The Sikh Turban: Post-911 Challenges to This Article of Faith

continuing nature of the backlash against Sikhs with turbans and the potential for residual
hostility after 9/11 to increase with another terrorist attack, the need for legal protections
for Sikhs with turbans has become exceedingly urgent, though the availability of legal
remedies for Sikhs in various areas, including verbal harassment and most employment
discrimination cases, appears limited. Sikh civil rights groups will need to continue to
resolve cases through settlements, as the courts may not provide reliable protection where
it is necessary.
III.
The Intellectual Challenge to the Sikh Turban: Assimilation
by way of Eliminating Conspicuous Articles of Faith
“[O]ur government will do everything we can. . . to treat every human life as
dear and to respect the values that made our country so different.” 201
- President George W. Bush
A. The Introduction of the Sikh Turban to the West
While Sikh turbans are common in India and Pakistan, they are generally an
unusual sight for those outside of the South Asian subcontinent. 202 Sikh immigration to
other parts of the world, particularly Europe and North America, has forced Sikhs to
endure gawks, awkward questions, and resulting attitudes about them. 203 At the same
201
Press Release, President Welcomes Sikh Leaders to White House
Remarks by the President in Meeting with Sikh Community Leaders, Office of the Press
Secretary, The White House, (Sept. 26, 2001), available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010926-1.html.
202 For example, of the approximately 23 million Sikhs in the world, over 19 million of
them are in India. See Sikhism, Adherents.com, available at
http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_603.html (citing Census of India 2001, Data on
Religion, Office of the Registrar General, India) for figures of Sikhs in India, and
http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_606.html (citing Russell Ash, The Top 10 of
Everything 1999 77 (1998)) for figures of Sikhs worldwide.
203
See, e.g., Narinder Singh, Letter, The Awakened Giant: How Will It Strike Back?; The
Faces of America, N.Y. TIMES, Sept. 24, 2001, available at
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E3DB143AF937A1575AC0A9679
C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/S/Sikhs%20(Sect) (“When I go to
a mall or a grocery store, people stare at me[.]”); Ranbir Singh Sandhu, Sikhs In America:
Stress And Survival, SIKH SPECTRUM, Sept. 2004, available at
http://www.sikhspectrum.com/092002/survival.htm (“A turbaned Sikh is still an unusual
figure and children will ask: ‘Are you a genie?’ People are asked by perhaps wellmeaning
strangers: ‘Do you plan to go back to your own country?’”).
37