Ted Talk Analysis

1543 Words7 Pages
Fear of the Turban My mother and father both converted to Sikhism shortly after high school. As soon as my mom told her Catholic mother that she was becoming a Sikh, there was fear, anger, and concern in my grandmother’s eyes; she had thought that my mom was joining a cult. My grandma told my mother that, after Grandpa heard the news, he cried for the second time his life. Like my grandma and grandpa, a large portion of American society are fearful of Sikhs. The Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979, where Ruhollah Khomeini and his followers stormed and took over the US embassy in Tehran, caused one of the first stigmatisms against Sikhs. Because the Ayatollahs (the followers of Ruhollah) wore turbans and have have beards, people tended to associate Sikh men with the image of the Ayatollah, causing some confusion. When 9/11 occurred, the fear of Sikhs began to grow, they had become mistaken for being associates of al-Qaeda because of their turbans. In Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, she says, “The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our…show more content…
Fundamental to the Sikh faith is following the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh. The sacred text of Sikhs is the Guru Granth Sahib, which is considered the embodiment of the word of God, much like the Bible is to Christians. Male Sikhs wear turbans and do not cut their hair and beard. Female Sikhs also leave their hair uncut and may wear saris, head coverings, or turbans. Many Sikhs are vegetarians. Sikhs worship in gurdwaras where much of the time is spent chanting or singing sacred songs. In no part of Sikhism is there anything that says you should conduct acts of terrorism in the name of your religion, in fact, Sikhs focus on achieving a peaceful society focused on kindness and helping
Open Document