ABSTRACT

The United States, home to 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. Sikhs' military ties with the United States have been robust in the past. Bhagat Singh Thind, a Sikh immigrant, joined and fought with the US army in World War I. The Sikh reputation for gallantry is rooted in the fundamental Sikh belief in promoting social justice and inexorably linked to the Sikh religious identity. In 2008, Oklahoma lawmakers passed legislation prohibiting Sikh turbans and Muslim headscarves in drivers' license photographs. The legal and political remedies available to Sikhs have provided inconsistent results in the United States and across other nations.