AUGUST 9, 2004

MINORITY FAITHS
Sikhs at a crossroads

Discrimination experienced after the 9/11 terrorist attacks forced Sikhs to defend and define their faith. Three years later, this growing community has raised its profile in cities, workplaces and on campuses across the country and stepped up its fight for civil rights.

Sikhs, whose men wear turbans and beards, are often mistaken for Muslims. Sikhism, however, is a distinct religion that originated in India in the 15th century and draws on elements of Hinduism and Islamic Sufism. Family and moral purity are prime values; the union of each human spirit with God's is believed to end a karmic cycle of rebirths.

This year Sikhs are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the revelation of their scripture and the opening of a Sikh Heritage exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

There is a relatively small number of Sikhs in the United States; estimates range from 190,000 to 440,000 (worldwide, there are 18 million, making it the world's ninth-largest religion). Their struggles and successes are noteworthy because they are shared by every minority faith that tries to retain distinct religious practices in a predominantly Christian culture.

Why it matters
As the number of Sikhs in America grows, they share struggles with other immigrant and minority faith groups: how to nurture and preserve their faith in a different culture, how to protect their right to practice it, how to organize, and how to decide who will speak for the community.

Questions for reporters
Several developments in the U.S. Sikh community provide story angles:
• After the 9/11 attacks, violence and hate crimes against American Sikhs spiked. As a result, community outreach organizations formed on the local and national levels to increase awareness of Sikh culture and religion.
• The number of Sikh Student Associations on American college campuses has risen; there are at least two dozen. A prime goal is to further awareness of Sikh culture.
• Museums are recognizing the importance of Sikh art and culture in American society. In July 2004, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History opened "Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab," which will run indefinitely, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco currently has the only permanent Sikh art exhibit in the West.
• This year, India appointed its first Sikh prime minister, Manmohan Singh. This could be significant in future negotiations with Sikh nationalists over a proposed Sikh homeland, Khalistan. American Sikhs widely praised the appointment.
• Sikhs are easily identifiable by some of the "Five K's," religious symbols or articles of faith that many wear at all times: Uncut hair (kesh), a wooden comb (kangha), a steel bracelet (kara), special underwear (kachehra) and a ceremonial sword (kirpan). Some Sikhs say these symbols make them obvious targets of hate crimes and discrimination.
• Religious discrimination cases are becoming more common. In late July, two Sikhs were offered reinstatement to their jobs as New York traffic enforcement agents after they were initially told they could not wear turbans. The number of Sikhs is estimated at 190,000 to 440,000 in the United States and 18 million worldwide.
• More than 300 hate crimes against Sikhs in America have been reported to the Sikh Coalition since the attacks of 9/11, including the murder of a Sikh man in Mesa, Ariz., whose attacker said he mistook him for an Arab.

Skip to background

Sikhism online
• The Sikhism Homepage is an online resource of all things Sikh - essays, history, culture, holidays, scripture, including a complete English translation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, considered the spiritual guide for all Sikhs.
• The Sikh Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, Calif., that promotes Sikh culture, art and heritage, especially in the West and to young people.
• The Sikh Network is a site maintained by Western Sikhs that attempts to link Sikhs all over the world. The site contains news and information on gatherings nationwide and ads for seeking Sikh spouses, among other things.
• The Sikh Coalition in New York is an umbrella group established by several Sikh groups across the United States after the 9/11 attacks to help protect Sikh civil rights.
• Sikhpoint is a California-based information clearinghouse for all things Sikh.
• Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force is a news and information site for Sikhs run by an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
• The Council of Khalistan is a lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., that wants to establish a separate Sikh homeland in India.
• The Sikh American Heritage Organization promotes fellowship with the American mainstream and with minority communities while maintaining Sikh values, heritage and identity. It is based in Chicago.
• SikhWomen.com is an advocacy organization for women's equality in the Sikh community.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Harpreet Singh is the director of the Sikh Coalition, an amalgam of groups representing the nation's Sikhs. Amardeep Singh is the legal director. The group was founded after the attacks of Sept. 11 when Sikhs became objects of suspicion at airports and elsewhere. Contact Amardeep Singh, press representative, 917-628-0091, amardeep.singh@sikhcoalition.org.
• Diana L. Eck is the director of Harvard University's Pluralism Project, which studies the religious diversity of America. She is an expert on the many religions of India, including Sikhism, and can discuss how Sikhism has taken root in America. Contact 617-495-3295, dianaeck@fas.harvard.edu.
• Dr. Gurinder Singh Mann is a professor of global and religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is the director of the Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies. He has written widely about Sikhism and other Eastern religions in the United States. Contact 805-893-5115, mann@religion.ucsb.edu.
• Paul David Numrich is a research associate professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Loyola University, a Catholic university, in Chicago. He is also the co-director of the Religion, Immigration and Civil Society in Chicago Project. He is co-author of Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs in America (Oxford University Press, 2002). Contact 773-508-8709, pnumric@luc.edu.
• Jared Leland is the media and legal counsel for the Becket Fund, a public interest law firm that works to protect religious liberty. The firm has represented a number of Sikhs, including in lawsuits involving the right to carry the Kirpan and the right to build a Sikh temple. Contact 202-955-0095 ext. 106, jleland@becketfund.org.
• Puneet Singh Chhabra is president of the Sikh Student Association at the University of Illinois at Champaign. He says the post-9/11 attacks on Sikhs have forced Sikhs to raise awareness of their culture and religion. One result is the rise of Sikh Student Associations on American college campuses. Contact pchhabra@uiuc.edu.

Background

• About Sikh names: Most Sikh names come from the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism's scripture. They usually describe an attribute of God (i.e. immortal, most intelligent, ageless). In 1699, all Sikh women were given the last name "Kaur" and men "Singh" by the 10th Sikh guru; the practice continues today. This was seen as a way to end the Hindu caste system in which an individual's name reveals his or her caste.
• See Beliefnet.com's Sikhism page for an explanation of beliefs.
• A list of surveys and polls about Sikhs can be found at Adherents.com.
• Harvard University's Pluralism Project maintains a site of newspaper and magazine articles about Sikhs and Sikhism.
• Read a July 29, 2004, New York Times story about two Sikhs who won the right to wear turbans in jobs as New York City traffic enforcement agents.
• View a 2001 exhibit from the University of California, Berkeley's library of historical photographs of the south Asians, including Sikhs, in California, from 1899 to 1965.
• Read an article from the New York Daily News about the July 2004 gang beating of a Sikh.
• Read an article about the history and future of Sikhs in America posted on SikhSpectrum.com.