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

ejected a state interest in ensuring homogeneity of American children and achieving
assimilation in public schools. The Court stated, “The fundamental theory of liberty
upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the state
to standardize its children[.]” 335 To the extent that a government interest may be based
on fear of fundamental Islam, that interest may be construed as discriminatory animus or
perpetuating stereotypes, which would not please the Court either. 336
Assuming that the federal government can proffer a compelling state interest,
which is highly unlikely, Sikhs may be able to obtain an exemption from a ban on
conspicuous articles of faith without having to run into the “slippery slope” concern of
the government in part because of the fact that Sikhs have been permitted to wear turbans
in the United States since their arrival. An interesting situation arises, however, if Sikhs
are presented with the option of covering their hair, for example, with a school hat as
opposed to the Sikh’s turban. In this instance, a Sikh’s case against the ban may not be as
strong because he is still given an option to cover his kes.
D. Conclusion
In sum, the debate regarding whether conspicuous articles of faith are permissible
in Western society due to security and/or more pragmatic concerns, such as enabling
accurate identification and facilitating effective communication, is primarily a European
phenomenon focused on Muslims and Muslim religious clothing. From this analysis it is
evident that a number of sophisticated countries are engaged in this debate, and that
serious infringements of the ability of Muslims, Sikhs, and others to wear insignias of
their faith have occurred in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The United States, as a host for hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Sikhs, is
necessarily involved in the enterprise of determining where on the integration-passive
multiculturalism spectrum its society lies—and consequently determining the extent to
which the Sikh turban will be tolerated or challenged not only as a symbol of terrorism,
but as an assault on American identity and solidarity. From the Sikh perspective, the
legal framework available to Sikhs is still emerging, though recent developments support
the contention that this framework may adequately protect Sikhs if Congress were to pass
a ban on conspicuous articles of faith in public schools, as the French did in 2004.
335 Id. at 535.
336 See Larson v. Valente, 456 U.S. 228, 252-54 (1982).
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