Celebrating Sikh Americans in Striking Portraits

It became a media sensation when earlier this year actor-designer Waris Ahluwalia was barred from taking a flight after refusing to remove his turban for a security check. His Instagram posts went viral across social media platforms, shocking people around the world for his mistreatment. Unfortunately, Ahluwalia is only one of hundreds around the world who have faced discrimination and racial profiling with the increasing Islamophobia post 9/11, and with the recent ISIS attacks it’s not getting any better. It’s not particularly a hate crime in a lot of the cases, although, as Mashable states, the FBI has reportedly investigated over 800 hate crimes  since 2001 while the Bureau of Justice Statistics puts the statistics at 15 times higher, misconceptions and ignorance play a major part in people’s actions.

It’s been over a decade since the terrifying 9/11 attack but followers of the Sikh faith continue to be judged and profiled based purely on their appearance -- beard and turban. “In the UK, there is no confusion between Sikhs and other religions. In the US, we were shocked to see how little people knew about Sikhs. They were misunderstood and, to a certain degree, feared,” stated London-based photographers Naroop Singh Jhooti and Amit Amin to Mashable. “The difference in the UK is that the public in general are much more aware as to who Sikhs are,” the photographers said. “They can easily distinguish between the identity of a turban wearing Sikh and a Muslim.”

The British photographers previously shot a series celebrating the beauty of British Sikh men with the aim of spreading awareness of their religious identity, customs and practices, and the duo has now collaborated with The Sikh Coalition, US-based advocacy and community development organisation, to bring this project to the American audience with an exhibition of striking portraits of Sikh Americans called ‘The Sikh Project.’ The Coalition was founded in response to a series of attacks against Sikh Americans across the US after 9/11. The exhibition, which opens on September 16 and runs till the 25th in New York, features close to 40 portraits of men and women “that explore the style and significance of the Sikh articles of faith,” and strives to “highlight generations of Sikh American history that embodies perseverance and progress as we commemorate the 15-year anniversary of 9/11,” the Coalition states on their website.

“The goal with bringing this project to the United States is the opportunity to combat bigotry by sharing a positive narrative of Sikhs in America through portraits and the incredible stories behind them,” stated Sapreet Kaur, Executive Director of the Coalition. “Sikhs are kind, caring people who believe in equality and serving others before themselves,” said Amit and Naroop to The Huffington Post. “If people can begin to stop judging people by appearance, but instead look at their actions and character, then the US can start to understand the value Sikhs can bring to their country.”

The Sikh Coalition will be holding the exhibition in New York City from September 16 to 25. For more information you can visit The Sikh Coalition’s website and the events Facebook page. 

Image courtesy of Amit & Naroop