Giving Compass' Take:

• Simran Jeet Singh, writing for The 74, discusses Gurbir Singh Grewal, New Jersey's first Sikh attorney general, and provides a brief history of the religion. 

• How can Grewal use his position of power to cultivate a more nuanced understanding of Sikh culture and promote religious acceptance? 

• Read about the treatment of religious students in public schools. 

New Jersey’s first Sikh attorney general, Gurbir Singh Grewal, was a target of disparaging remarks recently. Two radio hosts commented on Grewal’s Sikh identity and repeatedly referred to him as “turban man.” When called out on the offensiveness of their comments, one of them stated, “Listen, and if that offends you, then don’t wear the turban and maybe I’ll remember your name.”

Listeners, activists and Sikhs around the country acted immediately by contacting the station to express their concerns. News outlets quickly picked up the story and the radio hosts were suspended.

The bottom line is there is little understanding of who exactly the Sikhs are and what the believe. So here’s a primer. To start at the beginning, the founder of the Sikh tradition, Guru Nanak was born in 1469 in the Punjab region of South Asia,  A majority of the global Sikh population still resides in Punjab on the Indian side of the border.

Sikh women and men maintain five articles of faith, popularly known as the five Ks. These are: kes (long, uncut hair), kara (steel bracelet), kanga (wooden comb), kirpan (small sword) and kachera (soldier-shorts).

The first Sikh community entered the United States via the West Coast during the 1890s. They began experiencing discrimination immediately upon their arrival.

In comparison to the past decade, the rates of violence against Sikhs have surged since the election of President Donald Trump. The Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the U.S., estimated earlier this year that Americans Sikhs were being targeted in hate crimes about once a week. Just in the past two weeks, two Sikh men have been brutally assaulted in California. Police are still investigating the motivation.

Read the full article about Sikh culture by Simran Jeet Singh at The Conversation