Sikhs first landed in the United States more than a century ago. A Sikh place of worship is called a Gurudwara. "Guru" means the one who enlightens us and "Dwara" means doorstep. The first Gurudwara was opened in Stockton in 1912. A Gurudwara is open to all irrespective of your religion or nationality. No invitation is needed to visit a Gurudwara. There are more than 26 million Sikhs worldwide; almost 3 million live outside India, from where they originated. One million make their home here in North America....

Sikhism, the youngest of the world religions, barely 500 years old, has no link to other religions. The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, born in 1469, had a simple message: "We are all one, created by the one, creator of all creation." He respected all religions and believed that there is one God and many paths to reach Him. Nanak was followed by nine more Gurus in succession. The 10th and the last, Gobind Singh, declared, "Realize, ye men, human race is all one." Gobind Singh baptized the Sikhs on April 13, 1699, and called them Khalsa (the pure one). Khalsa is a spiritual brotherhood and sisterhood devoted to purity of thought and action. He gave Khalsa a distinctive external form to remind them of their commitment and help them maintain an elevated state of consciousness. He ordered all men to have the same last name of Singh. He also ordered Sikhs to have unshorn hair and men to wear turbans....

This distinctive form of the Khalsa with the turban makes Sikhs the most visible. You can spot a man with a turban among a crowd of thousands. The turban symbolizes discipline, integrity, humility, and spirituality. The turban is mandatory part of Sikh faith, not a social custom, or a hat that can be casually taken on and off. Sikh Americans are identified by their turbans.

America meshes well with Sikh beliefs, namely, freedom of speech, religion, justice, liberty, and equality of all people without regard to gender, race and religion.

Sikhs do not believe in terrorism, hurting the innocent, racial profiling, war based on religion or proselytism.

Finally, Sikhs not only treat women as equal but have the utmost respect and love for them. They believe that it is because of women that great men are born. Women have equal rights in every sphere of life including being a Sikh priest. When I was growing up in India, I remember parents telling their young daughters that if you ever find yourself in harm's way, spot a Sikh, go to him and he will protect your honor and dignity and you will be safe with him. It was true then, and decades later, it is still true and always will be true. [Link]