In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, when Muslims became the target of hate crimes all across the United States, when they were subjected to physical attacks – and in some cases losing their lives – and when Muslim students were harassed, teased and ridiculed at schools, members of the Sikh community were also targeted, often mistaken for Muslims.

Since Sikhs wear turbans and grow beards as a religious observance, they are often mistaken for Muslims by many Americans. There are many cases where Sikh community members became victims of hate crimes; there was one death in a California incident.

Several Sikh community organizations protested the rising incidence of violence against their community and initiated several campaigns to try to educate the public about the difference between American Muslims and the Sikhs.

As part of a wider effort to educate the public and to remove misunderstandings surrounding the Sikh community, the Justice Department has issued a poster that briefly details their religion and also characteristics of their outward appearance. The poster has photographs of a Sikh youth and an elderly man both wearing a turban, of a woman wearing a chunni, the traditional cloth worn by a Sikh woman to cover the head, and of a little boy wearing a patka, a smaller type of turban.

The poster also offers a brief history of the Sikh religion. It says that Sikhism started in the 15th century in South Asia and is distinct from both Islam and Hinduism. It explains that Sikhs don’t cut their hair because of religious considerations and that they wear turbans as part of their religious practice.

The poster has been distributed to the police and other law enforcement agencies so that they may respect the religious sensitivities of the Sikh community while dealing with them and to provide them the full protection of the law.