The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released a pair of posters aimed at assisting authorities with properly identifying and searching Muslims and Sikhs.
The posters come from the DOJ’s Initiative to Combat Post-9/11 Discriminatory Backlash, and offer detailed explanations of each religion’s different head coverings. The posters also include seemingly obvious instructions such as “show respect,” and “searches should be done by members of the same sex.” (Can one request searches from the opposite sex, or does that cost extra?)
For
the most part, the photos on the Sikh poster are effective in demonstrating a
pagri, patka and chunni. But on the Muslim poster, one of the images is sure
to generate confusion in the field (photo on the right). We can only pray that
former Attorney General John Ashcroft doesn’t completely lose it when graduation
ceremonies commence in May.
Common
Muslim American Head Coverings (PDF, 1.5 MB)
Common Sikh American
Head Coverings (PDF, 1 MB)
My good friend Super Jagjit was so impressed by the posters that he created one for the DOJ to offer South Asian shopkeepers in rural areas:
Common Redneck Head Coverings (PDF, 255 KB)
Hindustan Times: U.S. Justice Department issues poster on Sikhism
