hair. These policies enacted by the Department of Defense are hard to change. As Kesh does not allow Sikh men to cut their hair, many have not been allowed to join the armed forces.
While there have been some changes over the years allowing some Sikh people to join the armed forces, there has only been one branch of the United States Armed Forces that has allowed religious accommodations for Sikh people following Kesh. In February 2020, The United States Air Force became the first of the branches to have a Sikh officer who did not need to break Kesh to serve in the United States Armed Forces. There have been outlines that guide Sikh-Americans through the approval process in accommodating religious requests. Although it will take time to read each case, it is a significant step in advancing the employment of Sikh people in the United States Armed Forces.
Another governmental organization with a reputation for discrimination against Sikh people is the TSA. According to studies done by the Sikh Coalition, 100% of Sikh travelers are subject to a second security screening in some American airports. These screenings are based solely on the looks of Sikh Americans. Because of their turbans, Sikh Americans get looked at as a threat. Not only is this completely wrong but, it is emotionally damaging to Sikh people’s self-esteem. There have been many attempts to remove these unreasonable searches by pushing bills such as the End Racial Profiling Act or the EPRA.
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In the post 9/11 world, racism, violence, and discrimination solely due to their appearance. These attacks do not just occur through bigoted people but by everything from jobs, airports, and the armed forces. While the turban is a large part of the Sikh identity, many Americans are uneducated enough to learn about who Sikh people are. Businesses have had cases in which policy did not call for religious exemptions and cost people jobs. The United States still has discriminatory policies against Sikh people who want to join the army. The Sikh look has become a front of racism, bigotry, and violence for Sikh people.