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Good morning. Ceremonies have been held this week to commemorate the 9/11 attacks. Memories of that day are an indelible part of our collective consciousness. The roll-call of the dead at Ground Zero has become a familiar annual sight, punctuated with silences to mark the moments when planes hit the Twin Towers. However, tomorrow marks a lesser known anniversary, that of the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi. Balbir worked at a gas station in Arizona, and he was shot dead because he wore a turban and, according to the killer, looked like an Arab. It was the first incident of a hate crime killing in revenge for 9/11, and the victim was a Sikh. The visual trope of turbaned men conspiring for the downfall of Western society has had a profound negative impact upon Sikhs. Turbans are an integral part of our identity, it’s an outward sign of our faith, and it’s worn mainly by men, as well as some women, who have kept their long hair uncut. It was promoted by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, to ensure that a single Sikh could be distinguished amongst a crowd of thousands. That distinct identity has meant that Sikhs have become easy targets of anti-Muslim hatred in the post 9/11 world. I’ve been targeted myself, on the Tube and on buses, on the streets and on social media. Speak to any turban wearing Sikh and many of them will tell you how they’ve been called ‘Taliban’, ‘Bin Laden’, the ‘P-word’ and much worse. The hatred is evident, but how do you tackle it without inadvertently pointing the finger at someone else as a scapegoat? In the mid-Noughties, I remember seeing a popular t-shirt worn by young Sikhs proclaiming ‘Don’t Freak, I’m a Sikh’. It was their way of reclaiming the turban and educating others about the Sikh faith. However, I felt uncomfortable by that slogan as the underlying message seemed to be that ‘Sikhs are the good guys, not like the others’. Religious literacy and education is important, but not at the expense of another faith community. This summer has seen fire-bombings of two gurdwaras in the UK. One in Leeds in June and one in Edinburgh just a fortnight ago. Both are believed to be Islamophobic in nature. Both have targeted Sikh places of worship. The responses from the two gurdwaras have been dignified and focused on showing unity as part of a diverse society. The repercussions of 9/11 can still be felt today, and sadly things seem to be getting much worse for the Sikh community. However, I believe we should show a united front against hatred in all of its forms, regardless of who is being targeted. After all, as Guru Gobind Singh himself said, we must ‘Recognise the whole of humanity as one’.