Letter to President Chirac

January 19, 2004

Monsieur le Président de la République
Palais de l\'Elysée
55, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris
France

Dear President Chirac:

The Sikh Coalition together with the undersigned Sikh organizations are writing to protest your endorsement of Bernard Stasi's recommendation to ban all "conspicuous" signs of religious affiliation in French public schools. The Sikh faith stands for the very principles of the French Republic --- liberty, equality, and fraternity. We therefore find it ironic that France may undermine the practice of a faith that espouses France's highest ideals.

The Sikh community has had a long and mutually beneficial history with France. Proud,
turban-wearing Sikh soldiers died in the thousands on the battlefields of Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Festubert, Loos, Givenchy and Somme in the fight to defend France during World War I. In Somme, where Sikh regiments suffered heavy losses, a Sikh solider wrote home: "It is quite impossible that I should return alive. [But] don't be grieved at my death, because I shall die arms in hand, wearing the warrior's clothes."(1) In all, Sikhs made up the majority of the 4,746 South Asian soldiers killed while fighting for Allied forces in France during World War I. (2) Memorials to their sacrifice remain to this day.

Today, there are approximately seven thousand Sikhs in France. They have been characterized in the popular press as "quiet, law-abiding, [and] apolitical." (3) They have never threatened the well-being of France or broken French laws. Given their peaceful nature and their ancestors' history of sacrifice, it is troubling that you would call on French Sikh children to disavow the very turbans their ancestors wore on the battlefield in service of France.

For Sikhs, the turban is a mandatory article of faith. Unlike a Christian cross or a hat, which may be taken on and off, a turban must always cover a Sikh's head. Wearing the turban is a religious committment without which the believer ceases to be a Sikh. It is an act of conscience, not as you may perceive, an act of proselytism.

Indeed, we know that the wearing of the turban is not an act of proselytism, because Sikhism is an ecumenical faith. Our scripture is a diverse compilation of spiritual verses from different religious traditions. Among the foremost principles of our faith is that all human beings - men and women - of all races, castes, and creeds are inherently equal. As means of demonstrating this equality, all persons, whether Sikh or non-Sikh, rich or poor, black or white, man or woman, are invited to sit together as equals and share a meal after our religious services. This Sikh institution, called langar, is meant to encourage fraternity and equality among all human beings, regardless of their origins. Sikhs have been carrying on these practices for over five hundred years, long before "Liberte! Egalite! Fraternite!" became the rallying cry of the French revolution.

The principle of a secular republic calls on a state to allow freedom of worship without endorsing a particular religion. A state-sponsored ban on religious articles in schools would subvert this principle by imposing the state's view on what is and is not permissible religious expression. Such a ban would directly implicate the state in the regulation of religious practice in contravention of the principle of separation of church and state and France's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

We see no reason for France to adopt a law that will ultimately relegate those who express their conscience through the adoption of religious articles of faith to second class status. In a society that is true to the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity, secularism and faith may co-exist in public life, and even enrich each other. It is our hope that you will reverse your endorsement of Bernard Stasi's recommendation.

Sincerely,

The Sikh Coalition
American Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (AGPC)
Australian Sikh Association, Glenwood, Australia
Baba Makhan Shah Lobhana Sikh Center, New York, United States
Bay Area Sikhs
Central Jersey Sikh Association, Windsor, New Jersey, United States
Columbia University Sikhs
El Sobrante Gurdwara, El Sobrante, California, United States
Garden State Sikh Association, Bridgewater, New Jersey, United States
Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh, Las Vegas, Nevada
Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib, Fresno, California
Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib 2, Fresno, California
Gurdwara Guru Nanak Prakash, Tracy, California, United States
Gurudwara Guru Nanak Sar, Chapin, South Carolina
Gurdwara Sahib, Fremont, California, United States
Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose, San Jose, California, United States
Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, Surrey, B.C. Canada
Gurudwara Singh Sabha Of Washington, Renton, Washington, United States
Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Hounslow, United Kingdom
Gurudwara Sach Ka Marag, Kent, Washington, United States
Guru Nanak Darbar, Somerville, Massachusetts, United States
Guru Nanak Dwara, Phoenix, Arizona Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Marysville, Washington, United States
Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Plymouth, Michigan, United States
Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Buena Park CA, California
Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Fresno, California
Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, San Joaquin, California
Guru Ramdas Sikh Society of Vancouver and Portland, Vancouver, Washington
Guru Singh Sabha of Augusta, Augusta, Georgia, United States
Ik On Kar Magazine
International Institute of Gurmat Studies
International Institute of Sikh Studies
Jerzey De Sher
Mata Sahib Kaur Gurdwara, New York, United States
Nanaksar Satsang Sabha, Fresno, California
Nanak Sadan Sikh Temple, Northridge, California, United States
New England Sikh Study Circle, Milford, MA
Punjabi American Cultural Association, United States
Punjabi American Heritage Society, Yuba City, California
National Gurdwara, Washington, DC, United States
Rutgers University Sikhs
San Diego Sikh Gurdwara, San Diego
Sher-e Punjab Student Alliance of UC Davis
Sikh American Association
Sikh Association of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Sikh Association of Central Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, United States
Sikh Center of Orange County, Santa Ana, California
Sikh Coalition
Sikh Communications Council
Sikh Cultural Society of Mid-Hudson, Fishkill, New York, United States
Sikh Gurdwara, Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States
Sikh Gurdwara of Los Angeles, North Hollywood, California
Sikh Gurdwara of Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, United States
Sikh Gurdwara Sahib, Sacramento, California, United States
Sikh Gurdwara, Selma, California
Sikh Khalsa Mission, Australia
Sikh Kirtan Prachar Mission of Australia Inc., Sydney, Australia
Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART)
Sikh Network
Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin, Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States
Sikh Sabha, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, United States
Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis, Unites States
Sikh-Sewa
Sikh Sisterhood
Sikh Society of Michigan, Madison Heights, Michigan, United States
Sikh Society of Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Sikh Temple, Fairfield California, United States
Sikh Temple, Livingston, California, United States
Sikh Temple of Hayward, Hayward, California, United States
Sikh Temple of Iowa
Sikh Temple Riverside, Riverside, California
Sikh Youth Commission
Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Glen Rock, New Jersey, United States
Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Toronto, Canada
Sikh Student Association, Boston University
Sikh Student Association, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Sikh Student Association, San Jose State University
Sikh Student Association, University of Chicago
Sikh Student Association, University of Illinois, Chicago
Sikh Student Association, University of Texas, Austin
Sikh Student Association, University of Virginia
Sikh Student Association, Wayne State University
SikhWomen.com
Stockton Gurdwara, Stockton, California, United States
Students Creating Awareness of the Sikh Faith, Trinity Univ., San Antonio, TX
The Singh Sabha, Carteret, New Jersey, United States
United Sikhs
United Sikh Association, New York University
United Sikh Association, Virginia Commonwealth University
United Sikh Federation, Vancouver, Canada
Valley Sikh Temple, Canoga Park, California
West Coast Sikh Youth Alliance, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada