Teaching Tool Developed to Educate American Youth About Sikhism

December 30, 2005

Source: Sikh-American Legal Defense and Education Fund

http://www.saldef.org/default.aspx?zone=article.view&a=1302&z=4

On December 30, 2005 the Sikh-American Legal Defense and Education Fund reported, "Sikhs first migrated to American from their native Punjab, India, in the 1800's, and they played important roles throughout U.S. history... But it took a case of mistaken identity in 2001 for this religious group to finally be noticed by their fellow Americans. Sikh men wear turbans, and Osama bin Laden, who led a terrorist attack against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, was wearing one in the steady diet of TV feeds airing in living rooms around the world. As a result, some U.S. citizens, thirsty for revenge, mistakenly attacked Sikhs... During the Lohgarh Sikh Educational Association summer camp held in Pennsylvania in 2003, participants came up with the idea to develop a curriculum for students in grades 6-12. Tami R. Yeager, who has made documentaries for PBS, agreed to help make the 15-minute Sikh documentary for the teaching package. And the Lohgarh Sikh Educational Foundation headed the project with support from the National Conference for Community and Justice Chevron Texaco September 11th Anti-Bias Fund."