On the fourth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Sikh Federation (UK) urged the government to do more to protect Sikhs from hate crimes after 9/11 and the July 7, 2005, London bombings. The Sikh Federation called for greater legal protection at a conference held this past weekend, and which wsa attended by approximately 10,000 people.

The group's chairman, Bhai Amrik Singh, noted that Sikhs were "the prime target of hate crimes as the largest and most visible ethnic minority." However, the "government has at best been paying lip service to Sikhs since 9/11, when we were first targeted by what many termed 'mistaken identity'."

Singh was of the opinion that the government has perhaps failed to vocally condemn hate crimes against Sikhs because of the unintended implication that attacks against Muslims would be acceptable. [The wisdom and efficacy in singling out a single group for protection, where this may expose the remaining ethnic minorities, specifically Muslims, is discussed at length here at Sepia Mutiny.]