ABSTRACT
The targeting of the turban after 9/11 has led to Sikhs being denied entry into various public buildings and places of public accommodation, such as courthouses, higher education institutions, and political events. In many instances, the reason for the denial or ejection is the refusal of the location to exempt turbaned Sikhs from a generally applicable 'no-hats' policy. Sikhs who are denied entry to places of public accommodation due to the existence of a "no-hats" policy face an uphill battle in providing the evidentiary support that their denial was premised on discrimination and not a neutral application of the admission policy. The post-9/11 context has seen not only a direct attack on turbaned Sikhs, whether through violence or harassment in the public space or classrooms; the Sikh turban itself has been indirectly challenged as a sign of difference and extremism, and a failure to sufficiently assimilate.
