Sikhism Among all the religions found in the world, Sikhism is the youngest major religion and is about 500 years old (Dhavan). This religion today has over 27 million people worldwide and is the world's fifth largest religion (Dhavan). Sikhism is not only a religion, but it is also its own culture and way of life. One reason I chose to learn about the Sikh culture and religion is because my great grandparents were Sikh, and I’ve always wanted to research the Sikh culture and religion to learn more about my family as well. Before I researched Sikhism, I knew very little about it. I just knew Sikh men wore turbans and their wedding traditions were similar to that of my own Pakistani culture. I also thought that their beliefs were more similar
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The Sikhs do not believe in anything but their one and only god (Ganeri 10). However, the Sikhs have accepted that there are lots of names of God. Sikhs are taught to maintain a free life and respect all religions. Sikhism grew up in the full light of history, in response to the teachings of Guru Nanak, who lived in the late fifteenth century in India. “He is the founder of our powerful religion,” Anita Ganeri explains in her translation of the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the main holy book of the Sikh religion. Guru Nanak is said to have received revelation directly from God and spread it through hymns that have been sung by the Sikhs for nearly five hundred years. These hymns are composed in a beautiful verse and contain a practical message. They proclaim the divine name of God, the liberating power of devotion to the Name, and the kinship of all people, and the equality of men and women (Ganeri 23). The Sikh community has flourished for the past five hundred years. While their heartland is in the Punjab in northwest India, Sikhs have now settled throughout the world. The Gurdwara, “the gateway of the Guru,” is the place for community gathering and worship in the Sikh tradition (Dhavan). Today, the United States is home to 500,000 of the world’s twenty-five million Sikhs …show more content…
On September 15th, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi was shot and killed in broad daylight while arranging American flags outside his AZ gas station. He was shot by Frank Roque, a self-proclaimed “patriot” looking for “ragheads,” who claimed the shooting was in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on 9/11 (Rajish). As images of the turbaned and bearded individuals allegedly responsible for the September 11th attacks made it to the nightly news, many who “looked like” terrorists became the targets of varying degrees of hate crimes (Phillips). South Asians and Arabs in particular experienced discrimination for having qualities that were perceived as “similar” to those who claimed responsibility for carrying out the attacks on
The Sikhs do not believe in anything but their one and only god (Ganeri 10). However, the Sikhs have accepted that there are lots of names of God. Sikhs are taught to maintain a free life and respect all religions. Sikhism grew up in the full light of history, in response to the teachings of Guru Nanak, who lived in the late fifteenth century in India. “He is the founder of our powerful religion,” Anita Ganeri explains in her translation of the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the main holy book of the Sikh religion. Guru Nanak is said to have received revelation directly from God and spread it through hymns that have been sung by the Sikhs for nearly five hundred years. These hymns are composed in a beautiful verse and contain a practical message. They proclaim the divine name of God, the liberating power of devotion to the Name, and the kinship of all people, and the equality of men and women (Ganeri 23). The Sikh community has flourished for the past five hundred years. While their heartland is in the Punjab in northwest India, Sikhs have now settled throughout the world. The Gurdwara, “the gateway of the Guru,” is the place for community gathering and worship in the Sikh tradition (Dhavan). Today, the United States is home to 500,000 of the world’s twenty-five million Sikhs …show more content…
On September 15th, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi was shot and killed in broad daylight while arranging American flags outside his AZ gas station. He was shot by Frank Roque, a self-proclaimed “patriot” looking for “ragheads,” who claimed the shooting was in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on 9/11 (Rajish). As images of the turbaned and bearded individuals allegedly responsible for the September 11th attacks made it to the nightly news, many who “looked like” terrorists became the targets of varying degrees of hate crimes (Phillips). South Asians and Arabs in particular experienced discrimination for having qualities that were perceived as “similar” to those who claimed responsibility for carrying out the attacks on