Information for the Media

Common Misconceptions Regarding Sikhism
Source: The Sikh Network

Fundamentalism

Truth 6: Sikhs are not fundamentalists. Amritdhari Sikhs (those who have taken Amrit) are devout in their faith and strive to balance spirituality and community service.

A note on terminology: The terms fundamentalist and moderate are often incorrectly used to categorize people on the extremes of a religion. The root of the word "fundamentalism" comes from the Christian historical context. Although there are similarities in western and eastern faiths, the connection that has been propogated is academically sloppy. Colloquially, fundamentalist has been adapted to mean "extremist". To find an opposite term for fundamentalist, the word moderate is often used to imply someone who maintains balance or is more open-minded than others. Correctly defined, though, a fundamentalist is someone who maintains the "fundamentals" of his/her religion or people who are trying to follow their religion as it was originally revealed. The opposite of this is really someone who deems the essence of the religion to be inappropriate or not applicable to the current times. The misuse of these definitions has resulted in strong believers of various faiths being mislabeled. The media has furthered this by using the term fundamentalist as a derogratory political term with no academic basis.

Sikh fundamentalists have been defined as any Sikh who has undergone the Amrit ceremony (commitment to follow the faith as revealed) and are vocal about issues that collide with the teachings of the Gurus and/or violate human rights. There is no mad rage, senseless killing or rigid thinking in them. These Sikhs are merely living their faith. By saying, that Sikh fundamentalists are those who have committed to following the religion as revealed, is saying the entire religion is a fundamentalist group.

As with all other religions, Sikhism does have followers who are rigid in their thinking,
use violence first and foremost in their activities, and have no concern for human life. It may be accurate to label these types of people as extremists. The problem is that an entire group of Sikh practitioners has been labeled as extremists or "fundamentalists".

The Fundamentalist Project, the most referred to academic work on the subject, defined a fundamentalist as someone who does all of the following:

1. Are militant - A Sikh aspires to live in a state of peace and high spirits. When social injustice occurs, a Sikh is required to stand up. A Sikh only turns to violence when all other means of resolution have been exhausted.

2. Seek converts - Sikhism has no missionaries seeking converts. The choice to become or not to become a Sikh is a personal choice.

3. Supports patriarchy - Sikhism holds that men & women are equal. Any variation from this is a cultural influence and has nothing to do with the religion. Women may not be as active or prominent, but this is not due to support of patriarchy.

4. Know how to use the media - Unfortunately, Sikhs do not know how to use the media. Only now are we learning how things are done. Much of the identity problem Sikhs have is due to the first generation Sikhs who allowed the misconceptions to perpetuate.

5. Are convinced they're persecuted - True, Sikhs do feel they are being persecuted. See human rights section.

6. Use scriptures selectively - There are no known controversies about interpretation of Sikh scripture. Sikhism is a young religion and the Sikh prophets complied the scripture themselves. As a result, the scripture is consistent throughout and highly reduces the number of divergent opinions.

7. Allows no criticism - Sikhs welcome criticism and in spite of controversies have created endowed academic chairs in North America so research on Sikhism may continue.

8. Is a separatist, makes enemies - A Sikh does not make enemies. This will vary with human personalities, but to say an entire people make enemies is simply nonsensical.

9. Sees religion and politics as inseparable - True, the Sikh Gurus teach that meditation of God is an action of selfless service, which includes helping others, fighting oppression and injustice. Sikhism is a way of life and it requires participation in religion so Sikhs may play a positive role in society.

10. Follows charismatic leader - There have been many charismatic leaders in Sikh history. Today, the Sikhs do not have a strong leader at the forefront, but that does not affect Sikhs in any way. The Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, today, assumes a role of spiritual leadership, while the Guru Khalsa Panth -- a corporate body of all initiated Sikhs worldwide -- provides temporal leadership to the Sikh community. Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the tenth and the last Sikh prophet, ordained that after his death the condominium of Guru Granth and Guru Panth should jointly guide the Sikh community.

11. Opposes individualism - Sikhism does recognize a need for discipline in order to maintain the True path. Sikhs take the Amrit commitment later in life, when they individually decide this is the path they want to take. It is a choice.

Clearly, Sikhism does not meet the definition of "fundamentalist". It is incorrect for the western world to label those who faithfully follow Sikhism as fundamentalists. Sikhs who follow the faith are called Amritdhari, meaning those people who have undergone the Amrit ceremony (commitment).

Truth 7: Sikhs are against terrorism. Sikhs strongly condemn killing innocent people. In fact, Sikhs are commanded to defend the innocent and fight against oppression.

Sikhism preaches to resort to violence only when all other means of resolution have failed. The kirpan worn by Sikhs is NOT a weapon and is NOT a knife. The kirpan is a gift of God. Many say it is a constant reminder of their responsibility to the world to fight against oppression. Regardless, the Sikh identity is not complete without the kirpan, it is one of the 5 articles of faith that define a Sikh. Over the years, Sikhs have often been incorrectly labeled as terrorists by the media and by governments. Some individuals have committed crimes against innocent victims; however this general labeling has caused the image of the entire Sikh religion to be associated with militancy. Sikhs support defending the innocent not harming them.

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